Primus Kamoto Openfire Pit and Openfire Pan Review

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Primus Kamoto Openfire Pit

If you like to go camping, then it is imperative to know and understand the “Leave No Trace” principles.

1. Plan ahead and prepare
2. Travel and camp on durable surfaces
3. Dispose of waste properly
4. Leave what you find
5. Minimize campfire impacts
6. Respect wildlife
7. Be consider of other visitors

The new Primus Kamoto Openfire Pit and Pan ensures that you can enjoy the benefits of a campfire, while sticking to principles #1, 2, and 5!

Campgrounds typically provide adequate fire rings, however if you want to get off the beaten path to snag a quieter camp spot, the site may not offer a suitable fire ring to enjoy a campfire. The Primus Kamoto Openfire Pit is easy to transport in your car, truck, pop up tent, or van and takes less than a minute to set up for use. The Kamoto Openfire Pit ensures that you can enjoy a campfire responsibly and safely.

Primus Kamoto Openfire Pit Features and Specs

The Kamoto Openfire Pit is available in two different sizes:

• The larger version weighs 15.4 lbs with dimensions of 18.5″ x 2.4″ 25.6″ $149.95
• The smaller version weighs 13.4 lbs with dimensions of15.3″ x 2.4″ 20.9″, $129.95

We tested out the Primus Kamoto Openfire Pit in the smaller version and found the size to be perfect for a smaller campfire with 4-5 campers huddled around the fire for not only the ambience, but also the warmth that an open fire can provide. The pit is constructed from stainless and powder-coated steel which will prevent it from getting gunked up with rust after harsh weather conditions. The Primus Openfire Pit also includes a cooking grate, perfect for burgers, brats, etc.

The setup of the Kamoto OpenFire Pit is super simple. The pit has a hinge between the two platforms and when you lift one end up, the other goes up at the same time. The two sides of legs are very stable, which is a must in a fit pit.  One of the legs is attached to the bottom platform and one slides into to place on the other edge of the bottom platform. To take down the OpenFire Pit, all you need to do is make sure all the ash is out of the tray, and then remove the bottom tray and side trays, pull up and let it fold flat. When folded flat, it makes it great for transporting as well.

One thing that I wish they included with the Kamoto OpenFire Pit is a carry system. Since soot can get pretty messy on your hands and anything it touches, you have to be very careful not to let it touch anything. If you’re using the removable cooking grate that is included, getting burnt up food particles rubbed up against your gear is no fun, especially if you’re cooking anything greasy such as hot dogs or hamburgers. During our testing, we used a plastic garbage bag to store the pit and grate in after use, this prevented getting our other gear messy as well as the inside of our car.

Primus Kamoto Openfire Pan

The Kamoto Openfire Pan is the perfect partner to the Openfire Pit. Cooking food on the open fire adds to the camping experience and eases cooking, perfect for grilling, frying, etc. The Openfire pan features two handles along the side to carry the pan into position. The pan legs are removable and need to be screwed into place for each use. This adds to the set up but allows the legs to be more sturdy and save on space if they were foldable. Primus also notes that the legs have special lugs and threading to prevent debris from lodging into the attachment sites, which would be a major pain to deal with.

The Primus Openfire Pan is a three layers sandwiched together: aluminum is the core and stainless steel, top and bottom is the outer. This allows for the pan to be lighter weight, without losing durability or heat distribution when cooking.  We used a little olive oil for the veggies and meat for dinner, and butter for pancakes in the morning. A quick wipe down with a paper towel or rag and we couldn’t taste the flavors of the previous meal.

 

One word of caution is to let your fire burn for a little bit before you put Openfire Pan over the flame. We made this mistake the first time and the bottom was covered in heavy soot which made it a pain in the butt to clean after.  You will still get some soot on the bottom if you place the Openfire Pan on an existing fire, but it won’t be as bad as newly burning logs. We put it into a trash bag to keep the remainder of our car clean. The best option would be to place the Openfire Pan in a trunk storage or cargo box. Once broken down, it can be stored vertically or horizontally. As mentioned above, we’d love to see a rugged carry case to keep the Openfire Pan and Pit all together and without getting other gear griming (or prevent the dogs from licking them!). For more information on the Primus Kamoto Openfire Pit and Pan, please visit amazon.com/primus.