Prologic Blackfire C-Series Gas Stove

How well is it built?

The stove has an anti-reflective Blackfire coating, which gives it a robust finish and should stop it glinting in the sun on the bank.

Three black, notched pan supports sit around a compact burner, and a braided hose runs from the stove to a red canister connector with a red knurled knob.

It's a tidy, purposeful design with nothing wasted, and the braided hose helps protect the gas line when the stove is squashed into a bag.

The coating should also hide the scuffs and soot that build up on any stove over a season of use, so it should still look smart after a winter of overnighters.

To be fair, it's a basic budget stove, and the Trakker Armolife CG4 and Sonik Sizzla Superstove are more substantial builds with four legs apiece. That's why it scores 7.9 for build, though for a stove this cheap I think it's perfectly sound for the job it's made to do.

Heat & Performance

With 3,000 watts of cooking power, the Blackfire has more output than the 2800W Sonik Sizzla Superstove and the 2.4kW NGT Profiler, which is a lot of heat from something this small. It should get a kettle going quickly for the first brew of the morning.

Adjustable flame control lets you manage the heat, so you can turn it down to warm a pan of beans instead of scorching it.

It runs on EN417 butane-propane mixed-gas cartridges, and that matters in winter, as straight butane struggles in the cold while a butane-propane mix copes much better.

Will it simmer as finely as the Sizzla with its Low-Flow ports? I'd expect the Sonik to win that one, and on a blowy day the Blackfire will want some shelter from the wind.

For boiling water and simple one-pan meals, though, I think the 8.2 is fair, and it's more stove than the price suggests.

Ease of Use

The Blackfire is easy to live with because there's so little to it. It measures 150 x 120 x 75mm in use and packs down to 110 x 80 x 75mm, and the mesh pouch keeps it all together for safe storage between sessions.

The braided hose means the cartridge sits beside the stove rather than underneath it, which keeps the burner low and steady, and a low stove is a more stable stove under a pan.

The hose also coils neatly around the stove, which keeps everything tidy when it goes back in the pouch.

Wherever you pitch up, never cook or run a gas stove inside a closed bivvy or tent, because of carbon monoxide and fire. Cook in the open or under a well-ventilated porch, and stand the Blackfire on a stable, flat base, as a small stove under a big pan needs level footing.

Do that and it's a stove you'll barely have to think about.

Is it good value for money?

Is it good value? Very much so. It's the cheapest of the compact stoves I'd look at, and you still get 3,000 watts, adjustable flame control, mixed-gas cartridges and a mesh pouch. That's why value is its standout score at 8.8.

Next to the Go Systems Sirocco, it's cheaper with the same 3,000W output, which makes it a sharp buy for a brew stove, and it's far cheaper than the Trakker Armolife CG4.

If you cook big breakfasts every morning, the CG4's wide supports and levelling legs are worth saving for, but most anglers won't need them for brews and pot noodles. It also makes a sensible backup stove to keep in the car, as it takes up next to no room.

I'd recommend the Blackfire to carp anglers on a budget, beginners buying their first bivvy kit and anyone fishing overnighters who wants a light, packable stove for brews and simple meals without spending much.