A fire pit keeps your fire off the ground, but you still need something to cook on. The Kings Camp Fire BBQ Plate is a simple answer: a steel plate on folding legs, with a grill on one half and a hotplate on the other. I paid about $60 for it, and we’ve used it on many trips across the Hunter Valley and up the Mid North Coast: over camp fires, over the fire pits you get at campgrounds and, when there isn’t one, over our own Kings Portable Steel Fire Pit.
What You’re Getting
A black coated steel BBQ plate with two fold-out leg frames and a green canvas bag. About half of the plate is an open mesh grill and the other half is a solid hotplate. A raised lip runs around all four sides, so sausages don’t roll off the edge.
Kings sells the plate on its own and as part of many of its bundle deals.
The good
- Grill and hotplate in one
- Raised lip on all four sides keeps food on the plate
- Legs fold flat for packing
- Canvas bag included
- Works over camp fires and fire pits
- Big enough to cook for a family
The not-so-good
- Quite heavy at 5 kg
- Big surface: doesn’t fit in our drawers
- Only worth packing when campfires are allowed
Quick Specs
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| Brand | Adventure Kings |
| Model | AKTA-BBQ_PLT |
| Weight | 5 kg |
| Size | 590 × 440 mm |
| Height | 270 mm with the legs out |
| Cooking surface | Half grillHalf hotplate |
| Material | Coated steel |
| Storage | Canvas bag |
Setting it up
There’s nothing to put together. The two leg frames are folded flat under the plate, and you swing them out and stand the plate over the fire. With the legs out it stands 270 mm high. Kings says it’s best used over coals or an open fire.
We’ve used it over camp fires and over the standard fire pits you get at campgrounds. When there isn’t one, we use our portable Kings fire pit. The plate is 590 × 440 mm, so it covers the pit with room to spare, but the legs are just too short to reach the ground over it. We let the whole plate rest on the edges of the fire pit, which works fine.
Cooking on the grill and the hotplate
What I really like about this plate is that it’s a grill and a hotplate in one. The grill half lets the flames come straight through, which is what you want for a capsicum or anything you’d like some char on. The hotplate half is for food that would fall through or stick to a grill, and it keeps the fat on the plate and out of the fire.
We cooked chicken thighs on the hotplate with a capsicum over the flames next to them, and warmed a wrap on the grill to go with it. There’s enough room on the plate to cook a whole dinner at once.
Long tools help, because the flames come up through the grill. We used the tongs and spatula from the Kings BBQ Tool Set.
Packing it away
The legs fold back under the plate and the whole thing slides into the canvas bag, which closes with a hook-and-loop flap. I highly recommend using the bag. Even after a proper clean, the plate is still sticky here and there after a big grill session, and it leaves black marks on whatever it touches. I wouldn’t want to carry it without one.
It folds pretty flat, but it’s still a big surface and quite heavy: 590 × 440 mm of steel that weighs 5 kg. It doesn’t fit in our drawers, so we normally put it behind our seats, where the rooftop tent ladder goes as well.
Because of the size, it doesn’t live in the car permanently. I only take it on trips when I’m sure we’ll get to use it, which means campfires have to be allowed where we’re going. Otherwise it’s a bit of an annoyance to have in the car.
Conclusion: Kings Camp Fire BBQ Plate
The Kings Camp Fire BBQ Plate does one job and keeps it simple: a grill and a hotplate side by side, on legs that fold flat, with a bag to carry it in. It’s a big surface and quite heavy at 5 kg, so we only bring it when we know we can have a fire, but then it gives you plenty of room to cook. I paid about $60 for it, and it has come along on many trips across the Hunter Valley and up the Mid North Coast. If you already have a fire pit, it’s an easy way to turn it into a BBQ.
Half mesh grill, half solid hotplate, on legs that fold flat.
It’s 590 × 440 mm, stands 270 mm high and comes with a canvas bag. It’s big and quite heavy at 5 kg, so it doesn’t live in our car, but it gives you plenty of room to cook over a fire.
- 4WD tourers
- Families
- Groups
Yes, if you cook over a fire often. For about $60 you get a grill and a hotplate with enough room for a family dinner, and it packs flat in its own bag. It’s a big thing to carry around unused, so we only pack it when we know campfires are allowed. If you only want to grill for one or two, a smaller folding grill takes less space.
