Published on : 07 April 20203 min reading time

Whether I’m taking my family camping, or talking alone or with friends, there’s always grilling and it’s an important part of my camping experience.

However, when it comes time to buy your camping grill, the choice is extremely wide, not to say what type of camping grill will you need? Gas, charcoal, light, small grills or large family grill?

I’ll help you solve this dilemma today by explaining the main differences between the different types of grills, the grills that work best in different situations, and even our recommendations on which grills will work best for your budget.

Difference between portable grills and gas stoves

Before we got into the portable grill, I wanted to know the difference between a camping grill and a camping stove. These two terms are often used interchangeably, but they shouldn’t be.

Grills and stoves can use gas, charcoal or any other fuel source, the difference is how the heat source comes into contact with your food. On a grill, the flame will come into direct contact with your food while a stove uses a pot or pan to transfer heat from the flame to the food.

Why buy a portable barbecue for camping?

A portable barbecue should be able to fit into a compact space, be as light as possible and be able to cook properly for your stay.

Your barbecue must be compact

No matter what type of camping you plan to do, whether it’s car camping, national parks or light hiking, size will always be a factor. When I’m car camping with my family (I have 3 kids by the way), I can pack a lot more luggage than I can on a hiking trip, but size and space are always a big concern.

I have some excellent camping grills at home that I almost never use because they are simply too big. The only time I take them out is when we’re loading the RV, which allows me to take a crazy amount of stuff with me.

Your barbecue should be light

Weight will always be another important factor in the portability of a barbecue. If the grill is too heavy, it will not be practical for many camping situations.

Even in many parks, you should always walk with your equipment in the camping area and park anywhere within a kilometer of the campsite.

Large cooking area

The smallest and lightest grill is not worth licking if you can only cook for one person at a time, but you have 7 people to feed. Your grill must still be able to cook for the required number of campers.

As you can guess, different types of camping and different numbers of campers will ultimately decide which portable barbecue is best for you.