SPECIFICATIONS

The Finbar Folding Fire Grate is manufactured by Innovations by Fin.

Web: http://www.finnovations.org/

Year of Manufacture: 2004
MSRP: U.S. $24.00

FIELD TESTING

TEST LOCATIONS

I used the Finbar Folding Fire Grate on a few overnight trips and several day hikes.  Terrain was variable, and included sandy beaches, river sandbars, bottomland hardwoods, and rolling hills.  I used the Finbar Folding Fire Grate in weather conditions ranging from clear and cool to hot and stormy.

FIELD USE

As described in the Finbar Folding Fire Grate Initial Report, the grate consists of three pieces of stainless steel tubing, and two stainless steel end braces. The pieces are riveted together in such a way that allows them to pivot when folding and also to interlock when in the open position.  The Finbar Fire Grate slides easily out of its nylon storage sleeve and sets up in just a few seconds. 

The detailed subject of cooking fires is rather beyond the scope of this report.  Briefly, I used two different cooking fires with the Finbar Folding Fire Grate.  On day hikes when I wasn't going to stay in any location long enough to watch a long burning fire, I used a simple cooking fire.  On overnights I used an established bed of coals for cooking.  

The difference is simple.  A simple cooking fire is made from small twigs that burn quick and hot.  Twigs are fed into this little fire as needed and once the water is hot or the food is cooked, the little fire is allowed to die out.  Once it dies out, there are few residual coals, and these can be stomped into the ground or covered with a little dirt.  It is, of course, preferable to wet the area thoroughly with water to make sure that the fire is out.

Cooking over an established bed of coals requires some advanced planning.  A good (but not necessarily large) fire is made and allowed to smolder down to hot coals.  The fire grate is then placed over this bed of coals and the pots on the grate.  

For either type of fire, the setup of the fire grate is the same.  A fire is established between two supports that will hold the fire grate above the fire in question.  The grate will then support pots of food, water, or any substance that the user wants to heat.  Raising or lowering the grate by using supports of various heights - be they logs, rocks, or mounds of soil or sand - allows the user to adjust the amount of heat received by the pots.  True cooking can be accomplished this way; anything from boiling to simmering to frying bacon and eggs.  

In order to evaluate the Finbar Fire Grate, I decided to apply it to simple cooking tasks like boiling water.  Using various pots, I discovered that all sizes were held easily by the grate.  Stability was a function of the supports.  If the supports were stable, the fire grate was stable.  At one point I heated a can of beef stew - still in the can - on the fire grate, which proved to me that the fire grate was capable of handling even very small pots.  All that is required is sliding them a little to one side.  The fire grate will even hold more than one pot at a time.  Up to three if the sizes of the pots are right.  The fire grate will sag slightly under pots with a lot of water in them, and while I didn't test the upper limit of this, there is some upper limit that the fire grate will hold.  

Having satisfied myself that the Finbar Fire Grate was useful for the simple tasks, I decided to do something elaborate. Hijacking a buddy of mine for an overnight I brought some extra delights with me.  While I still need to find a decent frying pan for trail carry, but I brought along an old aluminum fry pan in order to try the Finbar Fire Grate for fancy cooking.  After a long, hard, hungry day of tramping in the swamp, I broke out my kit and started a fire.  I slid the Finbar Fire Grate out of its case and he said, "What's that, some kind of weapon?"  

"Nope.  It's a stove."

"That is a stove?"

"Yep."

He smirked and said, "This I've got to see." 

I took a flourishing bow and snapped the fire grate into shape.  Using the fire grate and the fry pan, I sautéed an onion and started frying up some burgers.  My hiking buddy nearly went into conniptions from the smell of it, and when I told him that one of them was for him he abandoned his alcohol stove, sat on a log, and drooled.  I slid the fry pan off the grate and then used the grate to toast the two hamburger buns I had carefully stashed in the top of my pack early that morning.  Sliding the burgers and onions off onto the buns, I added a few twigs to my coals, put the fry pan back on the grate, threw in the few ounces of peanut oil I had brought, popped open a Ziploc bag and brought out two potatoes already cut into strips.  Tossing them into the hot pan they sizzled nicely until golden brown.  I added a dash of salt and before we were done with our burgers, we had fries to go along with it.  Putting the fry pan aside, I added a few more twigs, borrowed his pot and boiled water.  Coffee for him and tea for me.  On either side of the pot I placed two wrapped packages of aluminum foil, flipping them regularly.  By the time the burgers and fries were gone, the coffee and tea were ready, and I unwrapped my aluminum foil package to reveal a hot Hubig's apple pie.  His was cherry, which I know is his favorite.  

In all of this the Finbar Fire Grate performed admirably.  I moved it off the fire with a stick and allowed it to cool.  Once cool I folded it back up and slid it back into its case.  The next day my pack was a lot lighter, but carrying the extra weight of all that food for one day was worth the burgers and fries.  On the following evening I used the Finbar Fire Grate to make tuna-mac, which is simply had by mixing a pack of tuna with macaroni and cheese.  Hot tea and coffee were also made, and my previously skeptical friend was skeptical no more.

There is one downside to the Finbar Fire Grate, and that is the soot.  Black soot will collect on the cooking pots and the fire grate itself.  Using hardwoods like oak and ash for the cooking fire will alleviate this somewhat.  Using pitch heavy woods like pine will make it much worse.  I have been cooking with wood for some time, though, and this isn't a difficult problem to overcome.  Pots go into their own bags, and the fire grate slips into its own case.  This keeps soot off the rest of my gear.  When I get home I simply spray everything with Easy-Off Oven Cleaner and put it all through the dishwasher.  It comes out like new.  

TESTING STRATEGY

I will use the Finbar Folding Fire Grate for all my backcountry cooking through the test period.  I have several trips planned and I should have plenty of testing opportunity.  

SUMMARY

THINGS I LIKE

1.  Very light compared to other grates I have used.
2.  Folds up compactly and slips inside a pack readily.
3.  Quite sturdy.

THINGS I DON'T LIKE

1.  Nothing to report at this time.  

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

I have prepared a list of additional resources for those wishing to learn more about cooking with wood fires and other fire making and fire starting resources that are beyond the scope of this report.  This is hosted on my own hiking website and is not a part of this report.

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Thank you for your time.

Shane Steinkamp
shane@theplacewithnoname.com
www.theplacewithnoname.com/hiking