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Folding barbecue buying guide: tray or grate

Updated: 23 October 2026

You have typed folding barbecue into amazon.co.uk and the results have mixed a charcoal box that packs like a briefcase with a mesh stand over a campfire. A folding barbecue buying guide splits those two jobs before steel or stars. Eight listings, from about £8.99 to about £26.99, sit on the [folding grill comparison](/hub/grills-and-barbecues/folding-grill). This page is the order of decisions, not a winner. Peter F. edits DIY and tools at Products Compared. Updated 23 October 2026. We read the saved listings and did not lab-test these grills.

You have typed folding barbecue into amazon.co.uk and the results have mixed a charcoal box that packs like a briefcase with a mesh stand over a campfire.

Our top picks

Amazon Basics Amazon Basics campfire grate

Best overall

Amazon Basics Amazon Basics campfire grate
9.2/10about £23.74
View offer
Charmline Charmline compact

Alternative

Charmline Charmline compact
9.2/10about £25.34
View offer
Direct Designs Direct Designs Notebook

Alternative

Direct Designs Direct Designs Notebook
8.8/10about £26.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Two products share this name
  2. 2.Size and what actually packs
  3. 3.Steel, coal load and reviews
  4. 4.When a folding grill is the wrong buy

Two products share this name

A briefcase, sometimes called a notebook grill, is a shallow steel tray that holds its own charcoal, with sides that fold flat. In this set that family is the Direct Designs Notebook at about £26.99, the Charmline at about £25.34, the WixbFyn at about £19.99, the Kizmyee at about £16.67, the Rammento at about £9.25 and the WINB at about £8.99. You light charcoal inside the box. A campfire grate is mesh on folding legs. The Amazon Basics grate at about £23.74 and the Elsjoy at about £19.98 are this second product. Neither listing is a fuel tray. Both say they are for pans, not food laid straight on the mesh. One UK review of the Amazon Basics grate cooked on the mesh anyway. That review does not rewrite the bullet. If the only fire you are allowed is charcoal inside a tray, a grate is the wrong buy even when it has more stars.

Size and what actually packs

Read the cooking area, the folded thickness, and the second dimension line. The Notebook bullet gives 44 cm by 26.5 cm and a cooking-surface field of 1,210 cm². Another line says 17.7 × 10.8 × 11.8 cm. Those two rectangles cannot both be the open grill. The Charmline title says 1–3 people, on 667 cm², folded to 34.7 × 23 × 7.6 cm at 2.5 kg, with a carry case listed. Larger Charmline sizes in other reviews are not this ASIN. The WINB title says 1–2 people and 8.2 × 5.5 inches, while the specification prints 25 × 25 × 25 millimetres. The Kizmyee specification says 60 × 22 × 6 cm and 1.83 kg, with 350.75 square inches, and the bullet gives a different inch size. Quote both lines, or do not quote a size. Notebook reviews say the grate and side pieces do not always pack inside. None of these listings state BS EN 1860-1:2024.
Amazon Basics Amazon Basics campfire grate

Testsieger

Amazon Basics Amazon Basics campfire grate
9.2/10about £23.74
View offer

Steel, coal load and reviews

Painted steel, powder-coated alloy and stainless all appear. Stainless is a material claim, not a thickness. The Kizmyee bullet says 430 stainless steel, and UK texts still include a grate that sags. The WixbFyn is stainless at 2.05 kg. One updated UK review describes warping on a single layer of supermarket briquettes. Another review of the same ASIN says it did not warp. The Charmline bullet tells you to keep charcoal below half the tray. That is one listing’s caution, not a law for every briefcase. Stars need a sample. The Notebook is 4.4 from 1,422 amazon.co.uk ratings. The Charmline is 4.6 from 781. The Amazon Basics grate is 4.6 from 5,727 and is still a mesh stand. The Rammento is 4.2 from four ratings. The WINB is 4.1 from 149 ratings, and the saved texts are not headed United Kingdom. Charmline and WINB list a carry case. Rammento says the box is the case.

When a folding grill is the wrong buy

Leave this category if you want a lidded kettle, a gas cartridge grill, or a trolley for a crowd. Leave it if the only place you can cook is a balcony. London Fire Brigade advice is not to barbecue on a balcony, and a short fold does not change that. Leave it if you planned to cook in a tent, awning or caravan. GOV.UK fire safety outdoors rules that out for charcoal. Site rules sit on the folding BBQ for camping page. A foil tray has its own beach and hot-weather limits, on folding BBQ vs disposable barbecue. If you already know the job, the best folding barbecue UK page applies these criteria.

Common questions

Is a folding campfire grate the same as a briefcase BBQ?
No. A briefcase holds charcoal in its own tray. A campfire grate, such as Amazon Basics or Elsjoy here, is mesh on legs over a fire you already have. Both listings say they are for pans rather than food on the mesh.
What cooking area feeds two people?
There is no British Standard for a two-person rectangle. One UK buying page uses about 30 × 20 cm as its own rule of thumb. Here the Charmline title says 1–3 people on 667 cm², and the WINB title says 1–2 people on a grill whose two size lines disagree.
Why do some listings show two sizes?
Sellers paste a folded size, an open size and a template field into the same table. The Notebook prints 44 × 26.5 cm in the bullet and 17.7 × 10.8 × 11.8 cm elsewhere. The WINB prints a 25 mm cube against an inch size in the title.
Does stainless steel stop the grate warping?
No. Stainless appears on the WixbFyn and Kizmyee listings, and UK texts on both include sagging or warping. Steel grade is not thickness. The Charmline bullet caps charcoal at half the tray for that reason.
Is a £9 grill the same product as a £27 one?
They can both be charcoal trays, and they are not the same evidence. The WINB at about £8.99 and the Rammento at about £9.25 are the entry of this capture. The Notebook at about £26.99 has 1,422 ratings. Four ratings do not prove the cheap tray will pack cleanly.

Related pages

Charcoal barbecue comparison

Folding grill

Best folding barbecue UK: match the job, not stars

Folding BBQ for camping: rules, height and the van

How to use a folding barbecue: coals, food, then cold

Folding BBQ vs disposable barbecue: keep or bin it

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison, last checked on 22 October 2026. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures saved for these ASINs.

  1. GOV.UK: Fire safety outdoors (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. GOV.UK: The Countryside Code (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. BSI: BS EN 1860-1:2024 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK: General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. Food Standards Agency: Cooking your food (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. Humberside Fire and Rescue: Barbecue safety (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. London Fire Brigade: April 2026 barbecue note (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. GOV.UK: Statutory guidelines on disposable BBQs (retrieved 22 October 2026)