Let's be honest — there's nothing quite like cooking over a campfire. The crackle, the smoke, the smell of a feed sizzling away while the sun goes down. When people ask us why they'd bother with a portable BBQ when they could just light a fire, we get it. Fires are brilliant to cook on.
But here's the catch that every seasoned adventurer runs into sooner or later: you can't always light one.
The problem with relying on a campfire
Across Australia, fire bans and restrictions are a fact of life — and they're becoming more common, not less. Roll into a campsite over summer and there's a good chance you'll be met with a Total Fire Ban, or a national park with a blanket no-open-flames rule all year round. Sometimes the restriction lands the very day you arrive.
When that happens, a campfire cook-up is simply off the table. And if the fire was your only plan for feeding everyone, you're suddenly staring down a dinner of cold wraps and tinned beans while the kids ask what's for tea.
It's not just fire bans, either:
• National parks and reserves often prohibit open and solid-fuel fires entirely
• Wet weather can make getting a fire going a genuine nightmare
• Fire restrictions can change at short notice based on conditions
• Some campsites and free camps have no fire pits at all
A fire is a great option when you're allowed one. The problem is building your whole trip around something that can be taken away the moment conditions change.
The solution: a portable BBQ built for real adventures
This is just one of the reasons why we invented the Adventure BBQ. We wanted a way to cook a proper meal for the whole crew that doesn't depend on being allowed to light a fire — because the adventure shouldn't stop just because there's a fire ban on.
Running on propane gas, a portable BBQ sidesteps open-fire restrictions in most situations (always check your local rules — some Total Fire Ban days restrict gas appliances too, but on the vast majority of days a gas BBQ keeps you cooking when a wood fire can't). That means when everyone else is packing up disappointed, you're firing up the plate and cooking dinner like nothing happened.
But not all portable BBQs are up to the job, which brings us to the important bit.
Not your hiking BBQ — your real Adventure BBQ
Most "portable" BBQs are built to be as small and light as physically possible for hikers counting every gram. That's fine if you're solo and happy with a single sausage at a time. But if you're a 4WD tourer, a camping family or heading out with mates, those tiny setups leave you cooking in shifts while the food goes cold.
The Adventure BBQ was designed differently, on purpose. It features a large 455mm carbon steel cook plate — enough room to cook for the whole crew at once, not one item at a time. Carbon steel holds and spreads heat beautifully, so you get a proper sear on a steak and an even surface for a mean stir-fry, a big breakfast fry-up or a plate loaded with snags and veg.
It's genuinely portable — it packs down and comes with you anywhere your adventure goes — but it's not your featherweight hiking BBQ. It's your real Adventure BBQ, built for the way you actually camp:
• A large 455mm carbon steel cook plate to feed the whole family or group in one go
• A versatile cooking surface for steaks, stir-fries, breakfasts and everything in between
• Adjustable legs so you can set up and cook on uneven ground, sand or a slope — no table or flat surface required
• Gas-powered convenience that keeps you cooking when a campfire isn't an option
Why we built it this way
We're a family of four, and we designed the Adventure BBQ to solve the exact problem above. We were sick of trips where the cooking plan fell apart the second a fire ban rolled in, and we were sick of tiny portable BBQs that couldn't feed everyone. So we built something big enough to cook for the whole crew, versatile enough to cook whatever we felt like, and able to set up anywhere without hunting for flat ground or dragging a table around.
Is it the smallest portable BBQ out there? No — and that's completely on purpose. We didn't design it for your hikes. We designed it for your next adventure, your camp holiday and your day out to that new hidden gem, where cooking a proper meal for the people you love is a huge part of the point — fire ban or not.
Don't let a fire ban end the adventure
Campfires are magic when you can have them. But if your only way to cook disappears the moment a fire ban is declared, you're one sign away from a ruined dinner. A quality portable BBQ means you're always ready to feed the crew, wherever you are and whatever the conditions.
Ready to cook no matter what? Take a look at the Adventure BBQ — the best portable BBQ for 4WD tourers, campers and adventurers who refuse to let a fire ban get in the way of a good feed.