Oris Skottle – Review

With so many options on the market, it might be hard to decide on the right cooking system for your needs. Do you need a camping stove, a single burner, a dedicated kitchen, or a Skottle-style grille?

Portable stoves and grille units may benefit you depending on how you travel, cook, and camp. Some of these units are more than others, but what if there were one system that could be your all-in-one solution? That’s where the Oris Skottle comes into play.

Who is Oris?

Oris is a one-man show dedicated to making the best cooking product on the market. They saw a need for an improved cooking method that could also be a multi-use unit. Whether you’re at home, tailgating for a sporting event, or off-roading, the Oris Skottle can do anything and everything you need.

Why the Oris Skottle?

When I go camping for a quick overnight trip, I normally keep it simple: hamburgers, hot dogs, and something that doesn’t require the SnoMaster fridge to go with me but can be made quickly and easily.

On longer trips, things change a bit as you need food for three meals a day for multiple days. Needless to say, eating hamburgers and hot dogs that much can get old and isn’t good for you. That’s where I like to change it up and cook things like I normally would at home: breakfast burritos, chicken and rice, tri-tip, fish, etc.

To make many of these things, you would normally need something like a full-on kitchen, and because I’m not a full-time “overlander,” a kitchen just isn’t practical to me. Not to mention, it would end up costing a few thousand dollars to build. Also, it would take up the entire rear of the vehicle, losing precious cargo space and adding substantial weight. And, as my 4Runner is a daily-driven vehicle, that doesn’t make much sense.

Introducing the Oris Skottle. It is a complete kit that can not only cook everything you throw at it but also allows you to use other items with it, such as pots, pans, kettles, etc. Compared to others on the market, the biggest benefit was the ability to cook on cast iron.

Cast Iron

Growing up, my parents cooked a lot on cast iron, which is an extremely heavy and durable material. I learned to love cooking on it.

This means if you are clumsy and occasionally drop things, it won’t break, ding, or dent. On the contrary, it can do just about the opposite of everything in its way, so you’d want to not drop it on yourself or something else.

There are some things you can’t do with cast iron, but the main one is that you don’t want to use any sort of metal on the surface. Cooking something like hot dogs with a pair of tongs wouldn’t be the end of the world, but for other things, such as stir fry, wooden or plastic spoons are a must!

Support System

Unlike others on the market, the Oris Skottle weighs about 30 lbs. While that is about double the weight of similar products, the build quality is much stronger as well.

Not only are the poles that hold the Oris Skottle up much thicker than the competition, but they are also taller. For those of you who are tall like me, slightly bending over can be nagging on your back for extended periods. Thanks to this taller design, that is not an issue.

Remember that while it is indeed heavier, it is also less likely to tip over, whether because someone accidentally hits it or because it’s windy. Wind or not, you have to eat, and the last thing you want to worry about is a gust knocking over your meal.

One major standout is its ability to hold up to 150 lbs! We don’t always want a steak for dinner, and that’s where your big pot of chili, soup, or stew can come into play. The Oris Skottle can and will support that big pot with no issues!

Seasoning

One thing that needs to be done with cast iron is seasoning. This ultimately adds a layer of “non-stick” to it, and over time, it will build more and allow for an even better cooking surface.

Unlike steel, this coating does not leak chemicals or other things that can harm you. Cast iron is also great for people with an iron deficiency, as iron is released into your food while cooking.

Thankfully, Oris already takes care of the seasoning process, as their pans come pre-seasoned. However, if you happen to lose the seasoning coating, it’s quite easy to apply a new coating yourself at home.

Flat Surface

Unlike other items on the market, the Oris Skottle is nearly 100% flat. It has a slight curve for obvious reasons, such as holding in food, but it isn’t wok-style round like others. This gives it a range of unique features and benefits.
One happens to be the oil you use to cook. Whether you’re cooking meat or vegetables, you want your oil to spread out evenly so everything can cook at the same time.

With other items on the market, you tend to get more of a puddle, rather than evenness. This means your vegetables are frying up at the same rate and simultaneously, rather than only the centers sitting in a pool and the outers having none.

Pancakes usually require some sort of griddle or pan. Still, because the Oris Skottle is cast iron, you not only have the ability to heat evenly, but you also have a flatter surface that allows you to cook and flip your pancakes without causing tears.

Multi-Use Burner

The functionality of the Oris Skottle may be my favorite part. The burner bolts directly into the stand and can cook just about anything on it thanks to its 10,000 BTU rating. While most people will use it for the cast iron flat surface, which can literally cook anything you throw at it, what about other things that may need more of the burner style?

Others on the market may still be able to boil water in a kettle or a small pot, but can they support the weight of a big pot of liquid? This is great for something like chili on those cold camping trips. The Oris Skottle can tackle these tasks quite well.

If you want to boil a kettle of water for coffee before putting on your cast iron skottle, you can, or if you want to make a pot of stew for dinner, you can. The stand and burner combination is a no-brainer for larger, heavier meals that require pots.

Bottle or Tank

Whether you are going on a short trip and want to take a small 1lb propane bottle with you or a week-long excursion where you’ll need a propane tank, the Oris Skottle can accommodate both.

The skottle comes with a bottle attachment that is ready to go out of the box; however, for those who need a tank for much longer adventures, Oris has a propane tank attachment that will allow it to hook directly up to any propane tank. It is also made of stainless steel, meaning it won’t rust, and you don’t have to worry about a pet or critter putting a hole in it while camping.

Heating Food

One of the biggest upsides to cooking on cast iron is that it heats evenly. This means there are no “cold” spots on your cooking surface. When cooking dinner for multiple people, you normally have a few pieces that cook more slowly because they aren’t directly over the heat. Or perhaps even cooking in winter, where the pan seems to take forever to get warm.

Due to the cast iron heating more quickly and efficiently, you not only heat your dinner faster but also use less propane for the entire heating process.

Because the Oris Skottle uses cast iron, neither of those is a problem. The pan heats evenly and quickly, leaving no spots on the surface that are colder or hotter than the other. With larger groups, this is extremely convenient, as normally everyone has a cooking job, and with cast iron, meat cooks perfectly, no matter how you like it cooked.

I have personally cooked a variety of meals, including Kung Pao Chicken, bratwurst, chicken fajitas, breakfast burritos, pancakes, and quite a few more. Not once have I had an issue with the cast iron not getting hot enough. In fact, I think I was more impressed with it cooking my meals exactly how they always should have been cooked.

Cleaning

Cast iron cookware is different from most on the market and requires a special cleaning method. This isn’t complicated or hard, but people hear this and always steer away from it. Don’t be that person.

The facts are simple. You’re not supposed to use soap, nor steel wool brushes, but rather a stiff brush made for cast iron.

Once you’ve cleaned the pan, all you need is water and a little vegetable oil to coat it. The main thing is to make sure there is no water on the pan, as it can and will rust.

Fits In The Bag

Everything fits in the bag! We’ve all been there: We buy something that comes in a bag or some sort of carrying case, but after using it one time, it never wants to fit unless you do everything 100% perfectly.

The Oris Skottle bag fits everything perfectly and still has some room left over. That means if you buy extra attachments, such as the cleaning brush, lid, spatula, or propane tank hose, they will all fit without problems.

What’s Missing?

There are a ton of good things to say about the Oris Skottle, but what about the bad? Well, there aren’t too many I’d like to say. I’ve used the skottle quite a bit on trips and only found one thing that I could “complain” about.

That being the lack of a windscreen for the burner. While it is strong and can put out a powerful flame, in the wind it does tend to get pushed around, and though I’ve never had it officially burn out, I wonder if during stronger winds if it could become a problem. I would suspect this could be an attachment you could see from Oris later down the road.

Final Thoughts

If you are looking for a cooking setup that covers just about everything in one kit, without the need for a complete kitchen and more than just a burner, the Oris Skottle is the kit for you. Oris has various setups and unique, smaller features like bag colors to choose from.

This is without a doubt the easiest and best cooking setup I’ve used for camping, and I don’t think I’ll ever replace it. With the current quarantine from the Coronavirus, I’ve been able to put it to good use in both the backyard and breaks in the mountains. It travels extremely well, takes up little space, and gets the food nice and hot quickly.

This is the kit for just about anyone on the market looking to have a cooking setup that doesn’t break an arm and a leg, and can be used in various ways.