Going to buy a griddle..

[Sephon]

So, I'm going to buy a griddle. I just don't know which one. I'm torn between the Camp Chef FlatTop 600 and a Camp Chef Pro 90x with the griddles.

With the extra griddles the Pro 90x is the most expensive, by a fair amount.

I will rarely travel with it, but I will travel with it. Probably once or twice a year.

I'm looking for feedback from people who have used one of the other, maybe traveled with the Flattop, or just advice in general.

Help me Pitmaster Club, you're my only hope.

[xaugievike]

I travel with my flattop stowed in my RV. Different model though, 22" Blackstone. obviously a different rig than what you're looking at....but size-wise it is plenty big enough to make more than the 3 of us can eat at once. looking at the 2 you've chosen - the frequency of travel, and how you're going to move it are probably the biggest considerations. the more travel matters, to my eyes the 90x looks easier to live with. But the more you're using it at home base, the sturdier the 600 looks.

[Spinaker]

No experience with either one of these. But I sure do love my Blackstone. I know Steve B has a 23" Blackstone, and that sucka is portable.

[Steve B]

I actually have the 17” BlackStone. But also got the carry bag and the table stand.
The stand is a little bit awkward to transport but very useful. The carry bag is a necessity. It makes carrying the griddle around so easy.
I don’t use it much but the times I have it definitely works well.
This is what I got.
Thought I had a pic of it on the stand but I don’t.

[Sephon]

Thanks for the replies.

How portable is the 36" Blackstone, for those that have it?

[geotek230]

I take mine camping and tailgating not to bad to travel with if you have the room the base folds to about a foot or less tall and then the top picks right off and the end shelves slid right out I love it

[PBCDad]

I have a Camp Chef Denali and I bought a 2-burner griddle to go with the 1-burner griddle it came with. It is very similar to the Pro 90X but without the side tables. I found it on CL for $175 and walked away with it for $125, then I got the extra griddle for my birthday. I really like the versatility of being able to use the (powerful) burners for stuff besides griddling, such as deep frying or stir fry with a wok. Although at times when I struggle a bit with the griddle placement I wish I had a dedicated flat top, and I mainly use it as a griddle, I'm still very happy with my choice.

We got it right before a camping trip, and I felt awesome cooking whatever we wanted and more. It is easy to assemble and disassemble, and it has feet that adjust for sloping sites which is really nice - where it stays in our backyard isn't level so I would have had to build something up for the 600.

If you plan to only use it as a griddle, go for the dedicated flattop. The burners are the pipe burners instead of the stove-type, so heat distribution will be better, and you won't have to ever mess with getting it level.

I'll also tag Frozen Smoke, we seem to be the two enthusiastic owners on this site though I'm sure there are others I'm not remembering.

[Spinaker]

Thanks for the replies.

How portable is the 36" Blackstone, for those that have it?

I absolutely love mine. Works great. Portable is an interesting term, the griddle top is pretty darn heavy. However, the legs do fold up pretty easily.

[Mr. Bones]

Agreed on all points! I could easily fold, stow, and/or transport, but I really need assist to remove/install th top, without damagin th Blackstone, or my dang self!

[DavidNorcross]

I have a Blackstone 36". Know folks who have other sizes. There is one cooker in my arsenal that will not go anywhere and that is the stone....love it.

[Mr. Bones]

Right there with ya, Brother! My 36" ain't goin away!

[Frozen Smoke]

I researched these for quite sometime. Dedicated flat tops and the camp stove set ups. At that time the Blackstone was getting ripped for it's poor grease drainage system but I think they have since remedied that.
The others I looked at was Camp Chef dedicated flat top and the Camp Chef Pro 90 X camp stove with griddles, the Blue Rhino dedicated flat top and the Big John's dedicated flat top.

The Big John's is a commercial propane portable flat top and is by far and away better quality than anything else I looked at but they will run you about $1500 I have one of their portable steam tables and know the quality which is why I considered it. In the end I didn't want to spend that much without first knowing how much use I would get from it. Of the others I looked at I nearly pulled the trigger on the Camp Chef dedicated flat top. Like I said the Blackstone was getting bad reviews and the Blue Rhino was new to the game and reviews were scant at the time but what I could find complained about quality.

We have a motor home and I do catering for private events so portability and versatility were both pretty important to me. For portability you won't beat the Camp Chef Pro 90 X which is what I wound up buying. The stove, both griddles, carrying bags for both griddles, a roller bag for the stove and a vinyl cover for if your stove sits outside ran about $500 total.

Not only have I not regretted this purchase over the other options after using it for about a year now I'm convinced it was the right choice and glad I didn't pick one of the others. The versatility is great being able to use it as a stove as well as a griddle or a combination of either. Plus you can buy a grill box for it as well and have a grill and a 12" griddle. I've made burgers on the griddle on one side of the camp stove with a stock pot of boiling water for sweet corn with the other griddle removed and using the burner. You won't do that with a dedicated flat top.

Another benefit that I didn't realize is you have two griddles that are separated from each other by the 1" or more high sides. So you can cook two things with out the flavors or grease getting intermingled. For example the wife and I love our eggs scrambled. Nice fluffy bright yellow scrambled eggs. If you cook them on the same griddle at the same time with bacon, sausage or other things you will get those dirty looking greasy eggs. Don't get me wrong they taste great but don't look the most appealing to the point where the wife won't eat them.

Camp Chef is also well known for their excellent customer service I don't think you can go wrong with anything from them. At the same time Blackstone has come a long way and are in the game to stay and have outpaced Camp Chef as far as accessories and add on's to their flat top.

Have fun with your decision making you will love griddle cooking!

[DavidNorcross]

Great post. While I cannot speak to the Camp Chef they do seem to be well built. I can say that have the front drain on my Blackstone and in my opinion it is a lot of hype over nothing. It is all about a level griddle and I believe that is key no matter what brand you own. I have had zero grease issues.

[Frozen Smoke]

You may have the Blackstone with the fix. When they first came out it was definetly a issue. There were a lot of you tube fix it vids for the problem. Blackstone corrected it rather quickly. You are right about leveling DavidNorcross actually I like my griddle leaning slightly forward kind of a natural drain. The Camp Chef has the adjustable feet so you can have it level or however you like it.

[Bluegill]

I have the BS 17" for camping and the 22" for the deck. Wouldn't trade them for nothing!

[Sephon]

Thanks everyone. I think I'm going to go with the Pro 90x with a two burner griddle and a 1 burner griddle.

[Frozen Smoke]

Thanks everyone. I think I'm going to go with the Pro 90x with a two burner griddle and a 1 burner griddle.

I think you made the right choice and make sure you let us know how you like it. When I received mine via UPS the box was in pristine condition so I figured everything inside had to be good. when i opened it up and started assembling the front aluminum plate where the burner controls are had a decent dent in it. Didn't affect function in the least ways but it was just one of those things that when you looked at it that was the first thing your eyes were drawn too. I almost just let it go but then decided to contact Camp Chef cs figuring they would want to know so they could tighten up quality control as it obviously left their facility this way.

They had me send them a pic and credited my card $40! Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick I say!! Here's what a $40 dent looks like.

[Sephon]

Wow, that's great service. Thanks for the advice on this. How do you like the cover?

[Frozen Smoke]

It's a good cover fairly heavy material. What I really like is it hangs down well below just the top of the stove it covers part of the legs as well. this makes it hard for the wind to get underneath it and blow it off. I only use mine when we are out camping and it sits outside our motor home at night. Otherwise it sits in the garage.

I am actually considering putting a hood vent that is vented outside in my garage so I can use this all winter. That's how much I like using this thing! Clean up is a breeze as well. Usually when you cook breakfast indoors you have 2 if not 3 dirty pans to clean afterwards. With the griddle I remove the food and shut it off and let it cool just a bit. Get a squeeze bottle full of water. Scrape off any big bits of food and grease with a bench scraper and dispose of the bits and grease. I have a #10 empty bean can handy for this.

Then squeeze water on the hot griddles scraping griddle with the water until it nearly evaporates and then wipe down with paper towels. I will usually do this twice. The water will remain almost clear after the second rime as the first time the steam raised all the food and grease to the top to be wiped down.

Then a light coat of oil rubbed and and your good to go for the next meal! These things season up nicely after use and the whole cleaning process becomes even simpler!

[Sephon]

Awesome! Now I'm excited.