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A portable gas grill is just the thing that can transform your camping or beach trips to a real feast. Not only that, you can use it at home, on your countertop, when you don't feel like starting up the coal grill for just a few burgers. With so many models, and so many possible accessories, how would you know which to choose? This choozza helps you buy the best portable grill for your needs.
What's the perfect choice for you?
Last updated by Nimo, on 21/7/09
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Weber Q200 The Weber Q200 is a Portable propane barbecue for outdoor grilling. It is a hybrid grill that works great for everyday cooking at home, or for outdoors grilling. The Q200 has a five years limited warranty |
Coleman Roadtrip The Coleman Roadtrip LXE is a full-size grill with collapsible scissor legs for countertops or travel. The grill has a heavy-duty vitreous lid, and an easy-to-clean grill surface. The grill has several interchangeable cooking surfaces, including a stovetop and griddle, for separate purchase. Coleman offers a limited five-year warranty for the Roadtrip. |
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Ease of Assembly: Almost every portable grill requires some assembly. Some require more than others. How much work will you have to do between unpacking the box and grilling your first burger? |
The Weber Q200 grill is delivered to your door almost fully assembled right out of the box. All that is required from you after you buy is to attach the handle onto the lid, and push the drip tray into place. It's that easy. |
The Coleman grill itself comes out of the box nearly completely assembled. |
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Cooking Power: Cooking power for grills is measured in BTU (a modification of the original British Thermal Unit). The higher the BTU value of the grill's burners - the more cooking power it provides. |
With 12,000 BTU on a single burner, the Weber Q200 has ample cooking power for a portable grill. This is enough power for cooking meat or coffee, but is less suited for serious cooking. If you are looking for a grill that will cook both your meat and your pan dishes, you may need to buy a different one. |
The Coleman provides 20,000 BTU - a lot of cooking power for a portable grill. With 20,000 BTU, there's almost no end to what you can cook directly on the grate or in a pan. However, since the heat comes from two separate burners, positioning of a full pan to acquire all the heat it can get may be a little tricky. |
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Price: Portable grills are not cheap and proces vary. How much will it cost you to purchase the portable grill? |
The Weber Q200 is considered quite a good value for money compared to other grills on the market. |
The Coleman Road Trip LXE is usually a little more expensive than other comparable grills. |
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Portability: How portable is the portable grill? Will you be able to carry it comfortably from your house to your car, and then to the beach, the concert or the camping site? This is down to weight and size. |
The Weber Q200 is portable and does not weigh too much. These dimensions are taken from the Weber's manufacturer manual. Some websites give different data, as there are various models of the Weber Q series of grills. Weight is an important factor when buying a portable grill, as you need to move it around. The Weber's weight is a direct result of using quality materials for the body and grate. If you're buying the grill with add-on accessories such as the rolling cart, you need to add the weight of these accessories to the overall weight you'll need to carry when travelling. |
The Coleman Roadtrip LXE is large and weighs considerably more compared to other portable grills such as the Weber Q200. This is mainly due to the built-in collapsible legs. The portable grill's dimensions are 37 x 22 x 15 inches and its weight is 50.8 pounds. (94 x 55.9 x 38.1 cm and 23 kg). When you consider buying this (or any other) grill, remember that you are likely to need some device or other similar to the collapsible legs, as it is much easier to cook when the grill is a little higher up. Any such accessory you buy with a different grill will add to that grill's overall weight. |
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Grate Quality: The quality of grilling is really about the quality of the grate itself. A good quality grate provides enjoyable grilling and durability for your grill. The larger the grate - the more food you can cook at one go. |
The Weber Q200 has a 280 square inches grate. This is a lot of room for food, which should suffice for 12-14 regular sized burgers. The Q200 grate is professional quality cast-iron which is very durable and provides for years of use if properly cared for. The grill is porcelain-coated which is a lifesaver for easy cleaning after a long day at the beach or in the woods. Weber uses a unique U-shape burner. The burner, while not extremely powerful heat the grate evenly all over. The even heat disribution means that you get good cooking quality and no colder or hotter spots on the grate. Grills that do not distribute heat evenly require you to rotate your burgers or sausages between the hotter and colder spots, and many good pieces of meat were lost this way. Besides heat distribution, the Weber Q200 also has an impressive heat-up time. Once you turn it on, the grill only takes 5 to 10 minutes with the lid closed to achieve sufficient cooking heat. One of the downsides of the Q200 is cooking pan dishes. While you may cook food directly on the grate, the Weber is less suited for pan dishes cooking because of the lower BTU output. It will handle your coffee or sauce pans but anything bigger will challenge the grill. |
The grate on the Road Trip LXE has 285 square inches cooking space. Paired with the grate's sturdiness and variable heat settings, it provides an excellent value for money. 285 square inches should see 15 burgers cook in parallel, possibly with a sausage or two wedged between them. The grate is large enough for a good quantity of meat, vegetables or seafood. It is versatile enough to enable you to grill food directly on the grate and also use it for large pan dishes. The grill is porcelain-coated for easy cleaning, which is quite important especially after a long meal where all you want to do is lay down and relax. User experience with the quality of heat and grate on the Coleman vary. Most users comment it is very good, and the percentages of repeat buyers is constantly high. However, some users complain that the grill does not work as expected, blaming mostly the regulator. |
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Accessories: The right accessories can make all the difference between a enjoying a succulent steak or breaking your back stooping over the grate. Portable Grills are usually sold with a few accessories out of the box, and have others you can purchase separately. |
Out of the box, the Q200 is equipped with highly efficient side trays and a drip tray for grease collection. It also has an electric ignition but does not come with collapsible legs - you'll have to buy the separately sold cart if you require this functionality. The accessories you may purchase separately include a griddle, a rolling cart, a cover, and an adapter hose for 20 pound propane tanks. The rolling cart is stable, although there were some complaints that the wheels themselves are of low quality. The protective vinyl cover, on the other hand, is good value for money. The work surfaces (side shelves) on the side of the grill are very handy and sturdy. They are pretty useful as an extra place to put your dishes or utensils away from the sand. The electronic starter is a different story. It is good enough for home or deck use, but is reported to be a bit under par in windy environments, requiring you to use a lighter or shield the grill as much as you can. Once lit, though, the burner is not likely to die. Like every Q-series grill, the Q200 comes with a free recipe book and a subscription to Weber's Grill-Out newsletter. Like on any other grill, the adapter hose is generally considered a must-have if you want to do some serious grilling. Without it, the Q 200 uses the small disposable canisters that you'll have to replace very often. The 20 pounds propane tanks last for a long while. |
The Road Trip LXE comes with a few accessories out of the box, and you may purchase others separately. It's biggest advantage over other portable grills is that you its price includes a set of collapsible legs which make it much easier to work with at home or outside. On top of the collapsible wheeled legs, the Road trip has a towing handle, detachable side tables and a grease tray. One more important feature is the Instastart electronic ignition. The Coleman also has some good separately sold accessories such as a griddle, a stove grate, and an adapter hose for 20 pounds propane tanks. The griddle is an excellent buy, as it is provides a non-stick surface good enough for cooking food directly on top of it with no cooking oil. The stove grate is nice to have but is not a necessity as you can put your pans directly on the grill itself. Some versions of the Roadtrip come with both a grate and a griddle, each one half size of the bigger grate. Like on any other grill, the adapter hose is generally considered a must-have if you want to do some serious grilling. Without it, the Coleman uses the small disposable canisters that you'll have to replace very often. The 20 pounds propane tanks last for a long while. There are some reports of users who had their drip tray catch fire when the grill was cooling down. In all cases it seems to be a fault in the regulator, but there may be different reasons for that. It is difficult to conclude based on a small number of incidents, but since the grease tray is made of plastic, it seems it may be susceptible to catching fire when the grill is used. Other accessories you may consider buying include a plastic cover and a wheeled carry case which are both nice to have. They are useful and will make you enjoy your grill better, but are definitely not a must in the Coleman's case. |