Unless I am at a campsite where I’m planning on sticking around for a few days, I don’t want to put a ton of effort into cooking. If I didn’t know it would taste so horrible, I might just heat up a hot dog with a lighter.
That being said, I want something quick and efficient to cook me something premier, trailside. Sadly, you can’t grill in a Jetboil. In fact, as much as I love a good backpacking stove, they’re not meant to grill anything, really. Not without some homegrown ingenuity and, usually, a big mess.
Making matters a little more complicated are regulations over fires in the outdoors. Unless there’s an established fire pit, you may not be allowed to make one. I always check with a park ranger to get that info. And too often, I’m forced into renting a fire ring and buying firewood.
That’s about seven layers deeper than any of us want to be when we’re looking to quickly char some grub after a day of adventuring.
And don’t even get me started on charcoal.
Enter Ignik’s FireCan Deluxe Fire Pit & Grill. And before you say anything, no, it’s not the right choice for backpacking. But if you’re heading into the great outdoors to hang around and enjoy yourself, this stove, which doubles as a portable heater, might be exactly what you need.
In short: Ignik’s FireCan Deluxe is a compact and easy-to-carry fisherman’s friend or a tailgating grill built for two. It’s faster than starting a traditional fire. It’s at least as easy as carrying around a double-burner propane camping stove. And it’s also effective as a fire pit that comes in handy on cold days or nights when you’re camped out and need a heat source.
- Specifications:
-
Dimensions
12” x 6” x 7.5” -
Weight
13.8 lbs. -
Capacity
4 hot dogs or 2 burgers -
Fuel type
Propane -
Heat output
38,000 BTUs -
Price
$300 (add $150 for Gas Growler Deluxe)
-
Efficient in both modes -
Well-built and worth the investment -
Gas Growlers are adaptable to other camping stoves. -
Easy to transport
-
The lid doesn’t stay in place when open -
It’s easy to burn yourself in grilling mode -
Requires a long match or long-neck lighter
Ignik FireCan Deluxe Grill & Fire Pit: What Is It?
The FireCan Deluxe is the size of a military ammo can (12 x 6 x 7.5 inches). Compact and durable, it’s designed for quick and easy setup and operation. The FireCan Deluxe has two modes, which work independently of each other: a fire pit or a grill. Both are fantastic in how efficiently they can warm you up or cook a burger.
The FireCan Deluxe sits on four legs that elevate it off the ground and make it safe to use in almost any setting. So, in terms of where you might take it when you’re out and about, rest assured that the fire is contained within the unit itself.
For fuel, the FireCan Deluxe can use any propane tanks that are 5 pounds and larger. Ignik sells its own Gas Growler series, which comes in 5-pound, 10-pound, and 11-pound capacities. Each of these propane tanks has an available carrying case. That not only makes the tanks easier to carry but can also insulate them for efficiency on chilly days and nights.
These tanks are designed to work with a majority of camp stoves on the market. And unlike those green propane bottles we all know and love, the Ignik FireCan Deluxe Gas Growlers are truly refillable.
What’s the Difference Between a FireCan and a FireCan Deluxe?
If there’s a deluxe model, there needs to be a base model, right? And there is.
The difference between the FireCan and FireCan Deluxe is that the Deluxe adds the ability to use it as a grill. Ignik added a grill insert as well as a grill grate and drip tray.
The standard model cannot be adapted to the Deluxe model based on the way it works as a grill. (However, there is nothing stopping you from putting a hot dog on a stick and roasting it over an open FireCan fire.)
First Impressions
It’s obvious that a lot of thought went into the design and build of the FireCan Deluxe. I wouldn’t call it heavy, but it is robust. I like the fact that the drip tray, grill grate, and regulator hose all fit inside the can. It makes for easy transport and storage. For something designed to be carried to remote locations, that’s clutch.
Now, you can’t store a 5-pound propane tank inside something the size of the FireCan. But Ignik thought through that as well and sent along the Deluxe Gas Growler to test with it.
The Deluxe version of the gas growler comes in a dual-purpose carry bag. That makes for easy carrying and protects the tank from bangs and bruises. The carry bag also insulates the tank, so there’s no disruption in operation in cold weather.
When I first heard about the FireCan Deluxe, I thought it was going to be the next best thing for tailgating. I won’t say I was wrong. But it’s a little undersized for cooking for more than two people. So it might not be the best for that scenario. For some good tailgating options, check out these awesome (slightly larger) portable camp grills.
Still, fishermen and hunters should take a close look at the Ignik FireCan Deluxe Fire Pit & Grill. Because it could just be a game-changer for truckside, waterside, and trailside cooking.
Top Places to Use the FireCan
- Canoe or rafting trip
- Ice fishing
- Fishing
- Car camping
- Ski area camping
- On the beach
- At your vehicle after a day of hunting
- Tailgating for two
- At a picnic in a park
Testing the Ignik Firecan Deluxe Grill & Fire Pit in the Field
Something should be said about how easy it is to set the FireCan Deluxe up, and how efficiently it grills food and keeps you warm. But the two can’t really happen at the same time.
At first, I was a little annoyed by this because I thought it would complicate things. But I was totally wrong. By design, and so as not to turn whatever you’re grilling into a charcoal briquette, the FireCan’s burners function differently in grilling mode than they do in fire pit mode.
Grilling mode gives you a nice and tight blue flame — what you would expect from any propane grill. Fire pit mode is a little more obvious and produces a larger, dancing flame. I chose the word “obvious” because there’s a bit of a disclaimer here, and if I could make this next text flash in neon on your screen, I would.
The Ignik FireCan Deluxe Gets Wicked Hot
In both modes, this thing gets skin-sizzling-with-just-a-tap hot. In fire pit mode, however, this is way more obvious than in grill mode. You can see the larger flames clearly. In grill mode, it’s a little harder to tell how ferociously hot the FireCan Deluxe gets.
Additionally, if you decide to use the lid when you’re grilling (you can’t when you’re using the FireCan Deluxe as a fire pit), it’s cumbersome to open and will not stay open. That requires you to remove it completely. I burned my hand in a nanosecond trying to remove the lid. I would highly recommend grilling without the lid or wearing grilling gloves.
The positive to this negative is that the FireCan Deluxe grills food incredibly fast. In the first test run, I kept it simple and grilled up some hot dogs for my kids. From setup to bun, the whole situation took 5 minutes. In 30 years of grilling, camping, and eating food in general, whatever, I have never grilled anything that fast and that well.
Also, with the built-in regulator on the quick-connect hose, you can adjust the flame for cooking and heating.
Sourcing the Propane
More and more propane filling places are switching over to propane tank exchange centers. That could make filling the recommended 5-pound propane tank Gas Growler a challenge depending on where you are, geographically.
With this grill, it might be a good idea to check ahead and make sure there’s somewhere you can refill near your camping spot. Or, bite the bullet and just use the 20-pound propane tank used for regular-size grills. It’s more to carry. But it also gives you a heck of a lot more burn time.
The Ignik FireCan Deluxe: Conclusion
I think anyone who’s heading into the outdoors to do something (almost anything) other than backpacking will find the Ignik FireCan Deluxe Fire Pit & Grill to be a welcome addition to their experience. It’s easy to set up and easy to use. It’s compact. And it’s technically self-cleaning — when you throw it into fire pit mode, it burns off any of the gunk that escaped the grill insert.
The FireCan Deluxe wasn’t exactly what I expected. But, it impressed me nevertheless. There are a lot of situations and activities where this little ammo box grill and fire pit will come in useful.
