Name:	Thomas Peltier II
Age:	31
Gender:	Male
Height:	6' 0" (1.8 m)
Weight:	155 (70.3 kg)
E-mail Address:	Thomas@Goldenautomotive.com
City, State, Country:	Bakersfield, California, U.S.A.
Date:	04/12/2004

Backpacking Background:

I have been in the outdoors since I was a toddler. My mother introduced me to backpacking when I was in the backpack. I in good turn joined the Boy Scouts to get away from Mom on the weekend hikes. My first backpack trip with the Boy Scouts was down a dirt road to a park and campsite. That was my last trip with the Boy Scouts. Since then I have been backpacking mostly in the Sierra Nevada.

I have been a professional river guide and kayak instructor for the last 11 years; however, I currently work at a family establishment in Bakersfield, California. Working a "Real Job" keeps me away from the outdoors a bit more than I would like. My summers are busy between city work and river guiding. Much of my packing is done on the river in the summer. This has driven me to long winter trips and short summer trips for the last several years. I took up snowshoeing to help get into winter packing. I have found that less is often more in my backpacking and my summer trips I find myself as happy in a pair of Chacos carrying my pocketknife as I do with a heavy pack and big boots.

Product information:

Manufacture: Inovations by Finbar

Year of Manufacture: 2004

Manufacure URL: www.finnovations.org

Material Stainless Steel

Listed Size =
Actual Size: 18 in x 5.25 in
(45.7 cm x 13.3 cm)

Listed Weight: 8 oz
(227 g)

Actual Weight: 7.125 oz
(202 g)

Stuff Sack Actual Weight 0.125 oz
(3.54 g)

Total Actual Weight 7.25 oz
(206 g)

Physical Details:

This is a simple fire grate. Made from three pieces of stainless steel tubing and two connecting pieces. When folded the fire grate is 18.75 inches (47.63 cm) long, one inch wide and 0.25 inches (0.64 cm) tall laying flat on a table. The tubing is 1/4 inch (0.64 cm) O.D. (Outside Diameter) and hollow. The center connecting tube is crimped and folded at either end. Each outside tube is slotted and slid over their respective ends of the center tube. A stainless steel pin connects the tubing together. The connecting pieces are attached at the far end of each outside tube. The connecting pieces are 5 11/16 inches (175 cm) long gutter shaped pieces of stainless steel. They are also connected to the tubing at one end by a stainless steel pin 5.5 inches (14 cm) from the end. On the back there is a slot cut 0.25 inches (0.64 cm) from the end and approximately 0.75 inches (1.9 cm) long. From the closed position simple rotate both outside pieces of tubing outward approximately 5 inches (12.7 cm). Then rotate the connecting pieces all the way around until the slot fits over the center/outside tubing connection. Once both sides are connected the assembly is complete and you are ready for cooking. You need a fire and supports to rest the grate on but the grate is assembled.

The Finbar Fire Grate comes with a great nylon tube for storage. The tube is reinforced at both ends and the perfect length to protect other things in my pack from catching any soot that might be left on the fire grate.

Initial Thoughts

When extended the pieces connect together securely and feel solid. The assembled grate is quite rigid. As a preliminary test I pulled out a Weber BBQ and fired it up. I removed the grate and placed the Finbar Fire Grate across the top. I placed two 7-inch (17 cm) pots on top and filled them with water. The grate held up just fine. The fire and grate worked so well I decided to cook my dinner over the fire. Chicken Cordon Blue and Rice. Turned out very nice. The grate did it's job and held the pots in place. I really felt that the fire grate was stable on the top of my nice even perfectly symmetrical barbecue. I am excited to have an opportunity to test this grate in the back county with a campfire.

Test Plan

During the test period I plan to use the fire grate on backpacking trips into the Sierra Nevada, Piute and California Coastal Range mountains. I expect to test the grate during several weekend trips and at least one week long backpacking trip. The temperatures during which the Finbar Fire Grate will be used are between freezing and 90 F (32 C).

I am looking forward to seeing just how well the fire grate performs. How easy will it be to balance the fire grate around my cooking fire ring? The directions said that the fire grate might sag a bit. Will this sagging cause any trouble with cooking pots and balance? I would also like to use the fire grate with skewers. I want to see how well I can cook skewers of meat and vegetables. I want to see how well the joints hold up after many opening and closings.

I think the Finbar Folding Fire Grate shows great promise. The fire grate folds up small, is very light and promises to be a great solution for cooking over the fire. I have tried carrying fire grates in the past but I have never found one that was easy to pack and did not leave all of my gear black. I often use rocks and wet wood or skewers to cook over fire, but these solutions are difficult or not always available. The Finbar Fire Grate may be just the answer, I will tell you just how well the Finbar Folding Fire Grate is holding up and performing.

Tom Peltier

Read more reviews of Innovations by Fin gear
Read more gear reviews by Thomas Peltier II

Initial Report

All material on this site is the exclusive property of BackpackGearTest.org.
BackpackGearTest software copyright David Anderson