Overview:
“The BioLite Portable Grill provides a safe, seamless, and fun way to cook your favorite foods on the wood-burning BioLite CampStove. The unique design allows you to keep sizzling while your fire keeps burning, all without the need for charcoal or propane.” -Biolite
The Deets:
Compatibility: For use with Biolite CampStove only!
Cooking Area: 55 square inches
Folded Size: 9.5 x 12 x 3.5 inches
Unfolded Size: 9.5 x 12 x 10.5 inches
Weight: 1.9lbs
MSRP: $59.95
The Review:
I’ve had the privilege of reviewing some amazing outdoor gear over the years including the innovative Biolite CampStove. The bar has to be set pretty high when it comes to choosing products to review on the site due to our small budget for gear procurement. Thankfully, most of them deliver on my high expectations and earn the positive review and high rating that they deserve. The Biolite Portable Grill, however, was a huge disappointment. It is by-far-and-away the worst product that I have come across since starting KayakDave.com…
The Portable Grill by Biolite is a compact grill attachment that serves as an accessory to the CampStove. It was designed to evenly distribute the heat generated by the CampStove to a grill surface large enough to cook 4 medium-sized burgers simultaneously. A flip-open, fuel-intake lid allows for stoking of the CampStove fire without disrupting the grill surface while folding legs help to stabilize the apparatus. This grill happens to be small enough to fit through a standard oval kayak hatch so I thought that it would be fun to give it a try this spring.
I was instantly disappointed with the quality of the Portable Grill from the second that I removed it from the packaging. The entire unit is made of thin, cheap metal that is riveted together and has many sharp edges. The grill surface itself is very thin and easily warps so that it no longer sits flat. There are numerous vent holes under the grill surface that would make this grill an absolute nightmare to clean especially in the backcountry. Furthermore, I found it difficult to get the Portable grill to mate well with my CampStove. This left the grilling surface very unstable and the foldable legs did very little to help in this department. All of this was so disappointing that I didn’t bother taking it any further. I put it back in the box, returned it to REI, and exchanged it for a nice cast iron Dutch oven!
-Kayak Dave
Pros: Lightweight, compact design
Cons: Cheaply made, hard to clean, grill surface warps, unstable grill surface…does not integrate well with Camp Stove
KayakDave Rating:
