This Affordable Cooler-Sized Box Turns into a Full Camping Kitchen

There are plenty of ways to cook at the campsite. You can cook with cast iron over a campfire the old-fashioned way, you can bring along a camp stove or portable grill for a more elevated experience, and for the ultimate homestyle cooking outdoors, you can buy a camper with a built-in kitchen.

Obviously, that last option is cost-prohibitive for most people. But a pair of outdoor brands have come up with a far more affordable take on an all-inclusive camping kitchen. And the best part, besides the price, is it’s small enough to fit in the front seat of your car.

Cinch x Wild Land

Cinch x Wild Land Kitchen Cruiser

• $449 at Kickstarter
  $699 (36% off)

Make camp cooking a Cinch

The new product comes from a team-up between outdoor gear brand Cinch, which is best known for its innovative tents, and outdoor product manufacturer Wild Land.

It’s called the Kitchen Cruiser, and it makes off-grid cooking a breeze. When packed up, the Cruiser somewhat resembles a cooler — and is roughly the same size as one. The black box made of space-grade aluminum measures 22.2 inches wide, 15.9 inches deep and 18.7 inches tall. While slightly taller, that’s a smaller footprint than a Yeti Tundra 45 cooler.

Cinch x Wild Land

The Cruiser weighs 43 lbs, so although I wouldn’t classify it as a featherweight, it’s still light enough for a single person to carry, aided by a pair of handles on either side.

Once at the campsite, the box unfolds in less than a minute to showcase a surprising amount of utility. First, unfold the four metal legs from the bottom to get the box off the ground. Next, unfold the sides to create a prep table on the right and a sink station on the left.

Pull up the top to create a shelf that doubles as a windguard for the stove, then open the bottom cabinet to unload the accessories needed to set up your sink and stove. And just like that, you’ve got an entire outdoor kitchen from an impossibly small container.

The Cruiser’s stove is a single burner that runs on propane, and there’s a dedicated spot where you can easily clip in a gas can. The sink consists of a detachable basin and a faucet powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. You just insert the included hose from the base of the faucet into a container full of water and the faucet will pump running water into the basin at the press of a button.

The box’s cabinet isn’t just for storing your sink and stove parts, either. It also has two drawers with organization for utensils, knives and cutting boards (not included), meaning the Cruiser effectively contains everything you need for your camping kitchen.

Cinch x Wild Land

Pricing and Availability

With a propane stove, running water, prep table and storage all in one compact package, you might think you’d be looking at a four-figure price tag for the Kitchen Cruiser.

But Cinch and Wild Land have managed to keep the product shockingly affordable. The camp kitchen-in-a-box is now raising funds on Kickstarter (don’t worry, it’s already smashed its goal), and the Early Bird price of $449 will secure you your very own Kitchen Cruiser. If you wait until the end of the campaign, the MSRP of the box goes up to $699, which still ain’t half bad.

As of this writing, there are six days left in the campaign, with the first Kitchen Cruisers expected to make their way to customers as early as September 1, meaning you could potentially be cooking in style at the campsite before summer’s end.

Cinch x Wild Land

KICKSTARTER PROJECT

Cinch x Wild Land Kitchen Cruiser

Easily bring an entire kitchen to the campsite with this compact box that unfolds to unveil a single-burner stove, a sink with running water, a prep table and more.

• $449 at Kickstarter
  $699 (36% off)

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