Overland Expo PNW: Portable Camp Kitchens

UPDATE: Craft Autoworks has continued evolving their product and has brought the price down from what I mentioned in this video. You can check it out on their website:

At Overland Expo PNW 2022, I didn't specifically go looking for portable kitchens. But these tend to catch my eye when I'm walking around. We took a look at few in last year's Expo coverage, and here are a couple more I found I hadn't seen before.

These don't come cheap but it's always interesting to see the various and innovative approaches to this universal camping need. Perhaps some ideas here may inspire your own DIY projects.

If you want to take a closer look at either:

Craft Autoworks Portable Kitchen System:

Overland Vehicle Systems Komodo Camp Kitchen:

(zero affiliation with either company...just showing you stuff I looked at)

More kitchen ideas in this video from Expo West last year:

Playlist of all my Overland Expo PNW 2022 videos:

Intro: (0:00)
Craft Autoworks Portable Kitchen: (0:37)
Overland Vehicle Systems Kumodo Kitchen: (3:45)
Conclusions: (6:48)

[softroadingthewest]

UPDATE: Craft Autoworks has continued evolving their product and has brought the price down from what I mentioned in this video. You can check it out on their website:

[tjkrueger]

At some point, we all have to take a step back and ask ourselves if we're trying to 'gear' ourselves into going outside, or if it's a worthwhile quality of life improvement. There's so much of this in overlanding right now, and we've lost sight of what camping is, which is messy, and not like the creature comforts of home. I've considered these setups but then I realize it's for something that accounts for maybe an hour of use each day on the trail/at camp. Where is this money better spent? I get the allure of having a self-contained chuck box transformer, but maybe that's a perfectly attainable weekender DIY project instead

[greybearadv]

Dude! If there is anyone who could DIY one of these camp kitchen deals, it’s you. Great content on this channel!

[boroberts]

Even though those are well out of my price range, its still great to see to get some DIY ideas, Thank you Donald!

[craftautoworks]

Awesome meeting you at PNW and we greatly appreciate the feature!

To address some of the thoughts you raised, we actually had a built in cook top on the left side in the first prototype of this but switched to the portable Gasone cook top for a number of reasons. It provided much more storage in the left compartment, the Gasone cook tops are dual fuel and can run off Butane or Propane, it lets the left panel be used as a prep area before you start cooking, and theres no risk of burning/melting the Molle bags if you close the lid on a cooktop thats still warm.

Regaridng the price, yeah, its alot. Just the material cost on the parts if you were to buy them yourselves (which isnt fully possible since the black ABS panels are all custom CNC cut) would run you $1000. Then factor in that these are hand made by us in Reno, NV with a 2 year and it adds up fast. The price listed on the website included shipping. We were actually selling these for $1495 as an Expo deal.

But to one commenters question of whether products like this are a want or a need, even we believe these are firmly in the want category. Nobody NEEDS a kitchen system running over a grand, but some people find use/benefit in it and for those folks we are proud to produce a quality product for them.

Again, thank you so much for the feature and feedback. We had a blast at the event meeting everyone and are looking forward to more in the future!

[LimitlessOverland]

That portable kitchen in the maxi case idea is fantastic! Definitely need to look into either making one or buying one. Thanks for creating the video!

[jurassicporkchop]

I like the first one the best, but no way would I pay that price. Great video.

[moreclips]

Wow what a perfect solution. Makes me rethink my clunky kitchen. Well done.

[BottleJackBuddy]

So many options! Thanks for putting this together!

[greedyg]

You nailed it when you said, these setups can help spur on ideas for us DIY guys. Especially at the listed prices. I can't believe the mark up on that craft autoworks unit, I'd guess under $500 in materials and that's at retail component pricing. Anyways thanks for sharing, I love to see new innovative ideas in this space.

[PatsTravels]

It is good to see companies innovating in this space. Even though both systems were very expensive, they may seed ideas for more affordable solutions to follow

[curiousidea]

I love that setup with the first one you showed. Can't afford it, but that one is ingenious.

[largemarge]

03:20
I appreciate the edits mid-sentencing!
Reducing a minute statement down to a half-minute... always a good idea.

[tuckerportlock]

I like the first one until I heard the price you could put one of those together yourself for well under 1000 the ovs is clever with the slide out griddle/burners but I agree they should’ve done a collapsible sink or something on the other side rather than a “backup” thanks for sharing I missed these at expo

[builtnotboughtoverland]

New Subscriber. Really appreciate your Overland product videos.
Personally I think the price is insane but OVS does make top quality products. The OVS 270 degree awning is the best overland product I ever purchased for the price. It appears that portable kitchen is built with the same quality.

[ricki]

I agree, I saw so many things at PNW Overland that were SO overpriced it was somewhere between hilarious and sad that people really thought they were worth the price they were publishing, while other things were well worth the asking price. I did see a couple of well built kitchens in the $600-$800 range that were modular and worth the price that intrigued me and might help empty my wallet...

[keeganbay]

pretty informative little video thanks!

[omyota]

Man that first one especially had me shaking my head. The guy talking about a bunch of stuff in bins being bad, but basically all he's done is put all that stuff in a fancier bin. Then heard the price and about fell over. I wish him success, I hope he makes a million, but it's not the product for me.

[SamanthaHAgastin]

Interesting to see. I know both systems. Have made the cost myself in a Pelican case. The combo unit is awesome because it is a chef kitchen in the outdoors. Cooking meat fish champignons with flame is a totally different taste. Succulent. It allows to grill veggies at the same time and cook rice on a burner. I use multiple pans to cook, grill, flame, burner is a major go for me. It's possible to cook a fish with potaoes and veggies, prepare coffee at the same time, by the river...
It is not for whom uses a single burner on a choping board.
Great video.

[yokeoutdoors]

Great video, some cool ideas for kitchen setups