June 20, 2021/Riley Draper Table of Contents
Cooking over a hot campfire is one of the best parts of camping.
To get a more even amount of heat on your food or cookpot, you can use a cooking tripod, which is typically constructed of three legs meant to support the weight of a pot or grill grate suspended on a chain.
Although it might seem like a superfluous piece of camping gear when you can just leave your cookware nestled in the fire itself, a cooking tripod is actually very useful because it allows you to adjust the heat level without physically moving a hot pot or getting close to hot coals and embers.
Read through this guide to make sure you have the best possible cooking tripod for your next trip to the backcountry!
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Here are the top 5 picks (keep scrolling for more details and picks 6-10).
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This heavy-duty tripod is easy to pack up and transport, even if you have to hike a bit to reach your campsite. It comes with an S hook for suspending any kind of cooking pot, making it the ideal choice for dutch oven cooking and soups or stews that require more time to prepare.
Since it’s made out of cast iron, campers can depend on this Stansport cooking tripod to last for a long time, even through rough camping seasons in harsh weather conditions. It also works great for cast iron cooking since it’s made out of the same material as the cookware.
The adjustable chain that allows you to quickly and easily move the cooking pot further away or closer to the fire is also built to last. Stansport made it out of a nickel-plated heavy steel construction so it can take the heat and support plenty of weight.
One word of advice for people using this cooking tripod to prepare meals for large groups: to get your cooking pot high enough above the fire to cook without burning, you may need to dig a hole for your fire or use a sunken fire pit. For smaller groups that don’t need large cookware, this tripod works fantastically over a regular campfire.
Read more buyer reviews at Amazon.com.
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Standing at a height of 45 inches when its legs are spread out, this tripod is convenient for cooking with large cookware. The chain to make the height adjustable is fairly heavy-duty although it is made with crimped links rather than welded ones.
That doesn’t appear to have made them any less strong. With this tripod set to its maximum height, you can leave large pots over the fire for a longer time, which makes it ideal for stews and soups. The height also makes adding wood or adjusting the fire safer and prevents campers from inadvertently knocking over their cookware in the process.
If there’s one drawback to this model, it’s that it is fairly heavy and likely inconvenient for long-distance backpacking or remote camping trips. However, it does come with a very nice storage bag that makes it easy to carry from the car to the campsite.
Cooking over an open fire is easy with this tripod and its steel construction won’t show severe marks from intensive or long-term use. The iron chain can support a good amount of weight and everything is fairly rust-resistant.
Read more buyer reviews at Amazon.com.
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It might take a bit more work to set up than some of the other tripods on this list, but the Xergur tripod board is well worth it for anyone with the DIY spirit and backpacking enthusiasts looking for the convenience of open fire cooking without the added weight of a full-on tripod.
You’re meant to fit sticks into the holes of this tripod board and then angle them so that they lock into position. The metal used in its construction is high-hardness stainless steel that can withstand lots of heat and the chain that comes with it is similarly built with high-quality durable material.
The chain stretches to a length of over 46 inches, so if you can find sticks tall enough you can hang cookware a good distance from the ground, perfect for big fires or large pots. Everything comes in a leather storage bag that will fit in a small pocket on your rucksack or the glove compartment in your car.
Read more buyer reviews at Amazon.com.
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Lodge might be more well-known for their Tall Boy cooking tripod, but this adjustable model is more convenient because you can change the height of the legs as well as the length of the chain. More variable heights allow this tripod to sit over fires of different heights and intensities and the adjustable chain still lets you make fast adjustments during cooking.
The heavy-duty tote bag included with purchase makes this Lodge tripod easy to carry and considering its size and steel body it’s not all that heavy to carry to a campsite. Since the legs aren’t hollow, setting this tripod up the wrong way could stack weight unevenly and cause everything to tip over.
However, if you bury the legs in the ground before adding cookware, the problem is easily solved. The chain on this tripod is thick and capable of supporting heavy cookware. The adjustable leg design doesn’t sacrifice stability or durability. You can use this tripod with a simple teapot or a heavy-duty camp dutch oven.
Read more buyer reviews at Amazon.com.
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If portability is one of your main concerns, then this is the camping tripod for you. The legs break down into four sections and it all fits inside the included carry bag. That construction style makes it easy to transport but it does appear to have sacrificed some of the strength of more traditionally built iron tripods.
Still, it can hold up to 20 pounds, which should be plenty for solo stove cooking or outdoor cooking for small groups. It can also support the weight of a campfire grill or a coffee pot. They’ve backed this collapsible camping tripod with a 30-day replacement or money-back guarantee so buyers can rest easy knowing they’re covered if anything goes wrong.
This tripod is made of aluminum rather than forged iron or heavy-duty steel. While it might not resist scratches or damage as well, the aluminum also makes it much lighter than models with an iron tripod typically would be.
The poles are also thicker than they are on some comparable models, so this is one of the stronger and more dependable collapsible cooking tripods. Even though the weight capacity is reduced compared to non-collapsible models, this tripod can hold more weight than most other collapsible models.
Read more buyer reviews at Amazon.com.
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Anyone familiar with camping equipment won’t be surprised to see Coleman on this list of best cooking tripods. This model is built with strong galvanized steel and comes with a round grill grate that you can place food on directly or use to support coffee pots, teapots, or other cookware. It’s really easy to set up and the whole thing only weighs about two pounds, making it a bit more portable than other non-collapsible tripods.
You can also remove the grill and hang a lantern or a large cookpot from the hook. Unlike many other tripod models, the chain on this one isn’t readily adjustable during cooking, so you have to make sure that you have everything set up to the right height before you get started cooking.
There’s no lip on the edge of the grill to prevent pots from sliding off so take care that you don’t have the tripod set up on a slanted elevation. Other than those small considerations, this is a great product for elevating cookware over a campfire. It’s ideal for car camping and trips that aren’t in remote locations that require long hikes to reach.
Read more buyer reviews at Amazon.com.
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The design of this classic tripod and lantern hanger is fairly straightforward, but it’s effective nonetheless. Shock cords in the legs allow it to collapse for easy transportation and storage. It doesn’t come with a carry case included, but you can stow it away in a trunk or the back of an RV fairly easily even without a case.
In terms of stability, this is one of the best cooking tripods out there. It doesn’t rely on heavy construction materials to reach a superior level of stability, although the galvanized steel they built it with is very durable nonetheless. You can cook with pots and pans on the grill grate that comes with the tripod, but the metal of the grate isn’t food grade so it’s best not to cook food on it directly.
With the longer chain on this tripod, you can get a wider range of heat levels. If you’re boiling water, you can get the cookware right above the flames. Or, you can pull the pot up higher if you want to leave your ingredients stewing for a longer period without risking burning them.
Tying a lantern onto the tripod rather than a cookpot will cast light further and give your campsite ambient light even if you’re using a campfire for light already. Since the tripod is so well-designed, you can make adjustments to your lantern or cookware in seconds.
Read more buyer reviews at Amazon.com.
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This is one of the heavy hitters on the fire tripod market. It’s constructed out of forged iron and they made the legs thick enough to hold heavy dutch ovens and remain stable. That’s a vital feature for larger groups of campers who need to use larger pots to make enough food for everybody.
This Texsport tripod is a bit shorter than some other models so you can’t get cookware up as high and it might not work as effectively for large fires. That being said, the stakes drive into the ground and make the whole operation very sturdy and the forged iron doesn’t appear to show signs of damage even after intensive use.
It also folds up easily and quickly. The included bag makes the tripod easy to carry around or tuck away for safekeeping when the product is not in use either at home or the campsite. The chain and legs are both heavy-duty and durable. The chain can hold a good bit of weight and should be very handy on camping trips of small to medium-sized groups of campers.
Read more buyer reviews at Amazon.com.
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Combining high stability with lightweight aluminum construction, this Zeerkeer tripod is the best of both worlds. It’s incredibly convenient and offers many of the same features that competing models have: a fully adjustable chain, collapsible legs, and a strong chain. As far as portability goes, it’s one of the easiest to carry around and stow away when it’s not in use.
The carry case included with this tripod is one of the nicest on this list. It’s a highly durable 600D polyester that will last for years without any holes if taken care of properly. The chain is strong and it connects to the cookware or lantern securely so you won’t have to worry about any spills or broken glass near your campfire.
The legs of this tripod stick firmly into the ground so that the whole setup is stable even when you’re stirring or adding things to your cooking pot. It’s a bit surprising that such a lightweight tripod can support over 30 pounds without any issues, but it works.
Read more buyer reviews at Amazon.com.
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If you’re interested in ultralight backpacking or looking for a great gift idea for someone who loves to camp and needs lightweight alternatives to the full-on cooking tripods in this guide, we suggest the Hubuish tripod board. It allows the campers to turn sticks into a tripod for their fires and fits inside any small pocket, making it by far the most portable option out there.
Although the durability of your cooking or lighting rig will ultimately depend on the strength of the supports you use, this tripod board is plenty strong on its own and can withstand lots of pressure. The manufacturer says you can hold up to and even a little over 100 pounds with this board.
The stainless steel used to build this product doesn’t show damage as severely as other models and it’s been rated to resist heat so it can last over many fires and camping trips. Unlike many other companies that produce campfire tripods, Hubuish backs theirs up with a very generous 24-month quality guarantee and offers a refund if the product has any issues at all.
Read more buyer reviews at Amazon.com.
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Overall, the Stansport Cast Iron Camping Tripod is our choice for the best campfire cooking tripod because it is super durable, stable, and it isn’t overly difficult to transport. There are other items on this list that are more portable and convenient for hiking and backpacking trips, but they all get outperformed by the Stansport model in the end.
The cast iron used to construct the Stansport camping tripod makes it especially durable and an ideal pairing for cast iron cooking. When you’re preparing meals over an open campfire, nothing beats cast iron for either durability or the taste it imparts into your food when used the right way.
Any one of the models in this guide will make your next camping trip that much easier and help you make fast adjustments to your cookware so the food inside it gets the right amount of heat. While the Stansport stands above the rest, there are some other options that double as lantern holders and may be more convenient for specific types of camping trips.
Whatever your next backcountry adventure is going to be, take one of these campfire cooking tripods and a dependable fire starter with you to make cooking over the open fire a better experience.
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Riley Draper is a writer and entrepreneur from Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a world traveler, he has been to more than fifty countries and hiked some of the most elusive trails in the world. He is the co-founder of WeCounsel Solutions and has published work in both national and global outlets, including the Times Free Press, Patch, and Healthcare Global. When he’s not writing, he’s probably on a hiking trip or climbing in the mountains.
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