Trial by fire. When you're overlanding and the group is counting on you to cook food, it's the only trial that matters. The newest edition of the Tyrux grill just went through exactly that.
Here's a breakdown of the trial: drive 20 miles up the beach in Matagorda, Tx with a bunch of friends and their families, then use nothing but the Tyrux to cook for everyone the whole weekend. Sounds daunting, but for the Tyrux, it was simple.
The trial starts with packing. When you're overlanding, space matters! The Tyrux packs down to around 13" x 17" x 2" . For reference, it fits in a frontrunner wolfpack. For this trip, it rode under the back seat. It doesn't get much easier to pack.
The next part of the trial was setup. The Tyrux unpacks and sets up in under a minute. Once it's set up and in the firepit, it can be used as a support if you're into starting campfires with a teepee lay. That's exactly how this trip went.
Probably the most important part of the trial: can it do the job? The Tyrux locked in plenty of food to feed the whole group, and with the ability to adjust the height over the campfire, everything was cooked perfectly. When one side was cooked, the Tyrux flipped everything over (like a rotisserie) to cook the other side. When everything was done, it raised the food up and swiveled away from the direct flame, so the food stayed warm, but everyone was still able to access the food.
The final part of the trail was durability. The Tyrux was absolutely abused the whole weekend. It was set up on the first day, endured a weekend long roaring fire, did the cooking for an entire group, was left out in the salty breeze, and then got packed up with no cleaning and sat for another week. When it was unpacked for a quick clean, there was no rust and it still worked like new. Apparently being made of 304 stainless steel has its benefits.
In the past, this trip was done with other cooking options like propane fueled stoves and cast iron. The result was always the same. Rust and disappointment. Sometimes mechanical components failed. Everything cast iron rusted, no matter what. This was the first trip with the Tyrux and it performed flawlessly in tough conditions. It passed a true trial by fire with ease.