The Camping Snowshoe Grill Review

My wife and I have been talking about getting an open fire grill over the winter. We usually do most of our cooking in the camper or on skillets out on the picnic table. I have always thought it was pretty cool to see others cooking a pot of chili on the open fire or just be able to grill some steaks or burgers for dinner. Some people brought full size grills. Though I have thought about doing that, it just seems to be a big pain in the a……, well you know. So my search began for a open fire grill…

My Quest: Find a open fire grill that will last

Well, I have only seen two types of open flame grills at camp grounds being used. The first were the tripods type grills. These caught my eye and thought they would fit the bill. But once I started looking at them, I found that most were very cheaply made and certainly not made in the USA. The tripod grills from Walmart were all made in China and flimsy. I did however find some that were made right here in the great USA but they were a little pricey. Not that I mind paying a little more for a well made USA made product, but I started asking myself questions which I always do when buying a product. The first question was on storage, is a tripod grill easy to store without getting all nasty. Probably not, sitting over an open fire, I’m sure the legs and all get dirty. Then you have that most well made tripod grills, do not have legs that telescope down. It would have to go in the back of my truck. Next is how easy are they to use? I thought about putting my hands over an open fire to get heavy pots. I think it would be okay but I’m known to do a couple 12oz curls while camping.

My verdict was I believe this is the type we will be getting (better USA made one). The Chinese made ones were just cheap.

The next grill I researched was the grate type that you see at some campgrounds. These are made to sit on the fire ring. To be truthful, I didn’t spend too much time looking at this type. Being a grate, it is going to be sitting right over the fire. You can not adjust the height and it was going to get anything it touched dirty. Once I seen the price on these, I just stopped looking. They are heavy and going to last but just not what I was looking for.

Then I ran into a little gem called the Snowshoe Grill. I forget how I found it but was just surfing around looking for ideas for our open fire grill and this thing popped up. Doing my research, I found out that they are made not to far from us in Owensboro Kentucky. That got my attention. Come to find out, these are made by a couple iron workers that specialize in blacksmith type work. So far, so good. Made in the USA with a USA supply chain? Yes. made by people that know what they are doing? Yes. Made for campers and not just a sale? Yes. I told the wife that I found our fire grill and ordered.

Snowshoe Grill

The Snowshoe grill I assume gets its name from the look of it. It resembles a snowshoe or tennis racquet. I got the grill in about 2 days, probably because I’m close to them. It came in a regular box surrounded by rolled paper. Everything looked in good condition so I got it out. The grill itself comes three pieces and is all placed in a storage bag. This is nice for a couple reasons. It breaks down easily and has a bag to protect your camper so it can be stored.

How it works

The grill has some pretty unique features that we are going to go over. Firstly, my favorite feature is the swinging of the grill. Once in place, you can swing the grill section off the fire heat to add, flip or do what ever to your food. Then you just swing it right back over the heat. This is a feature you can’t get with a tripod.

The next feature is the height adjustment. It works off of friction of the stabilizer bar. So you can adjust the height by just tilting the handle a little.

Okay, so it looks cool and has some great features, but how did it preform? Well, we have only been camping once this year and it was at our membership campground. I ended up using it all weekend. The first night we were there, I grilled hamburgers and hotdogs. I was going to make steaks but didn’t want to take a chance my first time out. It didn’t take long before I got the hang of things. By the time I was done with first nights dinner, I consider myself a pro with the Snowshoe grill, enough to get on my wife’s nerves about it lol…

The next night, I made a big pot of chili using the grill. Turned out great. Even got that smokey flavor in the chili that I love so much. I can’t wait to try some fat steaks over an open fire on our next camping trip.

While cooking throughout last weekend, we were asked at least 4 times on if I made the grill and where we got it.

Extras

There is also a choice for an extra if you are not wanting to use this grill over a fire. It is a firepan that connects under the grill. This would come in handy if you would like to use charcoal on days there is a fire ban in effect. It also has legs that can be used if you do not have grass to put it in (tailgating). I did not get this option, it is not needed for us. Looks cool though, I might be second thinking myself when Jimmy Buffet comes to town. The only place we tailgate…

Here is a video on how the Snowshoe grill works

So, my overall thought

You have probably guessed it, I love it! Made in the USA by some hard working people that just happen to be half way local to me. It is easy to store in our camper, will not get the compartment all dirty, made out of all iron, wife can operate it and it is just plain cool. I would recommend this grill for any type of camping (easy to put in a pack).

Notes and resources: I totally forgot to take pictures! photos and video on this review are used from www.snowshoegrill.com. I will get some photos on our next camping trip because I’m sure we will be using it.

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