Primus Kamoto OpenFire Pit

From the beach to the riverside camp, take your campfire with you wherever you might want one. This is a really good, compact and easily stowed fire pit. You can cook and grill on this fire which burns either wood or charcoal.

Best for car camping or canoe trips where weight isn't an issue, especially good when campfire rings must be portable and leave no trace.

As members of another website, we’ve been testing out these products in exchange for a review in various boondocking and beach locations around the Southeast. We will admit that we are “foodie vegetarians” who love to cook over an open fire, but don’t often use campground or picnic stop grills to put our food on directly. They are often rusty, greasy, and somewhat gross.

We had been using a propane grill (using the same propane connection that we use for heating our adventure rig), but found that it didn’t have quite enough power to cook things quickly especially for the amount of space it took up in the truck. Now, if we have access to a bit of dry wood, we can easily create a fire anywhere (that is legal and safe, of course!).

What we like about these products:

1.  Firepits and grills in campgrounds are often so large that to build a fire big enough to cook over and/or add some warmth to your evening’s activities, you must have a lot of wood and spend a good deal of time maintaining the fire. This unit allows you to build a small, focused fire for cooking, or a slightly larger one for warmth. We were surprised how much warmth we got from the heat radiating off the metal sides. You, of course, can also use charcoal. Firepits in campgrounds are often wet and soggy, filled with trash from not-so-Leave-No-Trace focused campers, and the grill is often quite rusty.

2. This unit allows you to start with a dry pit and the airholes on the “V” shaped bowl and sides help to increase the amount of oxygen to the fire, while the bottom allows ash to drop out like a wood stove. Robustly constructed overall. Grill top is sturdy enough to hold a pan without bending, and the tight “weave” is perfect for burgers, dogs, and even grilled pizza! No need for propane, just collect some downed wood from your campsite and you have all the fuel you need for a nice cooking fire.

3. Great for use on backcountry canoe and rafting trips where there may not be an existing fire pit or grill. Also, great for tailgates, beach parties, or anywhere else you may want to cook with wood or charcoal. Folds down to an easy to store size, whether you keep it in your vehicle or garage.

4. The spatula (sold separately) is a nice design. Sturdy, long enough to reach the food on the grill top without having your arms directly over the fire, and stores nicely inside the fire pit when it is in its folded down position.

What could be improved:

1. It’s a bit heavier than it looks, so it’s not something you are going to want to carry very far.

2. We’ve used it about six times and left it out in the rain one night. There is already some rust developing on the non-enameled surfaces.

3. While perfect for a canoe trip or rafting trip, it doesn’t fit well in our sea kayaks. A smaller version for sea kayak camping would be a great addition to the line!