German Company Petromax is renowned for its range of camp cooking equipment and accessories. All of the products produced by the company are extremely robust and are designed with regular outdoor use in mind. One of the flagship products of the company is the Petromax Atago.

The Atago is an impressive multi-functional product that can be used as a BBQ, a stove, an oven and as a firebowl using either charcoal briquettes or firewood as fuel. The Atago is a core item of equipment for us on any of our camping trips.

When used with a dutch oven the heat yield is very high because the Dutch Oven placed inside of the Atago is completely surrounded by the Atago walls. Dutch Ovens are a fantastic option for baking, especially for baking bread. and some bread is actually better when baked in a dutch oven rather than a conventional oven in a baking tin. The reason for this is that the sealed environment of the Dutch oven creates a steamy environment and this steam helps the bread to rise even more and also makes for a very crispy crust. Steam also does a lot to help bread to improve as it bakes, as it prevents the crust from forming too quickly, which allows the bread more time to rise, it also gives the yeast more time to work in converting starches to simple sugars, which gives the bread more flavour. When the crust eventually starts to form the starch that remains on the surface of the bread absorbs moisture and this makes the crust thick and glossy.

People have been cooking over open fires for thousands of years, mankind’s earliest cooked meals were obviously cooked over open fires, and there is just something really special about cooking over a fire and eating outdoors.

Its possible to grill food directly on the Atago which comes with a grilling grate, and therefore allows you to use the Atago as a conventional BBQ, or you can use some of Petromax additional accessories such as its cooking tripod which can be used to hold a dutch oven, a Perkomax coffe pot or a cooking skillet over the Atago (or indeed over an open fire). The Atago has the advantage of focussing the heat onto whatever implement is being hung over the fire, and also prevents the fire from creating scorch marks on the ground. The tripod is has the height adjustable legs and the chain and hook that come with it allow for the Dutch oven/skillet/coffee pot height, and therefore , cooking temperature, to be easily adjusted.

And of course, when you are finished cooking, you can just remove the grill, or tripod add some wood and enjoy using the Atago as a firepit.

Its twin-wall combustion chamber pre-heats secondary air and introduces it into the flames to create a very clean burn. It also burns (and cooks) well when conditions are windy, not something every firepit or BBQ is good at.

We have cooked everything you can imagine, using the Atago as the core piece of equipment, from freshly baked bread, to roast lamb, to a full meatybreakfast, to a traditional BBQ.

In addition to making a wide range of camp cooking equipment, including Petromax produces a wide range of accessories such as wrought iron and cast iron frying pans, mugs, plates and bowls, and extremely stylish storm lanterns (both gas and electric), coolboxes and more. And the company has also recently introduced its own clothing range.

The team at Petromax continues to innovate, creating modern, easy-to-use and hard-wearing gear that is inspired by classic and timeless designs.

The lineage of Petromax products began in Germany in 1910 and the company proudly continues to make top quality camp cooking equipment based on the principles of highest quality most durable design.

You can learn more on the Petromax website.