Detroit-based startup Lectric Boil is accepting deposits on what it claims will be the first self-contained electric induction camping stove on the market. Dubbed the Overlander, it’s a neatly designed unit with two elements, a windshield, and a removable battery built into a folding case that also houses a chopping board.
The battery-powered induction camping stove is an emerging technology we've been watching for nearly a decade. The first time we came across one, it was something of a skunkworks project by Korean outdoor gear company Kovea. We checked it out at Outdoor Retailer 2016, but it wasn't actually an exhibit so much as a rough prototype the company had stashed in a dark corner of its booth. We lucked out by talking to a rep quite eager to share a few details.
Kovea's prototype went on to win a Gold Award in the 2017 iF Design competition but was never heard from again after that, as far as we know. Instead, Kovea has stuck with gas stove technology, in which it offers a deep, innovative lineup that ranges from ultralight backpacking burners to larger, heavier stoves and charcoal/wood fire pits for car camping.
Indianapolis startup Newr was the next to pick up the challenge of a wireless, battery-powered induction cooktop, and while it's evolved its design from where it was in 2023, it remains in preorder stage two years later.
Plenty of sleek, portable induction cookers available today look the part ... until you notice the electrical plug. These ultimately require AC power, good for use at campgrounds with hookups or via inverters from battery systems charged by their vehicles or solar panels. That's great if you have an RV or capable power station, but it's not the type of "portable" many campers have in mind when looking for something they can cook on at base camp.
Enter a new challenger. Lectric Boil's Overlander steps beyond induction cookers that require plugging in to an electrical socket, integrating the energy storage with the stove so that – in theory anyway – its use does not depend on proximity to a car or RV.
Unlike other battery-powered induction stove efforts we've seen, the Overlander looks the part of a dual-burner portable camping stove, albeit with a smoother, non-grated cooking surface and some serious junk in the trunk. That junk owes to the removable 1-kWh lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery upon which the stove relies for power. It's similar to the battery powering the Copper Charlie domestic induction stove we featured recently, just 1/5 the capacity.
The Overlander battery weighs 25 lb (11 kg) and accepts charge from a 120V domestic power outlet, 12V outlet or solar array, giving users plenty of flexibility when traveling off-grid.
The rest of the stove weighs a further 10 lb (4.5 kg), and the complete 35-lb (15.9-kg) unit occupies a 17 x 20 x 5 in (430 x 500 x 120 mm) space when packed up. In practice, 35 pounds is a fair bit to carry around, and you wouldn’t expect to see an Overlander retrieved from a backpack, the pannier of a touring cyclist, or even a capacious top-box as fitted to many touring motorcycles.
The Overlander does, however, look like a neat solution for namesake overlanders and other adventurers who like to tour in their car while keeping their camping arrangement as simple and off-grid-ready as possible.
The Overlander's cooking surface supplies 10- and 6-in (250- and 150-mm) induction elements, each capable of producing 1200W and with the larger stretching to 1.8kW in boost mode (in which case the output of the smaller burner is reduced to 600W).
On those figures, the Overlander’s battery would run down in about half an hour if both elements were left on high. But that’s not how a cooking process tends to work, and Lectric Boil says you could expect at least 90 minutes of cooking time from the bigger element set on medium, or up to three hours from the smaller element on medium. Each element has five power levels set from knobs alongside.
Recharge times are specified as one hour from a 120V AC outlet, five hours from a solar system producing 400W, and 10 hours from a 12V DC source or USB-C.
The battery pack also has a USB-C output that you could use to charge a phone or similar device. Its estimated service life is 10 years.
The advantages of electric induction over other cooking methods are well documented, and if anything they are more prominent when you’re preparing meals in the cramped and/or flammable environments common in backcountry settings.
There is no potentially explosive gas canister, no naked flame, and a relatively cool cooking surface – since an induction element generates eddy currents in the cookware that heat it directly.
Heating times and precision are comparable with, or superior to, gas cooking, and the induction process is much more energy-efficient than heating from a gas flame. That’s assuming you’re using cookware with iron or steel in its base: induction elements have little effect on all-aluminum utensils, for example.
Lectric Boil, a family company established in 2022, says the Overlander will be manufactured in the US. Founder Jarret Schlaff said he began on the project after planning a camping trip to an area at risk from wildfire, where campfires had been banned. The stove was first shown at the CES 2025 in Las Vegas this past January.
A deposit of US$99 will secure you a place in the queue for the first units produced, with delivery expected this year. Estimated retail price is $1,500.
Schlaff sees a broad customer base for the stove, notwithstanding its high price and, arguably, niche focus. "We aim to serve campers, outdoor workers, victims of natural disasters – and anyone, anywhere, cooking or surviving off-grid,” he said in February when talking with the Detroit business journal DBusiness.
Source: Lectric Boil
