Next time you feel the urge to head into the wilderness, pack a grill – not the propane-powered monster in your backyard, but an ultralight, folding grill, a new product by Lewisurg’s Vargo Outdoor Products.
The Fire Box Grill is a spinoff of Vargo’s most popular item, the Hexagon Wood Stove, and like all of Vargo’s products — stoves, pots, mugs, campware, water bottles, and lifestyle products — it is made of titanium, which is light, strong and durable. Brian Vargo, the company’s founder, says his line of gear is not mass market, but rather serves a niche market of serious outdoors people. “They are designed and intended for people who are into backpacking and hiking and recognize the value of products that weigh practically nothing,” he says.
The new grill weights only 4.1 ounces, folds up to a compact eight-by-4.25-inches and safely burns any type of biomass fuel. “We wanted to create a product for those who wanted to cook over an open fire without weighing down their pack, taking up much space or charring the Earth,” says Vargo.
Vargo, who founded the company in 2002 in his garage, designs the products and the company owns the molds; the line is manufactured in China. The gear is sold worldwide and Vargo reports that sales, currently at about $1 million, have doubled every three years.
Vargo is “pretty aggressively adding new products,” he says, with three in the works for launch within a year. The company has two full time and two part time employees and he foresees adding more part timers as sales continue to grow.
Source: Brian Vargo, Vargo Outdoor Products
Writer: Elise Vider