How’s this for an all-in-one camping solution? It’s a camping stove, a sink, a preparation table and storage combined into one unit that packs away to the size of a large cooler box. And it’s surprisingly affordable too.
Now, when it comes to weight, we’re talking about a cooler that you’ve packed with over 40 cans of beer – it comes in at 43lbs (around 19kg), so it’s not exactly light. But that’s still perfectly carryable over short distances and better than lugging everything separately. And it comfortably fits in the front seat of a car.
The Kitchen Cruiser, as it’s called, is the product of a collaboration between two outdoor gear brands – Cinch, which is best known for its innovative tents, and Wild Land, which specializes in more techy stuff.
“Camping often means compromising on meals,” Cinch founder Jake Jackson said in a statement. “With the Kitchen Cruiser, we aim to change that. Our goal is to make it possible for campers to cook delicious meals anywhere, without needing a truckload of equipment. Everything you need is in one portable box.”
The containing box is made of space-grade aluminum, and measures 22.2 inches wide, 15.9 inches deep and 18.7 inches tall when packed, which is taller but narrower than a Yeti Tundra 45 cooler.
The streamlined design features four folding legs and two expandable shelves. One shelf doubles as a worktop, while the other houses a collapsible sink. There’s running water, too, with a battery-powered tap.
The top of the unit pops up to create another shelf and to reveal the 2.2-kW LPG stove. If you want you can even put a second portable stove on the upper shelf to create a double stove set-up. Oh, and there are drawers too.
The manufacturers claim it takes less than a minute to set all this up.
The two companies actually launched the Kitchen Cruiser with a Kickstarter campaign on July 31, and there are still a few days left for the campaign to run. But don’t worry about that – it reached its funding goal in under an hour, and you can order your unit already.
The Kitchen Cruiser will retail for $699 (you can order now at the Kickstarter link), though you can currently get it for the early bird price of $499. But even that full price figure seems remarkably affordable.
So even though there will be questions in reviewers' minds about the practicality of packing all those functions into one box (how well does it work? Is it easy to clean? Is it robust?) let’s hope Kitchen Cruiser’s funders have backed a winner
Shipping is expected to begin in September 2024.
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