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4.5
My trusty Coleman gas grill died last summer. I loved that thing because of how compact and easy it was to take on a camping trip. I had been looking for something to replace it that had enough space to be able to use a griddle at the same time as a skillet. I didn't just want the griddle or grill and I have a few friends that have a camp chef so I decided to go with this one and I am so happy that I did. I was able to use the griddle at the same time as my oversized skillet - breakfast was so much quicker to prepare on this than my previous grill. I am seriously thinking about purchasing the grill box and / or pizza oven. I love the fact that this thing has so many different attachments...it might have to take the place of my big grill that sits on my deck all year long.Before going into the negatives, please know that this is a great device and i did a lot of very good and successful bbq's on it. That said the following are its only two flaws:In windy conditions, those side panels that came with them didn't really work and it becomes very difficult to maintain high temperatures (not impossible though). The second biggest problem is the way the hose comes out from body, in almost all stowing positions the hose will be pressed hard against the ground which will cause it to be damaged. So I only store the item in its narrow side so that the hose is facing up.I purchased this stove over four years ago and have had the chance to use it extensively. Overall, I would say it is a great camp stove and worth the money. When I purchased this stove, I also purchased the cook griddle and a different brand of cast iron skillets (see my reviews). The stove is well constructed and easy to hook up/use. The heat put out is more than adequate and is consistent and efficient. The only reason I rated this stove 4 stars instead of 5 is due to the fact that the stove is starting to rust a bit, but for the use I have gotten out of it I can’t complain. I bought a highly rated cover for it, but it here on Amazon, but it was quickly shredded after one Colorado winter on my deck.Pros: Build, heat output, easy of useCons: Tendency to begin to rust after about three years of useI’m writing this review of the Camp Chef Explorer. I’ve owned this unit nearly two years, and use it several times a month, year-round. Overall, I’m really very happy with the unit. I really thought about this review for a while, 4 or 5 stars? Finally settled on 4 due to overall quality. Despite Amazon’s poor packaging, the unit arrived intact. Removed the unit from the box, and while removing the plastic wrap, I cut my thumb. What the heck? Whoever was in charge of grinding down the welds had let the grinder slip, resulting in a spike of metal sticking up from the grate. This made me really look at the assembly. The welds are what I would expect from a first semester, 9th grade welding student. Having taught high school welding, I’m familiar with the quality. It would only take a minute or two to create the quality welds I would have expected on this unit. Ended up taking a file to several of the welds to smooth them out. I don’t blame the Chinese manufacturer; they produce the product their client requests. As another reviewer noted, one on the legs was slightly crushed out of round. I was able to get it into place, and the unit was stable. Another example of Camp Chef not using Quality Control. The unit is lower than the description, which states cooking height is 32 inches. Actual cooking height is 28” (top of the grate). If you are using this for canning or lobster boils, it probably doesn’t matter. If you are using this stove to cook breakfast at camp, flipping eggs below waist level will probably be inconvenient. But the fact that the description is so inaccurate makes me question the overall veracity of the stove’s description.In the end, I kept this stove, and hope to get many more years of use from it. But I’m disappointed that Camp Chef doesn’t care enough about its products to exercise basic quality control and be honest in the description of their products.I love this stove. I have an outdoor kitchen area that didn’t have a stove top option. I hate cooking smelly things in my house and this product has been a blessing!! Seriously!! It is easy to use, easy to install a propane tank. Just buy a long lighter and you are good to go. I like that you can balance this with the legs. I didn’t find the need to purchase the leg stabilizers I’ve seen of Amazon.I recently bought a new electric glass cooktop and did not want to ruin it by canning on it. My son suggested a portable gas stove that I could set up outside on our covered porch beside our kitchen. It was a perfect solution. The stove is very sturdy and 2 large pans about 12-14 inches in diameter could sit side by side with room to spare. Very sturdy and good heat output and easy to use controls. Legs are sturdy and comes apart easily to store. Can’t say enough about how this stove exceeded my expectations. Am planning to use it for fish fry during the holidays to keep fishy smells out of hous!!We got this for a camping trip, and Love it so much, it has almost replaced our regular In-Kitchen Stove at home! (We hate our electric stove, and want to replace it!) Until we can get a nice new Gas stove, this will be getting used a lot. We love the fast heating, and control we have with this stove. My husband has been getting the accessories for it, and keeps adding to the collection.Easy assembly and easy to use. This camp stove boiled water for waterbath canning 7 quarts in apprpx 6 mins. Comparedbto 35 mins on my stovetop. What a time saver! Low and high settings are easy to attain, but the mid-range flames are a bit tricky. Great buy. No regrets.Magnificent propane stove, very well made and extremely robust. Pleasantly surprised to find it came with a cast-iron griddle / plate included. Have already used it frequently and I cannot recommend it highly enough.So far, so good. Only had the camp chef going for a month at our cottage. Have used it about 8 times.Product seems sturdy. Burners seem heavy duty. Easy to adjust the flames. No problems with getting enough heat. Most of the time I am down around the medium settingOne bit of advice. Safe some money and buy the bundled package with leveling legs and side shields. I now am going back and ordering these items separately which will end up costing me more.Contenue de la boite différent de la présentation sur le site Amazon et de la présentation de la boite. L'appliqué "Camp Chef" sur le coupe vent fait face à l'arrière et le bruleur de droite n'est pas "tagué" en bleu. Cela me fait douté de l'authenticité du produit ou de la version du modële qui ne serait pas l'Explorer 2. Très déçu car le produit est identifié comme étant un choix d'amazon (Amazon Choice).Es una buena estufa, es completamente rígida, pero se le pueden quitar las patas ya sea para uso sobre alguna superficie (consideraría una mesa o base de metal o concreto ya que emite bastante calor) tiene una buena flama, es fácil de encender y manejar. consideren que es un tanto pesada, por el material que está construida, pero es una buena opción como uso rudo o para hacer alguna comida al aire libre, tiene muy buen espacio para sartenes y ollas grandes. aún no la utilizo fuera, pero en cuanto la use en el campamento actualizaré la valoración.A primera prueba cumplió bastante con las expectativas.Stove came with broken and missing parts . The plastic thread in wing bolts that hold the legs in were not all there and one was broken . The box it came in was beat up pretty bad and Looked like it had been opened before and taped back shut . I believe the camp chef stove is a really good product. But I’m not happy about the bad pieces
