Portable Charcoal BBQ Grill with Carry Bag and Tongs

A charcoal barbecue is not much use on a camping trip if it fills the boot on its own. This one takes apart: every steel panel lifts out and lies flat, so the whole grill collapses into a slim bundle that slides into the supplied bag and travels in a car boot, a caravan locker or the bottom of a rucksack. Putting it back together takes a minute or two by hand, with the panels slotting into one another and nothing to bolt, thread or lose.

The build is folded steel in a matt black finish. Two shaped side panels double as splayed legs and lift the firebox clear of the ground, an X-shaped base plate braces them and steadies the grill on grass or shingle, and a slotted panel drops inside to hold the charcoal above the floor of the tray. A row of vents along the lower body lets air reach the fire from the side as well as from underneath. The cooking surface is a plated steel mesh grate with a rolled rim that lifts straight off for cleaning, and there is a bottle-opener cut-out in the base plate, a small thing but a welcome one at a picnic.

Everything needed to start cooking comes in the box. A fabric carry bag with a full-length flap holds the packed-down panels and the grate, knitted heat-resistant gloves keep your hands away from the coals, and long wire tongs with a looped handle give enough reach to turn food without leaning over the fire. The barbecue burns ordinary lumpwood charcoal or briquettes, so there is no gas bottle to refill and nothing to plug in.

It suits campers, caravanners and motorhome owners who count every centimetre of storage, families packing for a beach or park afternoon, and anglers and festival-goers who want hot food without carrying a stove and its fuel. It is just as sensible in a small garden or courtyard, where a kettle barbecue spends most of the year in the way. Because it packs flat, it stores on a shelf rather than under a cover in the rain.