Recovery gear. Tools. Water. Camera equipment. Clothing. Camping gear. By the time everything essential has been packed, luxuries really have to earn their spot. And yet, some things are difficult to leave behind. A proper fire is one of them.

Not just for cooking, but for the long hours after dark when temperatures fall, chairs edge closer to the flames, and the evening slows into conversation.

The problem is that most fire pits demand compromise. Compact systems often feel flimsy or underwhelming, while the genuinely capable ones take up more space than you’d like to admit.

For the best part of a decade, I’ve travelled with a Petromax Atago. It has earned its place honestly. Reliable, versatile, and capable of producing serious heat, whether cooking dinner or keeping the cold at bay. But there’s no escaping the fact that the Atago occupies a considerable amount of real estate inside a Zarges box.

Tristan’s Relleumdesign fire pit takes the opposite approach. Fold-flat, compact, and easy to stow, it always seemed the more elegant solution from a packing perspective. I’ll admit there were moments I envied that simplicity while wrestling with the bulkier Atago.

That is precisely why the BOXIO FIRE bundle caught my attention.

BOXIO, the German company behind the increasingly familiar TOILET, WASH, and COOK systems, has built a reputation around practical products that balance usability, decent build quality and realistic pricing surprisingly well. Their FIRE bundle promises much the same: a collapsible fire pit and barbecue system that packs neatly into a half-height Eurobox.

On paper, at least, it sounded almost too good to work properly.

Was I sceptical when the BOXIO FIRE first came up in conversation? Yes. A collapsible fire pit that packs into a Eurobox measuring  30 x 40 x 12 cm (with plenty of room to spare, I might add), can easily “serve four” in its guise as a barbecue and fulfil its role heating the night as a log fire. Made from stainless steel and priced at a mere €125 including the tripod: a light but sturdy accessory that can easily suspend a kettle or pot over the coals or flames.

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Will it fit in the car? A slightly superfluous question: It’s an accessorised Eurobox.

LxWxH: 40 x 30 x 27.5 cm and approx. 4.7 kg.

It plays nicely with other standard Euroboxes, so yes, it’ll slide neatly into 4x4s, vans and trucks. Not just that, it stows the vital bits and bobs you need to prepare and eat your meals. One box. Everything in one place.

Well, that’s the theory. So what have I learned?

Out of The Box

Just like the blue and yellow Swedish furniture brand, BOXIO makes the customer responsible for final assembly. Inside the package: hex key, spanner, and easy-to-follow instructions. Before you can boil some water or fry a sausage, you’ll need a clean workspace and fifteen to twenty spare minutes to put the Cook together.

But this is not rocket science.

At the end of the exercise, you’ve got a black Eurobox with a hinged stainless-steel hob unit, complete with wind shield and a single burner. Lift the hob and you’ll find secure storage for two gas cartridges plus ample room for pots, pans, kettle, herbs, spices, crockery and cutlery.

Finish? It all comes together nicely and you won’t be cutting yourself on any of the edges.

In Use

Let’s be real: When stopping for a coffee break on a long haul, or settling into camp for the night, minimal faff is great for boosting the comfort factor. Stop the car. Pull out the Cook. Get on with hot food and drink.

Be organised. It helps if you don’t just throw loose items into the box because you need to clear the space and ensure the vents are free when you light the gas. Once the Cook is stood on a solid surface and the cavity is cleared, turn on the flow of gas at the cartridge, lower the hob (which conveniently locks in the upright position), raise the wind shield, and light the easy to adjust flame.

Interestingly, the stove is not equipped with piezo spark. But hey, we all travel with the means to start a fire, so there aren’t any excuses for being unable to get a flame. I just feel it would be slightly more elegant if there was only a button to press.

The stove size is big enough to take a frying pan 25 cm in diameter. Enough room for most pots, kettles and popular stove top ovens, such as the Omnia or Hajka—unfortunately, it’s just a bit too tight to accommodate the Grove Grill & Oven.

Depending on where you set the Cook, the Eurobox gives it a firm footing and raises the cooking height—a neat detail I really appreciate—and puts it at the same level as the Wash which, with the optional bamboo chopping board in place instead of the plastic lid, doubles as a work surface.

I love it when things can be combined for increased practicality.

Do I just use the Cook when I’m out and about? No. Frying fish or deep-frying doughnuts is best done out of doors if you don’t want odours lingering in the kitchen. So, the Cook has a designated place under the roof in the garden as well.

Durability

Robust plastic and weatherproof stainless steel. The Cook is designed to cope with knocks associated with bumpy trails and outdoor living. Things can rattle around inside if they’re not properly stowed…use kitchen towels to cut the decibels.

Everything is solid. Of course, it has a gathered a few blemishes but, then again, so has my car. Overland with either and scratches will result. Patina. The surfaces are easy to keep clean and won’t rust.

The gas hose and regulator are approved and good quality.

Verdict

The BOXIO Cook is a tough little kitchen box that just works.

If you’re tired of skeleton stoves that need assembly every time and offer a wobbly footing for bigger pots, the BOXIO Cook is a clean, dependable upgrade. Use it on the tailgate, stacked on another Eurobox under the stars, or inside the van.

Competition

How would you like to take a BOXIO Cook on your next adventure? We’re giving away one brand-new BOXIO Cook this month. All you have to do is click this link before September 30th, 2025, and you might be cooking your next camp meal on the house. Good luck!

From €230 | BOXIO

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Picture this: you want to go on a short (or long) camping trip, expedition, vehicle-supported adventure, or just for a picnic. In fact, picture anything out of doors, where you might need some running water and a basin…something a little more refined than a canister emptying onto the ground—which is an absolute no-no inside a vehicle.

TYPICAL SOLUTION

A typical built-in solution could include a fresh water tank, a grey water tank, a pump, maybe a dedicated battery, some hoses, a basin, a tap, and a cabinet to put it all in. And I haven’t even touched on getting it out of the car/van to use it more remotely.

Anyway, even if we focus on just the fitted and fully equipped cabinet in the back of the vehicle, all the components quickly add up to a not insignificant dent in the wallet, and a watertight assembly will certainly consume valuable time that I’d rather spend elsewhere.

BOXIO ALTERNATIVE

Composting toilets are the first thing that spring to mind when I hear the name BOXIO. But I’ll cover that separately.

BOXIO have taken one of the most popular Eurobox sizes, namely 400 x 300 x 280 mm (including the lid), and neatly packed a five-litre fresh water tank, five-litre grey water tank, tap, basin, hand pump and hoses into its confines.

I’m talking about a product that stacks with my other Euroboxes, provides cold running water from a tank, via a tap, into a practical washbasin, and collects the dirty water in a separate tank. I can use it in the car, in the tent, or anywhere I happen to be. Another benefit of being stackable is that, if you have children, you can simply adjust the height to suit them.

Supplied as a self-assembly kit, the well-manufactured components are a breeze to put together and the required tools are included in the set. There are even stickers to distinguish the fresh water from the grey water tank. The tap folds down when not in use, and the hand pump does not need a battery. To make it even more attractive, the cost won’t break the bank either.

TEST IT

I did. Over and over again. Ok, if you really want to split hairs: it doesn’t have running hot water. But, come on, who cares. I can boil up some water and add it to the basin because there’s a plug to stop the water running away while shaving or doing light washing up. There is even a sieve insert to catch bits of food and other small items before they disappear through the drain and into the grey water tank.

To test BOXIO’s true versatility, I ordered the BOXIO SANITARY set—including the WASH PLUS set which comes with a shower head, a shaving mirror, and some stainless steel balls that make cleaning the canisters a lot easier—pour in some water, add the balls, screw on the lid, and give it all a hearty shake.

However, hygiene needs to be taken seriously and that’s not limited to the tanks alone, but includes the hose from the fresh water tank to the tap. Periodically rinse cleanse the system with a suitable agent (such as Katadyn Micropur Forte) to prevent microorganisms thriving—especially in summer and when the unit has stood idle for any period of time with water in its system.

To use the basin, first make sure there is fresh water in the tank and the pressure release valve on the hand pump is closed. Pump three to ten times until you can feel some resistance, and then open the tap. Voilà.

Tanks can be sealed using the provided caps, so that the contents do not slosh around and leak when you are driving.

It goes without saying that the contents of the grey water tanks need to be disposed of responsibly and not simply emptied on the ground or in a river.

As far as the WASH PLUS set is concerned,

• the mirror is unbreakable and sticks to the inside of the lid
• the shower head easily replaces the neck of the tap—simply pull the neck off the tap body and press home the shower head fitting. The shower head has its own remote on-and-off lever, and the spiral hose will extend to more than 1.5 metres.

VERDICT

Horses for courses. For those who need a practical solution that works in the back of a 4×4, van or boot of a car, and still has the use-me-anywhere versatility, the BOXIO WASH comes with a host of arguments that speak in its favour, including an acceptable price tag of €190 (or €160 in their online shop at the time of writing).

If you want the luxury of a fitted kitchen and bathroom in your car/van/truck, then you’re probably installing a tailored interior with all the amenities you need. But…if you still need an outdoor sink to clean hands or wash veggies before they land on the grill, then this easily stowed box just enhances the overall outdoor experience with a minimum of effort.

The materials used are durable, and the workmanship is good. Considering the overall price, the metal tap (faucet) is beautifully made and has a smooth action for an easily adjusted flow rate.

So, to answer the question I set out at the beginning: yes, this is a well-made, durable and versatile product for a fair price which can provide a useful solution in many instances.

from €160 | boxio.de

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