Clean Burn, Cold-Weather Catch: The Campingaz CP250 4-Pack for UK Stoves

The longevity question, and why reviewers land so far apart

This is the argument that runs right through the review page, so let's start there. On the generous side, Bobbie went camping for four days and reckons "one of these canisters lasted the whole long weekend with gas to spare", and that was cooking three meals a day plus multiple kettles. Mr. T. J. Harris says a single bottle has "lasted 4 or 5 camping weekends and is still going strong", while another buyer gets "a full season of camping" out of a pack. Mark L gives the most useful figure of the lot: one can covers a weekend for two campers.

Then there is the other side. One reviewer flatly calls them "terrible", claiming they "hardly last 10 minutes", and a handful of three and four-star reviews echo the theme that a 220g cartridge simply doesn't go the distance for them. Rodd liked almost everything about the pack but landed on the same complaint: "only downside is they don't last very long."

So who is right? Both, really. A 220g canister is a modest amount of gas, and how long it lasts depends almost entirely on your burner's output and how often you're boiling. A single mug of tea barely touches it; a big roaring stove running a full fry-up will drain it fast. Mark L also flags something worth knowing: "as the contents drop the pressure drops so the flames won't be as big," so the last third of a can cooks more slowly than the first. Go in expecting a weekend of light-to-moderate cooking per can and you'll likely be on the happy side of this split.

The cold-weather catch every butane user should know

If there is one review to read before you buy, it is PC-B's. They used the cartridges through summer with no trouble, then took them out again at 5 to 8 degrees and got "hardly any gas pressure even from a brand new cylinder, very small flame unable to boil a kettle." Back indoors at room temperature, the same canister worked perfectly again.

That isn't a fault, it is butane doing what butane does. Butane loses pressure as the temperature drops toward freezing, so a cold morning or a chilly shoulder-season pitch can leave you with a feeble flame even from a full can. The listing describes an iso-butane mix aimed at "better burning qualities at lower temperature", which helps at the margins, but this is still fundamentally a warm-weather and three-season fuel rather than a deep-winter one. If most of your camping is UK summer and early autumn, you'll rarely notice. If you're heading out in frost, plan around it.

There are field tricks that help. David Nicholls, who has "used this product for years", says giving the canister a shake to mix the gas up "makes it work better especially first thing in the morning." Keeping a spare tucked inside your jacket or sleeping bag overnight does the same job. Interestingly, several long-term buyers rate Campingaz precisely because it holds up better than rivals when things get chilly, with Tom M noting that cheaper brands "tend to get too cold if you use them for more than 10 minutes" while these keep going.

Fit, the resealable valve, and the stoves it plays nicely with

The CP250 uses Campingaz's resealable click-on valve, which is the design that lets you take a part-used canister off the stove and store it without gas escaping. That self-sealing valve is a big part of why so many reviewers keep several in the kit bag. Mr. T. J. Harris notes the slot that makes it "compatable with most camping stoves", and it slides straight into a backpack alongside the burner.

On specific stoves, it is a natural match for the Campingaz Camp Bistro that it's designed for. Sally confirms it "works well with the Campingaz Camp Bistro 3 Stove" she bought alongside it, and Gillian picked hers up with the bistro stove too. OP summed up the fit experience nicely: "Fitted our little gas stove. 1 down, 3 to use."

Two cautions from the reviews. First, one buyer, steve long, reported the valves were "too short" to release gas on any of his three devices, a reminder that not every non-Campingaz appliance is a guaranteed match, so check your stove takes CP250-style cartridges before ordering four. Second, Sam warns that in transit "the red caps come off easily and gas can leak out," and suggests taping them on or packing them upright at the top of a bag for the car journey. Sensible advice for any pressurised canister.

Why long-term buyers keep coming back to the blue can

Strip away the specifics and a lot of these reviews boil down to trust built over years. John has "used this make of gas for decades" and calls it the "cleanest burn I've used", adding that the price is about what he paid in a shop twenty years ago. Amy has bought the brand "for years as it's the most reliable." Rob Collins has used it "for many years," and Tom M has "tried many different brands of gas, but always come back to Campingaz." A clean-burning cartridge matters more than it sounds: it means less soot on your pans and a steadier flame under the kettle.

The other steady theme is value against the high street. Mrs. Sheena J. Ellis calls it a "better buy than hiking shop," Leanne found it "cheaper than buying from an outdoors shop on the high street," and Aimee turned to it because she "couldn't find any in the local shops." John Shevill passes on the manufacturer's claim that one cartridge will boil twelve kettles, though he cheerfully admits he's never counted. For most people the takeaway is simpler: it lights, it burns clean, and it costs less than the camping-shop equivalent.

The one-can-or-four confusion worth heading off first

A small cluster of the one-star reviews have nothing to do with the gas itself and everything to do with the order. Iro thought they were "buying 4 x cans" and felt caught out on price, James olson said the picture showed four "but I only got the one," and Hoopy67 balked at the idea of over £8 for a single can. Read against the current listing, this is a 4-pack for £9.95, which works out around £2.49 a canister, comfortably cheaper than buying singles in a shop. The lesson is just to double-check the quantity and price on the product page at checkout so you know exactly what's arriving.

One more practical note for anyone ordering in error: as Mr. H. discovered, pressurised gas canisters are non-returnable once dispatched, so it's worth being sure of your stove's fitting before you commit. A couple of buyers also mentioned cans arriving lightly dented from thin packaging, which is cosmetic rather than a safety problem but worth a quick inspection on arrival.

Verdict: who the CP250 suits

Across the 100 most-recent reviews the CP250 holds a 4.58 average, sitting under an overall 4.7 from more than 8,600 ratings, and the vast majority of recent buyers landed at four or five stars. The pattern behind that score is clear once you read past the top line: this is a reliable, clean-burning, sensibly priced butane cartridge for three-season UK camping, allotment cooking and any CP250-compatible stove, especially the Camp Bistro it's built for.

Set your expectations correctly and you'll be pleased. Treat a 220g can as roughly a weekend of moderate cooking, accept that butane fades in near-freezing temperatures, and check your stove takes this valve style before you order. Do that, and the CP250 is exactly the no-drama fuel the long-term reviewers describe. If you camp mainly in hard frost or need a single canister to run heavy cooking for days on end, look at a larger or propane-blended option instead.

For the price, having four cartridges ready in the kit bag so you never run dry mid-brew is an easy call for most campers.