This all new portable grill by Nomad is the brand’s new take on exactly what they think a portable grill should be. Although the idea may seem complicated it is actually refreshingly low-tech and compact.
It also cooks really well and unlike a lot of the other portable grills on the market this one can actually be taken anywhere thanks to its awesome and innovative suitcase design. This really is a near perfect portable grill, but is it worth its $649 price tag?
The Design and Feel
Basically everything about the Nomad feels solid and well made when you have it in your hands, this is thanks to its amazing build from its perforated anodized aluminium shell to the cast aluminium grill boxes on the inside. The heavy-duty handles and latches that this grill has are also very strong, which is important because you don’t want it to be falling apart when you are transporting it, as that is one of its key features. Even the grilling surface on the inside of this grill is extra sturdy, thanks to the high-temperature resistant magnets that it has to hold it securely in place.
The design of this new Nomad portable grill is really one of a kind and looks different compared to most other grills. The design of this grill is best described as a suitcase, which is awesome because it is so incredibly easy to carry everywhere with just one hand. Since this grill has quite a solid and rigid construction it is pretty heavy and weighs in at 28 pounds with one grill grate, and 31 pounds if you opt for the portable grill with two grill grates. Although it doesn’t sound very light it isn’t too awkward to carry around and definitely beats a lot of other portable grills out there, in regards to portability.
So after you’ve carried this grill, just like a regular suitcase, to where you are going to be grilling, all you will need to do is place it down on a flat surface. Another great thing about this grill is that you won’t have to worry too much about the surface that you are placing it on because it has been engineered never to get hot enough to harm wood, metal, stone or sand. One place that you should probably avoid putting it though is on a plastic table.
This new grill also has quite a nice and raw feel thanks to its low-tech attributes. This portable grill doesn’t have anything like Bluetooth temp sensors, apps or anything else, so with this grill you’ll need to rely on your skills and experience. You won’t be left completely alone to fend for yourself though because the Nomad does come equipped with a built-in thermometer on the left hand side of the top piece, but still nothing is digital.
Using the Nomad Portable Grill
For the times that you are going to be doing some high-temp grilling you’ll fold the Nomad open, which will then give you two sides to grill on. One thing that you need to realise is that the grill for the second side of this setup is actually sold separately, which will set you back another $130. If you do spend the extra cash and get the extra grill grate then you’ll get a total of 425 square inches of surface to cook on. This really is a lot of surface area to grill on, and if you do end up opting for the extra grill grate you should be able to fit around 30 burgers on it at once.
Another thing to note with the Nomad grill is that the grill surface is cambered, which means that if you do end up purchasing the extra grill then you’ll have to remember to glip one over before closing it up, but that isn’t such a huge disadvantage and you’ll get used to it after a few uses.
Awesome Features
There are two pretty big features this portable grill has that makes it unique and a lot more attractive than other portable grills out there.
Twin Air Vents
The first one are the twin air vents, which will end up being one air bent at the bottom and one at the top, that is if you’re using the single-sided mode. Then if you are grilling with both sides open, then the air vents will instead be located at the bottom of your grill. Although these air vents may be relatively small when compared to those found in your typical grills, they still do a great job because of the grills’ second awesome feature.
Longitudinal Raised Slats
Inside of the grill you may have noticed that it has these ribs running the length of the grill pan, and what they do is they hold the Nomad’s special charcoal cylinders off the bottom of the grill. As a result, it makes the air flow around them a whole lot better and will allow you to actually maintain a much higher temperature in your grill without the lid even needing to be closed.
Nomad’s Bespoke Charcoal
One of the downsides to this feature though is that if you use the regular charcoal briquets then the airflow will actually be worse and you won’t be able to get the temperature as high, so you’ll definitely want to make sure that you have the special charcoal from Nomad in order to make the best out of this feature. This isn’t such a huge disadvantage for most people though because you will rarely want your grill to be at this high temperature, except for if you are baking a pizza perhaps. If you do want to get your hands on this Nomad charcoal then it will set you back $36 for a 10 pound box.
While there are definitely a lot of people that would prefer to stay away from this bespoke charcoal that Nomad offers, because of its price, there is no doubt that it is at a higher quality than that that you will get at the big-box stores. The bespoke charcoal is better because it is denser, burns hotter as well as longer and also gives off less smoke. So, if you are someone with a larger budget to spend on this charcoal then it will definitely be worth it for you.
Using the Nomad grill to smoke
Because of the suitcase-design that the Nomad grill has, you are able to close it up, which means that you will not only be able to use it to grill but to smoke as well. When you try smoking with the Nomad it is definitely a little bit more challenging than with something like the Weber’s Jumbo Joe, at least the first few times. Once you’re tried smoking a few times and have been able to carefully tweak all the vents so that you get the air to flow to the point where its maintaining the temperature that you’d like then it actually holds up really well against the Weber, and some might even say that the Nomad grill does a better job.
One thing that becomes pretty annoying with the Nomad portable grill and using it to smoke is that you need to lift the entire grill grate off in order to feed in some more fresh fuel. If Nomad had added a hinged grill grate feature then it would be a lot nicer, especially since the magnets aren’t able to hold it securely in place for the rest of the time.
Another thing to consider when purchasing this grill, is that if you are going to use it as a smoker then you will have a little less room to use than if you were to get something like the Jumbo Joe instead. If you opt to purchase the Nomad portable grill then you’ll have 212 square inches of space on a single side, then on the other hand you have teh Jumbo Joe which instead has 240 square inches of space. For most people this won’t really affect what you can and can’t fit onto it.
Cleaning the Grill
Although many people may look at this grill and expect it to be hard to clean because of its crazy design. This statement is only partly clean, if you do decide to clean the Nomad wherever you had been grilling then it can be a bit of a pain. When you flip over this 28 pound suitcase, in order to get the ash out, it can be pretty awkward for some people. However, if you don’t need to clean the grill on site and can instead wait till you get home then it is perfectly okay to just close it up and head home without doing anything. Another cool thing about this grill is that you won’t even need to wait for it to cool before closing it up because the outside is designed to never get warmer than warm.
Then once you get home, or if you’re at home to begin with, you’ll be able to very easily clean the Nomad portable grill with a handy hose. If you are someone that owns a pressure washer then that will work even better, but using a low pressure hose also works perfectly fine. When it comes to the grill grate then it will take a little more effort to clean, but still nothing you won’t be able to handle.
Final Words
Although the Weber Jumbo Joe grill is definitely a great grill at a fraction of the price that you can get the Nomad for, the Nomad is still one of if not the best portable grill in the world, and if it is in your budget then you’ll definitely not regret this purchase.
