There comes a time in every RV owner’s life when we begin questioning the things we carry along on our travels. Sometimes it is something we haven’t used in years. Other times, it is something we use regularly, enjoy tremendously, and wouldn’t dream of leaving behind.
Until we have to lift it one more time.
That brings me to our Blackstone griddle.
We have a Blackstone Original 28-inch Griddle with Hood, and I will be the first to tell you that we love cooking on it. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, it doesn’t particularly matter. Give me a flat cooking surface, a couple of spatulas, and something good to throw on the griddle, and I am a happy camper.
But there is one little problem.
That thing weighs approximately 100 pounds!
Now, I know what some of you are thinking. We haul around a 45-foot fifth-wheel, a big diesel truck, and enough camping equipment to outfit a small expedition. What’s another hundred pounds?
Well, there is a considerable difference between hauling a hundred pounds down the highway and lifting that same hundred pounds in and out of an RV storage compartment.
And that, my friends, is where this particular Food for Thought journey begins.
When the Griddle Becomes Part of the Camping Experience
There is something about cooking outdoors that makes an ordinary meal taste just a little better.
Maybe it is the fresh air. Perhaps it is the smell of bacon drifting through the campground on a cool morning. Or maybe it is simply the pleasure of standing outside with a cup of coffee while breakfast sizzles away.
Whatever the reason, our Blackstone has become part of the experience.
One of the features I appreciate most about our 28-inch griddle is having two independently controlled cooking zones. I can have bacon sizzling on one side while preparing eggs or pancakes on the other. When dinner rolls around, I can turn up the heat for burgers while keeping another portion of the cooking surface a little cooler.
It is convenient, versatile, and familiar.
And there is something to be said for familiar.
After cooking on a seasoned steel griddle, you learn its personality. You know where the hotter spots are, how long it takes to warm up, and just how much pressure to put on that spatula when making a smash burger.
I am not particularly interested in giving up that experience.
What I would gladly give up is about sixty pounds!
Maybe a Smaller Blackstone Is the Answer
My first thought was simple enough. Why not replace our 28-inch Blackstone with the 22-inch model?
We would retain the flat-top cooking experience, have two cooking zones, and save some room in the RV.
Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?
Well, until I started looking at the weight.
Depending on the particular 22-inch model and accessories, the weight savings might not be nearly as impressive as I had hoped. A hood, stand, propane equipment, and everything else that accompanies the griddle can add up quickly.
I could certainly save some space, but would I really solve the problem that started this entire discussion?
Ugh!
Then I remembered our Presto electric griddle.
We already own one, and at approximately seven pounds, it is about as convenient as you could ask for. Plug it in, make breakfast, wipe it down, and put it away.
No propane bottle. No heavy steel cooking surface. No wrestling match getting it back into storage.
And yet, something about that solution bothered me.
There is nothing wrong with our Presto. It does exactly what we purchased it to do. But cooking on a lightweight electric griddle isn’t quite the same experience as standing behind a Blackstone.
Maybe I am making too much of this.
Then again, if you have ever made a batch of smash burgers on a properly heated steel griddle, you probably understand.
And Then Weber Entered the Conversation
I recently heard about Weber acquiring Blackstone Products.
Now, I have owned Weber grills through the years, and that name immediately caught my attention. It also sent me down another one of those research adventures that usually begins with one innocent question and ends with several browser tabs open.
You know the kind.
I started looking at the Weber Slate 17-inch Rust-Resistant Tabletop Griddle.
At approximately 42 pounds, it would represent a considerable improvement over our current Blackstone. It also offers a rust-resistant cooking surface, something worth considering when you spend as much time camping in different weather conditions as we do.
Moisture and steel aren’t always the best of friends, particularly when a griddle spends time in an RV storage compartment.
But the Weber Slate 17-inch has only one cooking zone.
I know, I know. There are only two of us, and we aren’t preparing breakfast for the entire campground.
Still, I like being able to cook at two different temperatures.
That led me back to Blackstone and its smaller 17-inch tabletop models.
At roughly 30 pounds for certain configurations, now we were getting somewhere!
A substantial reduction in weight, the familiar propane cooking experience, and a cooking surface that could handle most of our everyday meals.
But once again, there was that single cooking zone.
I began to wonder whether I was trying to find a smaller version of our current griddle or expecting a smaller griddle to do everything the larger one does.
Those are two very different things.
What If We Forget About Propane Altogether?
This is where my thinking took another Cooper Shortcut.
What if the answer wasn’t a smaller propane griddle?
What if we went electric?
After all, the government has offered tax incentives for electric vehicles and certain home energy improvements. Maybe I could get a tax rebate for buying an electric griddle!
Now, before anyone starts filling out tax forms, I am kidding.
There isn’t a federal tax credit for purchasing a portable electric griddle. Wouldn’t that be something, though?
But the more I considered electric cooking, the more interesting the idea became.
Think about it. No propane bottles to carry, no regulator or hose to deal with, and no concern about whether we remembered to bring enough fuel.
For RV owners who spend most of their time at campgrounds with electrical hookups, that sounds pretty appealing.
Of course, nothing is quite that simple.
The Weber Lumin: A Grill That Happens to Be Electric
One of the first electric models that caught my attention was the Weber Lumin Electric Grill.
At approximately 36 pounds, depending on the model, it is substantially lighter than our current Blackstone.
And being a Weber, it certainly deserves consideration.
But here is the catch.
The Lumin is primarily a grill, not a flat-top griddle.
Its standard cooking surface uses grill grates, which are wonderful for steaks, burgers, and other foods where you want that traditional grilled finish. It also offers some interesting cooking options, including steaming.
However, if I wanted the flat-top experience, I would need an optional griddle insert.
And that means another accessory to purchase, carry, clean, and store.
Have you ever noticed how trying to simplify something sometimes creates an entirely new collection of things to manage?
I certainly have.
The Lumin might be an excellent choice for someone wanting to replace a traditional portable grill, but I am not convinced it would replace the Blackstone experience we enjoy.
The Blackstone E-Series: Now This Is Interesting
Then I came across the Blackstone E-Series 17-inch Electric Tabletop Griddle.
At approximately 21 pounds, this one really got my attention.
Twenty-one pounds!
Compared with our current griddle, that is a difference of nearly eighty pounds.
I could carry it without wondering whether I should have stretched first.
The E-Series also offers something the Weber Lumin doesn’t provide as standard equipment: a genuine flat-top cooking surface.
Granted, it isn’t the same heavy, seasoned steel surface we have come to appreciate.
Instead, the E-Series uses a ceramic-coated nonstick cooking plate. That means no traditional seasoning process, easier cleanup, and less concern about a steel cooking surface developing rust while stored.
For an RV owner, those are meaningful advantages.
Imagine finishing breakfast, allowing the griddle to cool, wiping everything down, and putting it away without having to scrape, season, and oil the cooking surface.
That sounds pretty good to me.
But there is a compromise.
Our propane Blackstone is perfectly comfortable with metal spatulas and scrapers. In fact, those tools are part of the experience.
The ceramic-coated E-Series requires nonmetal utensils to protect the finish.
No aggressive scraping. No chopping ingredients directly on the cooking surface with a metal spatula.
And if I am being perfectly truthful, I rather enjoy working those metal spatulas.
Perhaps a little too much.
But Will Electric Cooking Keep Up?
This is the question that keeps bringing me back to propane.
Cooking breakfast on an electric griddle is one thing. Eggs, pancakes, bacon, and French toast don’t generally require the kind of intense heat we use for searing meat.
But what happens when I want to make several smash burgers?
Our propane Blackstone has a thick steel cooking surface that stores heat. When cold meat hits the griddle, that stored heat helps develop the crust that makes a smash burger so delicious.
Electric griddles can certainly cook burgers, but their heating elements and cooking surfaces respond differently.
A lighter cooking plate can lose heat when several cold ingredients are added at once. Depending on the model, it may take longer to recover.
That doesn’t mean electric cooking is inferior.
It means I might have to adjust how I cook.
Perhaps smaller batches would be the answer. Maybe a little more patience would accomplish the same thing.
But patience and I have had a complicated relationship through the years, particularly when dinner is involved.
There is another consideration that matters when traveling.
Electric griddles need electricity, and RV electricity isn’t always as plentiful as we would like.
Many portable electric cookers draw somewhere around 1,500 watts, although individual models vary.
On a 120-volt circuit, 1,500 watts represents approximately 12.5 amps.
If we are staying at a campground with a 50-amp electrical hookup, operating an electric griddle may be relatively straightforward, provided we manage the other electrical loads and use a suitable outlet.
But what if we are camping without hookups?
Now we need to consider our inverter, batteries, or generator.
Even when shore power is available, I wouldn’t want to plug a high-wattage griddle into an ordinary extension cord running across the campsite. Outdoor-rated equipment, proper electrical capacity, and the manufacturer’s operating instructions all matter.
And cold, windy mornings can present their own challenges when trying to maintain cooking temperatures outdoors.
Suddenly, that little propane bottle doesn’t seem quite so inconvenient.
The 22-Inch Question Keeps Coming Back
Just when I thought I had narrowed things down, I discovered the Blackstone 22-inch E-Series Electric Tabletop Griddle.
Now we were getting closer to something that resembled our current cooking arrangement.
A larger flat-top cooking surface, independently controlled heating areas, and the convenience of electric cooking.
Across from it sits the Blackstone Original 22-inch Propane Tabletop Griddle.
On the surface, both seem like reasonable compromises.
The electric version would eliminate propane and the traditional steel seasoning routine. The propane version would retain the familiar cooking surface, metal utensils, and the heat control I already understand.
But the electric 22-inch model is larger and heavier than its 17-inch sibling, while the propane model brings us right back to carrying fuel and caring for seasoned steel.
And both still have to be lifted, stored, and transported.
At this point, I found myself wondering whether I was actually making progress or simply traveling in circles.
My bride has watched me go through this sort of research before.
She knows that when I begin comparing dimensions, cooking surfaces, weights, and accessories, a decision isn’t necessarily coming anytime soon.
I can almost hear her asking, “Have you decided what you want?”
Not yet, dear.
Not yet.
The Weight Isn’t the Only Thing We Carry
Something occurred to me as I continued comparing these griddles.
We RV owners spend considerable time thinking about what our equipment weighs, but sometimes we overlook everything else that comes along with it.
Our Blackstone doesn’t travel alone.
There are spatulas, scrapers, cooking oil, cleaning supplies, a propane connection, and whatever stand or table we use.
Then there is the space required to store everything.
In our fifth-wheel, we have a generous amount of storage compared with smaller travel trailers, but that doesn’t mean every compartment should be filled simply because space is available.
And I am becoming increasingly aware that the convenience of something isn’t determined solely by how well it works once we have it set up.
Sometimes convenience means how easily we can get it out, use it, clean it, and put it away.
A griddle that takes only a few minutes to set up might encourage us to cook outside more often.
A heavier one might have us looking at each other and saying, “How about we just cook inside tonight?”
That is worth thinking about.
There is also the question of what we really need.
We aren’t cooking for a family of ten every evening. Most of the time, it is simply the two of us enjoying a meal at the campground.
Do we need a 28-inch cooking surface to make breakfast for two?
Probably not.
Do I enjoy having one?
Absolutely!
And therein lies the problem.
Around the Campfire
I can imagine this conversation taking place around a campground fire, particularly with other RV owners who have gone through the same decision.
Would a 17-inch griddle be large enough for two people?
For most of our everyday meals, I suspect it would. We might need to cook in batches occasionally, but that wouldn’t necessarily be a hardship. The bigger adjustment would be giving up independently controlled cooking zones.
Would I be happier with electric?
That depends on where we camp and what we cook. For breakfasts, simple meals, and campgrounds with reliable electrical hookups, an electric griddle could be wonderfully convenient. But when we want the familiar high-heat cooking performance of our propane Blackstone, I might miss it.
What about cooking beneath our RV awning?
Regardless of which model we choose, we need to follow the manufacturer’s clearance and outdoor-use requirements. A propane griddle produces considerable heat, and an electric griddle isn’t automatically safe beneath an awning either. I would rather move the cooking station into a suitable open area than risk damaging our RV or creating a fire hazard.
Is a lighter griddle really worth replacing one that works perfectly well?
Now there is the question I keep coming back to.
Our Blackstone isn’t broken. It cooks beautifully. We already own it, know how to use it, and have everything needed to keep enjoying it.
The only thing I don’t enjoy is moving it.
And I am not convinced that purchasing something new is always the best answer to an inconvenience.
Perhaps a better storage arrangement or a dedicated rolling cart could make the existing griddle easier to handle, assuming we could find a practical way to transport it.
Then again, that might introduce yet another item into our camping inventory.
See what I mean?
Final Thoughts
I have reached an age where I am beginning to appreciate lighter equipment a little more than I once did.
That doesn’t mean I have lost my enthusiasm for camping, cooking outdoors, or collecting the occasional gadget that makes our travels more enjoyable.
Quite the opposite.
I want to keep doing all those things for as long as possible.
But I am also learning that there is a difference between something being manageable and something being convenient.
Our 28-inch Blackstone is manageable.
Whether it remains convenient is another question.
The 17-inch Blackstone propane model is appealing because it preserves much of the cooking experience we already love while shedding considerable weight.
The electric E-Series is appealing because it offers a lightweight alternative with simpler cleanup.
The Weber Slate brings another familiar brand into the discussion, and the Weber Lumin has me considering whether we even need a traditional propane grill or griddle at all.
Then there is that 22-inch Blackstone, sitting somewhere in the middle, tempting me with the possibility of retaining two cooking zones.
I suppose I could make this decision a little easier by simply asking myself which one I would enjoy using most.
But where would the fun be in that?
Surely I can’t be the only person who researches a purchase until I have so much information that I am less certain than when I started.
Please tell me I am not crazy.
Although, now that I think about it, several people have suggested otherwise through the years.
And I have a sneaking suspicion my bride might have an opinion on the matter.
For now, our Blackstone isn’t going anywhere.
I am still deciding.
Maybe the next time we are sitting outside the fifth-wheel, enjoying breakfast and watching another campground morning come to life, the answer will become obvious.
Or maybe I will simply be standing behind that hundred-pound griddle, turning bacon with a metal spatula, wondering why I ever considered replacing it.
Either way, breakfast will be delicious.
And isn’t that part of what makes this journey so enjoyable?
What about you? Have you downsized your outdoor cooking equipment? Have you switched from propane to electric, or would you never consider giving up your traditional griddle? I would genuinely enjoy hearing what works for you.
Because sometimes the best camping advice doesn’t come from a manufacturer’s brochure.
It comes from another camper who has already traveled down that road.
And if your advice happens to lead us down another Cooper Shortcut, well, you know how we feel about those!
We’re not trying to get there first. We’re trying to enjoy getting there.
The Cooper Shortcut Camping Journey Trio 😊 PlusOne!
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