It has taken countless cheap BBQs to finally learn the age old lesson. You get what you pay for.
Unsurprisingly the poor material/build quality in cheap folding barbecues means they either warp, rust or melt to the point of being unusable. After throwing out yet another grill, it was time to find a long term solution. The Weber Go Anywhere Charcoal BBQ is exactly what i was looking for.
The wish list when I started looking for a new campervan BBQ:
- Small enough to fit in the back of the campervan.
- Charcoal fuelled, because what’s the point otherwise?
- Premium build quality:
- Grates and enclosure able to withstand high cooking temperature.
- Rust resistance.
- Directional air flow control.
- Lightweight (although a kamado style ceramic egg would have it’s advantages, it just wouldn’t be practical most of the time).
- Easy to clean.
- Relatively affordable
After scouring the internet and changing my mind multiple times I eventually landed on the Weber Go Anywhere charcoal grill. I’ve always been impressed with the build quality of Weber products, so this was the deciding factor. In this review I’ll walk you through the features, performance, pros/cons and my personal experience with the BBQ.
Specs
- Dimensions – 36.9cm Height x 53.4cm Width x 31cm Depth
- Cooking area – 42cm x 26cm
- Weight – 6.78kg
- Cooking Grate – Plated steel
- Airflow – 2 side vents and 2 on the lid, more about the air control in a later section
Features and Design
On first inspection the Weber Go Anywhere BBQ doesn’t seem to offer many features in addition to much cheaper alternatives, but the more you use the BBQ, the more you see how well thought out the GA is.
Portability
Given the name, portability being the main objective of the Go Anywhere is no surprise. The legs have been designed to lock together under the BBQ as well as fold up over the lid. Not only do the legs raise the grill off the ground to a safe height during cooking, they also enable single handed carry.
Annoyingly, the EU version of the Go Anywhere does not have the side handles seen on the American variant, this can make clipping the legs together slightly fiddly.
Another obvious design decision is the square form factor. Although you may sacrifice some grill area when compared to a more traditional circular design, the shape makes the GA much easier to store in the back of a van.
On our most recent trip, I carried the BBQ for 20 minutes on the walk to the water, it was small and light enough to mean this wasn’t an issue. Overall the Go Anywhere is built for portability, and it delivers this as well as expected.
Fire box and grates
The fire box consists of 3 items; the ash catcher plate, a heavy duty coal grate and the plated cooking grill.
The coal catcher ensures embers don’t come into direct contact with the floor of the BBQ. The relatively thin material and porcelain coating wouldn’t last long with hot coals sitting directly on top so this will ensure a longer life.
The heavy nature of the coal grate is an excellent example of the ‘you get what you pay for’ argument. Cheaper grills often fail quickly due to their lightweight coal grates warping under high heat. The Weber brand name is synonymous with quality, and i have no doubt the Go Anywhere will be able to withstand the heat.
The cooking grill has a medium gauge, plated steel construction and performs well during cooking. The thickness and plating allows for even heat distribution and easy cleaning.
Vents and Airflow Control
Air control on the Weber Go Anywhere comes from the two long firebox vents and two circular lid dials.
The firebox holes are flanked by a sliding metal cover which enables 4 main airflow arrangements:
- Full Open – With the metal plate fully raised all of the holes will be open and drawing in the maximum amount of air. Ideal for lighting.
- Equal partial opening – Sliding the plate down to partially cover the holes will enable cooling of the coals and temperature control.
- Unequal opening – The sliding plate has been designed so you can raise one side with the other remaining closed. You can either use this for zonal cooking (with one side hotter than the other) or for smoke control.
- Fully closed – With the metal plate lowered all the way down the holes are fully blocked and the fire will be effectively starved of oxygen. Mainly used for extinguishing coals.
We touched on the importance of the square design for portability earlier, but it also enables some clever temperature and smoke control. The combination of the firebox vents diagonal (unequal opening) arrangement and the two top dials mean you can build a fire in one half of the BBQ, put your food on the other half and draw smoke over the top of the food by closing the top dial above the fire.
Overall we have been very impressed with the temperature control available with the Go Anywhere.
Miscellaneous Features
The top handle comes with trademark Weber fibreglass coverings and ‘taco’ shell heat deflector. Both work well and we’ve not had an issue with the handle overheating.
The lid has two small hooks on the underside, this means you can hang the lid off the back of the main body to keep it off the floor.
Ease of Use
Using the go anywhere is self explanatory if you’re at all familiar with using charcoal grills. Lighting is quick with or without a chimney starter as long as you have all of the vents open to draw air under the lighters. Without a chimney, it tends to take between 15-20 minutes for enough coals to ash over for you to be able to start cooking.
As touched on earlier; my preferred setup is to use the rectangular shape to create two cooking zones. Blazing hot coals in one half and the other empty. This means you can sear the outside of whatever you’re cooking and get some good colour before moving it to the ‘safe’ zone with the lid on for smoke roasting. Using this setup, we’ve successfully enjoyed the standard burgers and hot dogs BBQs but also some more complicated cooks with smoked sea bass and larger joints.
The body of the Go Anywhere retains heat as expected. The porcelain coating is better than bare steel, but don’t expect it to compete with ceramics. The heat retention is more than adequate for the majority of recipes but we found you need to top up the coals for larger cooks. The small size of the grill means this isn’t the end of the world as long as you have something to safely pick up the hot grill grate.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- The rectangular form factor enables zonal cooking and smoke control.
- Lightweight and portable.
- Quality of grates – thick gauge steel will resist warping under heat.
- Excellent air and smoke control options for its size.
- Easy to clean.
- Good sized cooking area for camping.
Cons
- Although adequate for the majority of cooks, the relatively shallow lid means you will struggle to roast larger cuts of meat.
- The EU version does not have the side handles like some of the American variants seen online.
- The metal tabs on the top vents could have done with Weber fibreglass covers as they become too hot to touch during use.
- It would have been nice to see a thermometer in the lid.
The Verdict
I started this review by listing my portable bbq wish list. I believe the Weber Go Anywhere BBQ delivers on most, if not all, of that list. There are some trade offs but the design choices Weber has made are clear and logical.
You can buy cheaper portable BBQs – but you’ll encounter the same issues we did. The superior build quality and well thought out design is worth the money. Considering I’ve got more expensive (and supposedly more capable) grills at home but I still sometimes opt for the GA should tell you all you need to know.
If you’re asking yourself ‘what is the best BBQ for camping, caravanning or campervans?’ I don’t think you can go far wrong with the Weber Go Anywhere.
You can find the official Weber specs and description here
I have no doubt I’ll be buying a load of accessories for the Go anywhere. Check back for reviews and guides for when i do.
