Update: Field Kitchen Project
While at Overland Expo 2013, I made sure to check out as many camp kitchens as I could. I knew that I wanted a proper chuck box for my own kitchen setup, and I really needed to get one prior to moving forward with that ongoing project. There wasn’t much point in buying things that weren’t needed, or wouldn’t fit, until I had made my selection, and that had stalled progress on the project for a few months.
The Kanz Field Kitchens were very appealing to me, but I simply couldn’t justify the expense. The bare field kitchen with the optional legs and cover would cost close to $900! And that’s before shipping costs. It was just too much for me to even attempt to rationalize.
There was another vendor on hand at the Expo, however, called My Camp Kitchen. They offered a similar chuck box style in their Outdoorsman model, for about half the price of the Kanz models. Instead of being mostly metal as the Kanz kitchen boxes are, the MCK models are almost entirely wood. I preferred the metal myself, but again they were simply out of my price range. Wood would do.
I was able to inspect the MCK Outdoorsman and other models firsthand and I liked what I saw. They were pretty much just what I was looking for in terms of forma factor, quality, durability, etc. As an added bonus, everyone at the My Camp Kitchen tent was very friendly and I came away favorably impressed.
After I’d returned from the big OX13 road trip and settled in, I did some more research and pondering before deciding that I’d go ahead and order an Outdoorsman. I initially planned to order it in kit form, which was available as a money-saving option. It was at this time however that I discovered that MCK was having a big sale on an Outdoorsman package. Basically, for the price of a regular, assembled and finished Outdoorsman ($450-ish) you also got the protective cover, two counter top extensions, and shipping included. This was a really good deal, saving around $200, so I jumped at the opportunity and placed my order.
With the order placed on a Friday afternoon, I then exchanged a few nice emails with the folks at MCK who had asked if I wouldn’t mind if my order shipped on Tuesday instead of Monday. I thought that was very gracious of them to ask, and I told them it wouldn’t be a problem. They shipped the box out on Tuesday as promised and it arrived the following Friday afternoon. The box was thoughtfully packaged and arrived undamaged.
My initial impressions with the Outdoorsman are very favorable – with a few minor nitpicks. The workmanship, fit and finish are excellent. I expect this box to last a very long time. It’s far superior to anything I could have built myself!
I did note that there appeared to be a filled-in knot hole on one of the pieces of wood at the front. I kind of like it, as it gives some character to the otherwise plain Baltic birch plywood used throughout, but I imagine that not everyone would be happy about it.
Also, there’s a simple wood “cross” that holds the counter extension neatly against the back of the box. This piece is held on by a single, small screw that had barely entered the wood of the box. I tugged on it at one point and it pulled right off. Since I’m not normally planning to use the extensions anyway, I just left it off, but a proper repair (with perhaps a small bolt instead of the wood screw) would be a simple fix.
Those exceptions aside, I’ve found the Outdoorsman to be sturdy & well-built. The fold-down front becomes a useful counter top and it seems quite durable, and I was pleased that it has almost no play in it when used as a work surface. It’s a great place to chop vegetables & do meal prep, with everything handy in the drawers and shelves of the box.
You could place a 2-burner Coleman stove like mine on the counter, or on top of the kitchen box, but I don’t plan to. For one thing, I don’t want spills and grease spatters getting all over the box. For the most part, I intend to keep cooking on our ALPS Mountaineering camp table as we have in the past, with the Outdoorsman set up on its legs close at hand. This will free up a lot of room on the table.
In my case, the Outdoorsman replaces a large plastic bin that I had been using to store most of my kitchen gear. Some larger items, like my REI French press carafe, wouldn’t fit and were typically stuffed into the back of the Land Cruiser wherever they fit. The box also provides storage space for some food. My camp stove sets on top of it and is held in place by the vinyl cover for the Outdoorsman. All-in-all it’s heavier, larger, and more expensive than my previous setup, but at the same time it’s also more spacious, cleaner, and provides a neater, more convenient solution.
On a recent camping trip in the Sierra – the first real test for my Outdoorsman – we had a very large and solid picnic table at our campsite. I chose to set the Outdoorsman (sans legs) on one end of the table, and we still had plenty of room to cook, eat, and have a jerry can of water and more set up on the table. Chef Carrie and I were both happy with the box on this first outing.
Over time as I use the new chuck box, I’m sure that I’ll refine the contents and how they are arranged. One option is to move the dishes to the middle-bottom compartment and put my full stainless/clad cookware set in the larger compartment, but that cook set is way overkill for most of my trips, so we’ll see. I’ll keep you posted.