Gas Camp Grill Selections: BBQ With Friends

Grill anywhere with the Primus Kuchoma Portable Gas Camp Grill.

By Jerry Tsai | Photos courtesy of Primus

As with the setup of your rig, piecing together a cook station for your outdoor adventures is also often done piecemeal, calling for plenty of equipment experimentation and hands-on trials. Depending on what kind of adventure you’re looking to embark on, your equipment selection for your activities will invariably differ. It’s no secret that the centerpiece of any campsite food prep setup is, undoubtedly, the camp stove. Camp stoves come in many shapes and sizes and are built with varying duties in mind. If you’re doing some lightweight backpacking, a mountain climber’s pocket-sized stove might be the ticket. When car camping with the family, a more traditional two-burner stove or gas camp grill is your best bet.

The Primus Kuchoma Portable Gas Camp Grill featured here is well suited for the latter activity, as well as for other outdoor cooking roles. It’s not a traditional two-burner stove, but the Kuchoma’s all-encompassing nonstick grill grate allows for plenty of BBQ-ing to be had on the go—and for groups of up to 10, no less. Not only can it be used to BBQ, it also excels at searing and toasting and can be used for baking as well.

Naturally, the primary use of camp stoves is to cook food. While all are designed to heat up pots, pans, griddles and kettles, some are more basic, while others are outfitted with everything, including a pizza oven.

The Kuchoma offers camp chefs a useful grill grate cooking surface and is designed to be lightweight, compact and portable. It’s made so that you can “get your BBQ on” with your friends and family just about anywhere.

The Gas Camp Grill with all the Features

The stylish stove features a clean, Swedish-designed aesthetic, as well as a comfortable, wood-trimmed carrying handle. In addition, Kuchoma’s cover includes a locking device that makes opening, closing and carrying it a simple affair.

Opening the lid reveals the grill’s ceramic nonstick grill grate. The grate measures roughly 16 inches wide and 5 inches deep. That generous space provides plenty of “real estate” for grilling your choice of meats and vegetables. As mentioned previously, baking is also an option, if that’s your preference.

You might have noticed that the Kuchoma’s lid is deep. That’s because it acts as a deep hood that provides plenty of indirect heat for cooking thick steaks while sealing in heat and flavor.

Just under the grate, you’ll find a horizontal burner tube capable of 8,500 BTU of grilling power that evenly distributes heat to provide balanced grilling characteristics. The stove is powered by a 1-pound propane canister, which is available separately. It does include a propane canister stand for a quick and simple setup.

Once it’s set up, getting the grill fired up is also as easy as can be: Primus installed a tried-and-true Piezo ignition in the Kuchoma, so no separate lighter is required.

It’s worth noting that the stove features foldable legs that elevate Kuchoma in order to provide valuable additional table space while cooking.

After the food’s been enjoyed, the stove’s removable ceramic grill grate and stainless steel drip tray make for a quick and easy cleanup. Both the grate and drip try can be washed by hand or in the dishwasher.

The New and Improved Kuchoma

Those of you already familiar with Kuchoma might like to know that Primus’ latest version, released just this year, features a few upgrades over the previous model. The updated Kuchoma includes locking legs, an improved lid-latching mechanism, a spring-action fuel hose regulator clip for security in transport and a secured grill grate for rattle-free transport.

Roughly the size of a smaller, old-school boom box, Kuchoma probably isn’t suited for backpacking trips or climbs up Mount Kilimanjaro; but that’s not what it’s intended for. What it is great for are those camping trips, beachside hangouts and impromptu cookouts for which an easy-to-pack-and-carry BBQ  gas camp grill is required.

This grill is a solid all-around performer that satisfies BBQ lovers … pretty much anywhere.

Primus Kuchoma Portable Gas Camp Grill

Weight: 10 lbs.
Dimensions: 17.3 x 6. 1 x 12 in.
Heat Output: 8,500 BTU; 2,500W
Feeds: 1–10
MSRP: $190
primus.us