We've covered a few camp boxes like the Kanz Field Kitchen and My Camp Kitchen in the past. These boxes serve to organize all of a camper's cooking gear into one box, so as to keep everything easy to transport from garage to campground and prevent things from getting lost. The new Grub Hub is a similar concept but packaged in a softer, more portable package.
Unlike the aforementioned camp boxes, which are made from rigid materials like wood and aluminum, the Grub Hub is a semi-soft design. It uses an aluminum frame, fabric organizers and plastic tables. It looks more like a rolled suitcase than a camping box. It holds all of your kitchen gear, including pots, pans, stove, campfire grill and seasonings. It folds up into a portable package (36 x 24 x 14 in/91 x 61 x 36 cm) and has 6-inch "all terrain" wheels for easy rolling from car to campsite. Grub Hub USA estimates it weighs 45 pounds (20 kg) when loaded with gear.
At the campsite, the Grub Hub sets up in minutes. It has a central aluminum surface capable of supporting most dual-burner camp stoves, a side table for food preparation, a back table for dining, a kitchen sink, and plenty of space for storing and hanging other cooking gear. Its modular design lets you adjust shelves and set-up around your own cooking and organizational needs. The telescoping tower can hold a lantern for nighttime cooking and dining, and a paper towel holder and air-drying bags for dishes provide extra convenience. The included stakes can be used to keep it upright and stable in windy conditions.
Inspired by a boating trip on Utah-Arizona-straddling Lake Powell, inventor Joe Baughman spent the past eight years tinkering around with his design, getting patents and bringing it to market. Last fall, he completed the journey, shipping the first units to consumers.
"The product’s goal is to provide a totally functional camp kitchen system with the highest level of portability possible," Baughman said in a press release. "It is compact and portable enough to fit in any car and sets up in about three minutes, yet at the same time, provides the features needed for sustainable expedition camping."
I've been on several camping trips where a lack of table space was a real problem. Not having space to prepare food resulted in liquids spilling, food taking a nosedive into the dirt, etc. While you could solve that problem with a cheap folding camp table, the Grub Hub provides a more complete, organized cooking space and gear transport solution. It should make getting all your cooking gear to camp easier, and it will certainly make the campsite duties of cooking and cleaning dishes a little smoother. The integrated dining table is an added bonus.
Baughman says that prototypes spent more than 100 nights out in the wild with multiple testers. In addition to traditional car and family campers, he's marketing it at tailgaters, music festival goers, outdoor guides, overlanders/off-road enthusiasts and others.
The two main sentiments we've heard from readers when covering similar items are "I could build/have built that myself" and "way too expensive." The design here is a little different than the plywood boxes that DIYers might be accustomed to making at their home workshops, and its wheels should make it easier to transport in many situations. In terms of price, the Grub Hub is a little cheaper than the two other models we mentioned, starting at US$379. That price does not include equipment like the stove or cooking utensils, which are available for an extra cost.
Source: Grub Hub USA