Heavy Duty Folding Stainless Campfire Grill

After our last trek through Michigan and Wisconsin, I discovered that all of the campgrounds (whether State, Federally-regulated, or local/private) provide a rather large campfire ring made of single or double-walled culvert, and no level top grate, like so...

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Compared to Ontario parks, with much smaller fire pits, this set-up was new to me, and certainly a challenge to cook on.

Although I had brought a grate with us for campfire cooking (that fills the area of one of the under-bed bins), it wasn't big enough to span the diameter, and it had no legs. Which meant I was hand-holding over the fire with this trusty contraption...

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Not terribly bad, as I could chase the heat from the coals, but tiring nonetheless. And some foods were too thick for it to close fully.

Post-trip, most of my e-searches for a folding grill with legs turned up lightweight steel or aluminum versions, that would eventually rust, bend or warp,, or not be able to hold a Dutch Oven. Until I found this offering from a young entrepreneur based in Ottawa, Canada...

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I have seen nothing else like it out there. And given its Canadian origin, most U.S. Unofficial forum members likely have not run across it either. It is sold by Get-Out-Stay-Out .... The GOSO Campfire Grill and it's the only product she sells, at the moment. It is all stainless steel and comes in two sizes, but they operate nearly identically. Even the smaller version Compact GOSO Campfire Grill, which I got, has extendable legs which varies the overall height. The upper tray pivots and locks at varying heights above the main deck. (You can see the locking 'fingers' at the bottom of the middle strut that provide three different heights). Very heavy-duty, but folds completely flat and fits well under the bed.

We didn't have a need to use it Kentucky State Parks these past couple weeks as their fire-pits had horizontal/variable-height grills, but I am confident of its utility and quality.

Shipping to the U.S. is possible. And your dollar right now goes 33% further than ours. And it's on sale. In the end, not real cheap, but likely the last grill you'll ever own.

And the 'stainless' part fits in well with our Camp-Inn aesthetic.

For your consideration.

Steve

(Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with GOSO, the owner is not my niece, daughter or otherwise, and I didn't get a break on the price, although I would have gladly taken one for this glowing tribute)

 

I really like this Steve. Did you get the optional case/bag? Did you go with the large or compact?

Thanks,

Randy

 

It does. Just a heavy duty canvas bag one. But it’s a case none-the-less.

 

Oh... and I got the smaller size, as 99% of the time it will be just the two of us. And even then, the total surface area of it would be sufficient for feeding four. Unless they are really big steaks.

 

Randy: I also saw your previous post from a year and a half ago about the lightweight compact grill but also read your disappointment about its finickiness. I like lightweight stuff but thought it was more suited to back-country cooking, and probably wouldn’t support a full cast iron (front-country) pot very well. This GOSO you could probably stand on.

 

Nice. Ya the light weight tube grate is cool, but takes like ten minutes to assemble. Sure would be good for back packing. Think a I will give this one a go. Like the dual heights. Thanks for sharing!

 

That Wisconsin fire ring is bizarre. The grate would work in there, I take it? I know that’s the whole point of your review but it looks like it’d be difficult to set it in there.
Lisa

 

Lisa: They are big. About 36" across. Great for bonfires or consuming a forest's worth of wood in one evening. Or reducing your ash clean-out to once every 10 years. Not so good for controlled heat cooking or spanning with a flat grate.

The GOSO does easily fit inside.

 

This is the other type of campfire ring that is frequently employed in Kentucky...

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...which is height adjustable and heavy enough to support a load, and which negated the need to pull out and actually test the GOSO. (... along with the extreme cold and snow we experienced, but that is another story.)

As we continue our travels into different park jurisdictions, I think the culvert version, or a pit with no grate at all, may confront and confound our cooking plans far more often than the chances of running into the useful and practical version pictured above. Scrounging for make-shift supports of wood or rock for a flat grate really isn't all that practical; we need something sturdy and adjustable that we can set inside.

Almost all of my camping and cooking experience is backcountry stuff. So I'm still learning all the ins-and-outs and ceaseless variables that present themselves with trailering. This is one of them.

 

Never seen one like the one you say was in Wisconsin and Michigan. Most of the time, it is the type you had in Kentucky we see. I have see a variation of where it is rectangular in shape instead of round. The other difference is the rectangular one will have a metal bottom that the wood or charcoal sits on instead of the ground. I like the folding one though.

 

Ordered mine. Contacted them to see if there was a way to get the shipping price down and they gave me %15 discount off the sale price and a free bag. Mallory said he made it for himself with no intentions of selling it but people kept asking. Nice folks!

Randy

 

I don't know how much truth there is to this, but a volunteer at Winderness State Park in Michigan told us that the height of the fire rings was to keep kids from falling in the fire pit, also the double layer was to keep kids from burning themselves on the fire pit - some kind of state law. I've also heard they are wheelchair accessible, but if that's the case, they would be terrible for someone in a wheelchair - that's quite a reach to get to the fire.

 

I could see the heat being an issue with the metal fire ring. The handicapped sites I see in this area have the fire ring mounted on a concrete block 3 feet high so someone in wheelchair could use it.

 

Not sure if this debate is still heated after 10 years, but this 2009 post explains all the ins and outs of the Michigan double-wall culvert ring thing pretty well, and a lot of people's opinion of them... https://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/threads/new-fire-pits-i-hate-them.291667/

Regardless of your opinion of them, these large rings appear to be here to stay, at least in Michigan. And it's not unreasonable to assume that other jurisdictions will eventually pick up on the idea, if they haven't already. Especially if there are purported to be liability and disability/accessibility issues at play with standard fire pits and rings.

So... hitting the road with a campfire cooking solution tucked away somewhere in the trailer would seem to be the only prudent thing to do. Especially for those who have an overwhelming and debilitating need to be able to effectively address any camping eventuality they face. Like me, I guess.