Portable Grills

A portable grill fails in only a few predictable ways, and none of them show up in a product photo. It is too heavy to carry from the car to the picnic table. It needs a table that the campsite does not have. It burns through small propane cylinders faster than the cooler empties. Or its cooking surface is sized for two people while six are standing around waiting for burgers. The grills below are sorted by the question that actually decides the purchase: where will it stand, what will it burn, and how many people will it feed?

The twelve picks cover the honest shapes of the category. Stand-up propane carts from Weber and Coleman bring their own legs and wheels, so they work on grass, gravel and parking lots without a table. Tabletop gas grills from Weber, Cuisinart and Char-Broil trade cooking area for a body that rides in a trunk and sets up on any flat surface. Charcoal options from Weber cover the campers who want real fire and do not mind tending it. A Pit Boss pellet tabletop and a Camp Chef flat-top system stretch the category for campers who want smoke flavor or breakfast-for-a-crowd cooking from the same box. Every pick is sold on Amazon, and every output and area figure is the maker or listing rating, not a tested claim.