IT LOOKS COOL, BUT CAN YOU MAKE IT SMALLER?
One of the more common comments about the Camping Kitchen Box is "It looks cool, but can you make it smaller?" Well after some noodling, some head scratching and some prototypes that went straight into the recycling bin, the answer is "Yes!"
I am proud to present the "Camping kitchen Box 650" the little brother to our classic chuck box, which is now know as the "Camping Kitchen Box 1000".
The new Camping Kitchen Box 650 on the left, and our traditional chuck box on the right.
SO WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO BOXES?
Well first of course is the size. The new box is about 2/3 the size or the original. They are both 22 1/2 inches tall, and both about 16 inches deep, But the new box is only about 17 inches wide (not counting the handles) as compared to the original which is 24 1/2 inches wide (once again not counting the handles). For some folks this is the difference between unwieldy and easy to handle.
Smaller size of course means less weight. The traditional CKB weighted only 10 pounds empty, but the new box weighs an even more incredibly svelte 7 1/2 pounds.
So with the smaller size what are you giving up? Mostly the ability to carry a two burner stove in your chuck box. If you don't count the upper stove compartment both boxes actually have similar storage space.
As you can immediately tell from the pictures the new box has three drawers. When I first started tinkering, it was kind of obvious that a smaller box would have fewer drawers... until of course it became obvious that having the three drawers solved a lot of design issues.
You may have also noticed the doors are different. The original box has folding doors with "living hinges". Unfortunately theses living hinge doors did not scale down. When made shorter, the folding doors just did not fold enough. To solved this problem I had to come up with a new scheme., which turned out to be separate doors that slide in tracks in the front of the box. After you open the box by sliding the doors out, they can be quickly clipped to the side of the box, where they are out of the way but not running loose, trying to get lost.
SO WHICH CAMPING KITCHEN BOX IS FOR ME?
If you want to keep your camp stove together with all your other camp kitchen gear, and don't mind carrying a two foot wide box (or you have some one to help you) the CKB 1000 is for you. If you find the size of the original a bit intimidating, and don't mind making a second trip to get the stove, then the CKB 650 is your solution.