Head to your local camping store and surely you will be greeted by a multitude of different camp cooking devices: rapid boilers, folding stoves, grills, ovens, even some that will fit inside the pocket of your jacket! What if I told you, however, that the best camp cooking device (for the overlander) wasn’t there? What if there was one cooking product that could do it all? Pizzas, fajitas, burgers, steaks, eggs, bacon…all without the need of pots and pans! Well, that product actually does exist, and it is called the Tembo Tusk Skottle.
Per Tembo Tusk:
The history of the Skottle comes from the South African farmer and finding a secondary use for old harrow discs by turning them into an outdoor cooking utensil they could use while out in the fields. The Skottle caught on with the public in the 1940s and 50s and is now synonymous with grilling in South Africa.
Per our own research, our Mexican neighbors to the South have also rigged up this ingenious cooking device from recycled farm equipment however they refer to it as a “Discada” and have a dish which bears the same name. It doesn’t really matter which country came up with it first, but it does matter that it is the best cooking device you can buy. Let’s explore why.
First of all, it is all-inclusive and self-contained. The device is stored in two vinyl-coated polyester bags with mil-spec webbing reinforcement (sold separately). One bag houses the tripod legs and the other stores the skottle disc, the propane burner, multiple camp propane bottles, and room to spare for certain accessories (like the skottle table top or cooking lid). The bags are very well made and are constructed by our friends at Blue Ridge Overland Gear. The skottle is all-inclusive in that no other devices are needed – no pots, no pans, no extra clean up!
Secondly, the device is extremely rugged and extremely simple. Modern camping stoves are notoriously cheap and have a tendency to fall apart. The skottle itself has nothing on it that could fail. Three steel tripod legs attach to the bottom using eye bolts. The skottle itself is a simple disc with a bracket to hang a single propane burner. That’s it! Theoretically the burner could fail, but that would be attributable to the stove manufacturer and not Tembo Tusk. In such an unlikely scenario, the skottle could be placed over a flame to cook in an emergency. In that regard, it is fail-proof. One device, self-contained, that will not let you down.
Further, the skottle is versatile. With a traditional camping stove, you are typically limited to simple dishes and you have to cram them into the tiny titanium pans that end up charred to the point that Kingsford could put them in a bag and sell them. With the Tembo Tusk skottle, you can feed groups big or small and you will eat better food. The cooking surface comes pre-seasoned and gets better over time as the juices from your meals soak into the metal (similar to a dutch oven or cast iron frying pan). The skottle also measures in at 18 inches across – that is a surface area of almost 255 in²! Tasty food, gourmet dishes, room to feed big groups. What else could you ask for?
Accessories…you could ask for accessories. Sure, it cooks well, it is simple, it is rugged, but can I add to it to make it even better? Of course you can, and Tembo Tusk has you covered. Want to steam veggies on it? You can do that with the help of the steam tray. Want to use it as a camp table when you aren’t cooking on it? Opt for the logo emblazoned table top. Need a cover to help melt that cheese or add flavor to your burger buns? Pick up the extreme duty skottle lid. Want to cook in raging winds? You can do that, too, just snag a wind shield.
Tembo Tusk doesn’t want to sell you good products; they want to sell you the best products. Products you trust. Products you won’t leave home without. Believe me – the skottle is one of those products. Get yours today, and see what the hype is about. I promise you will not be disappointed.
For transparency, we would like to note that Tembo Tusk is a sponsor of ours however our skottles themselves were purchased at full retail price. Our review is 100% unbiased and we will not put our name on something or stand for it if we don’t believe in it. We hope you enjoy your skottle as much as we enjoy ours!
Head over to OffroadNC and read more of the review here