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DEAL WATCH: Keurig K-Express | 22% off $69.99

Keurig has changed the face of coffee, and snagging one of these for less than $70 is a solid deal. Read Review

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  • Introduction

  • Product Tour

  • Controls

  • Main Grilling Area

  • Side Areas

  • Overview

  • Heatup Time

  • Low Fire Cooking Performance

  • Low Temperature Uniformity

  • Low Temperature Consistency

  • High Fire Cooking Performance

  • High Temperature Uniformity

  • High Temperature Consistency

  • Case & Handle Temperature

  • Controls

  • Fuel

  • Lighter/Ignition

  • Cooking Area

  • Warming Area

  • Other Areas

  • Cleanup

  • Overview

  • Performance

  • Usability

  • Introduction
  • Product Tour
  • Controls
  • Main Grilling Area
  • Side Areas
  • Overview
  • Heatup Time
  • Low Fire Cooking Performance
  • Low Temperature Uniformity
  • Low Temperature Consistency
  • High Fire Cooking Performance
  • High Temperature Uniformity
  • High Temperature Consistency
  • Case & Handle Temperature
  • Controls
  • Fuel
  • Lighter/Ignition
  • Cooking Area
  • Warming Area
  • Other Areas
  • Cleanup
  • Overview
  • Performance
  • Usability

Introduction

Product Tour

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The RoadTrip has a simple, straightforward design, but the stand is awkward to fold up for carrying.

Controls

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Main Grilling Area

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Side Areas

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Overview

Good performance at low temperatures, but this grill struggled to produce consistent high temperatures.

Heatup Time

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The {{product.model}} was fairly quick to heat up, taking 4 minutes and 50 seconds to reach our low fire test temperature of 325°F, and 4 minutes and 17 seconds to reach the high fire test temperature of 625°F

Low Fire Cooking Performance

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We found that this grill performed well in our cooking test, where we test how long a number of hamburger patties will take to cook. We found that these would take just under 9 minutes to cook. We did find that there was some difference between the time for each patty to cook, though, with the quickest taking under 8 minutes, while the longest took just under 10 minutes.

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Low Temperature Uniformity

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We also measure the temperature at several points across the cooking grate, and look at how uniform the temperature is across the grate. Here, we found that the temperature varied somewhat, especially between the two sides of the grill, with the grate side getting rather hotter than the other side.

Low Temperature Consistency

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Although the temperature was not that consistent across the cooking grate, we did find that it did not vary much over time: the temperature over our 15 minute test period only varied by a small amount, which should lead to consistent cooking.

High Fire Cooking Performance

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When we cranked up the controls to set the grill to cook at high temperature, we found that our test food (a number of meat patties equally spread over the surface of the grate) was cooked very quickly, taking just under 8 minutes to cook all of them. The patties were also all cooked at an equal speed, so everything should be ready at once.

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High Temperature Uniformity

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We found poor uniformity across the cooking grate on this grill running at our high fire temperature, with the variation across the grill being somewhat wider than we like to see.

High Temperature Consistency

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Although the temperature was rather variable across the grate, it did not vary much over time, with the temperature remaining fairly constant over the 15 minutes that we run the test. This means that your food won't be subject to any major changes in temperature and should cook evenly.

Case & Handle Temperature

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Grills get hot, but a good grill should try and keep the heat inside the case. We found that while the temperature of the handle remained cool, the case itself got extremely hot, reaching a scorching 582°F at maximum, which is hot enough to cause serious burns. So, this grill should be used very carefully.

The image below was taken with an infrared camera to show the heat levels of the lid. The numbers at the bottom indicate the temperature scale.

Controls

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The {{product.name}} has just two controls: one dial for each of the burners, and an ignition button alongside these. These are easy to use, and the lighter was reliable.

Fuel

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The {{product.model}} burns propane gas, which is stored in a small 16 oz propane cylinder that connects to the included regulator and clips onto the back of the stand. A standard 20lb propane tank can be used with an optional $25 adapter.

Lighter/Ignition

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The lighter is an electrical model that is triggered by the red button next to the control dials. We found this to be pretty reliable, usually lighting the gas with the first push.

Cooking Area

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The cooking area is an oval shape that is divided into two halves: a grill and griddle. These are created with two separate grates that can be removed and swapped over separately. An optional stove grate is also available that turns one of the burners into a stove grate, similar to the burner on your gas stove.

Warming Area

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There is no warming area on this grill.

Other Areas

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There are two additional preparation areas on the side of the grill in the form of two clip-on plastic wings. These are rather small, but offer enough space for a couple of plates to hold the food before or after cooking.

Cleanup

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Both of the grates are easy to lift off and remove for cleaning. They are made of aluminum, so they should not be cleaned in a dishwasher.

Overview

A portable grill that offers decent performance, but with a few quirks.

Performance

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We were impressed with the overall performance of this grill: it cooked our test dishes quickly, and produced consistent cooking heat. The heat was somewhat variable across the cooking grate, though, and that might make it difficult to cook some foods.

Usability

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The grill and stand folds down into a small space for transport and storage, but it is a little heavy at just over 41 lbs. The setup and tear down of the stand is a little awkward, and some users may struggle with the amount of force required. But it is a very portable, usable grill if you are looking for something with a good amount of cooking space that can be taken down and moved without too much hassle.

Meet the tester

Richard Baguley

Richard Baguley

Contributor

@@rbaguley

Richard Baguley is a veteran writer who has written about technology ranging from Alphabet to Zip file utilities. He has contributed to pretty much every major tech publication, including Amiga Format Magazine, PC World, Wired, CNET, Toms Guide, Forbes, and many others. He lives in the Boston metro area with his wife, dog, and an indeterminate number of cats.

See all of Richard Baguley's reviews

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