Light weight grill

that's really light – has anyone tried one?

I almost bought this for hubby last Christmas but the weight was a little too much (that and now we don't grill on trips).

http://candlelantern.com/grilliput.html

> Disposable Grill Topper 7" x 11" made of expanded aluminum mesh

That will melt when placed over glowing coals.

Cheers

I have the grilliput and it is a nice piece of equipment but, at 560 grams (19.753418692 ounces), it's a bit heavy for backpacking, particularly LIGHT backpacking. It's great for kayak camping or when a grilling fanatic in your group is willing to carry it. We have also used the firebowl that the same folks make while camping along the Green River (Utah) as a firebowl is mandatory there with any open fire. Again, not light, but useful.

maybe I should buy it for when he canoe trips… then again maybe not… we treat those as lightweight too and a grill would mean fresh food which would mean a cooler or cooler bag and more weight – neat idea with the fire bowl (I like the LNT aspect of the fire bowl)… lol… guess I really don't need any more "lightweight" gear ;)

On canoe trips it should be no problem at 19 oz. or so. We like to use fresh meat the first day during the summer (we take the meat frozen) or every day if it is cold enough (like now). I also (hopefully) catch some fish on our kayak trips so we have that to cook, too. It adds some variety when weight isn't a big issue.
We also have a real meat-eatin', grill-lovin' person that hikes with us sometimes and they are more than happy to pack the grilliput! :-)

lol – me and canoe trips – well I've been accused of making them more like hiking trips. The guys I camp with were less than impressed when I planned days with 12 km of portages – until they realized how much solitude that gave us. That, and most of our trips average between 9 and 15 days. I could see this for weekender paddle trips though.

It still looks like a cool piece of gear.

It would be interesting to find out how many here at BPL actually take grills on their trips?

If the Grilliput is too hefty at 19 ounces, you can make a homemade version for 1 oz. I got the idea right here at BPL: http://tinyurl.com/2ss2zb

I made a very lightweight grill using three Ti bike spokes, one spoke nipple and some aluminum tubing from the hardware store. I used tubing with an ID just large enough for the three spokes to fit in and cut it into two pieces, each half the length of the short spokes. Each piece of tubing has 1/16" holes drilled on 1.5" centers, with one placed in the center of the piece all the way through. The other two are drilled into just one wall. The grill is assembled by inserting the outside spokes (or rods; the threads and head are cut off so the rods are about 3/8" shorter than the whole spoke) into the two outer holes, butting up to the opposite wall of the tubing. The center spoke (with head and threads intact) is inserted through the center holes and the nipple is screwed on to hold the whole works together. I place it on two parallel logs or rocks over a small fire or charcoal (or in a fire pan if kayaking) to cook on. To pack it I insert the spoke and rods into the tubing longitudinally, then screw on the nipple to again hold the works together. Packed size is about 1/4" dia and about 10" long. I don't know what the weight is but it is certainly very lightweight, plus the packed size is minuscule. I'm sorry I don't have any photos, so I hope this narrative is descriptive enough. I'll try to post some pics when I can.

thanks Curt and James – might be fun to try out sometime

In my repair kit I carry a length of stainless steel safety wire (any aircraft mechanic has this). Besides the obvious uses in equipment repair, I also make grills with this. To do this I find a forked stick whose fork is wide enough to span my fire pit. Wrap the wire around this fork to form the grill. When you are done cooking simply unwind the wire and wipe it off as you coil it up for storage.

Simple, multi-use and neat.

Dollar Tree discount store: 9×13" stainless cooling racks. 2 pack for $1.
3.4oz each.
*do not use galvanized metals, stainless is great.

the local Dollar Tree has had these in stock for over a year. very sturdy, ive used it to cook large cuts of meat (12oz ribeye) on numerous occasions.

I've owned a very light, hollow, 3/16" dia. tubing stainless steel backpacking grill for decades – so it's gotta be out of production by now. It is a slightly tapered 10" oblong W/ rounded corners and one center tube welded in lengthwise. It comes in a green nylon sleeve "envelope" to keep soot off your other stuff. This is a truly hi-tech "Geek Grill".

I've put heavy duty foil around it, pierced the foil a lot and cooked brook trout on it. DE-lish!

Eric

Sounds like the Purcell Trench Packer Grill. See http://www.purcelltrench.com/grills.htm. They’re still being made and they are works of art. I have the larger Voyageurs Grill that I take canoe camping.

Cheers
Al