Scottles Worth the Price?

[Todd & Meg]

I can’t see me spending the money for one. I like the idea. And yes a wok will not have heat zones, they are not made for that. Woks are for high heat fast and they cool down quick. These type of cookers can’t get the high heat that a wok needs to get the true flavor of a Chinese restaurant. That’s not to say you can’t make a good stir fry. I have a 75,000 btu wok burner I cook on at home. It took awhile to learn to cook on it.

I could see owning a Blackstone grill for less than half the price. If we camped with a group I would get one of the 22” ones. They are about $120. And you can cook pancakes.

 

[FireMedicPQ1]

I bought $35 Cast iron griddle and a propane burner and made my own "Skottle" for a grand total of $55.00. Wokrs excellent. There is a gent on YouTube who showed me the way. Search for "hoemade Skottle, DIY disc cooking" as there are TONS of ways to get a very similar cooking experience. Not trying to take anything away from TT, but that's a whole bunch of money for the "real" item. Here is the link for the search challenged among us:

I did something similar with the Bayou griddle from Amz. I adapted it a bit different and used the shorter legs that came with the disc. I already had the Coleman burner, so I am into it for around $30. Cooked some eggs and potatoes on it so far, but haven't used it in the field yet. Still, I'd rather do this then spend hundreds on the Skottle.

 

[sully3]

I bought $35 Cast iron griddle and a propane burner and made my own "Skottle" for a grand total of $55.00. Wokrs excellent. There is a gent on YouTube who showed me the way. Search for "hoemade Skottle, DIY disc cooking" as there are TONS of ways to get a very similar cooking experience. Not trying to take anything away from TT, but that's a whole bunch of money for the "real" item. Here is the link for the search challenged among us:

I'm going to try and make one like his!!

 

[EddieR]

Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s, we had one. They’ve been around for ever (Homemade). Ours had two discs. The bottom disc would hold the coals and cook on the top Disc. Good times! It’s all on what makes you happy. Heck, I spent more on a nights Drinking and woke up the next day with a head ache, broke and nothing to show for! haha!

 

[MrChris]

Hated the price for the TemboTusk but after buying it I am happy with what I paid, we love it, we only have it as our cooking equipment, no more stove and pans to pack carry clean unpack, this thing is quick and easy to pack up and the wife loves the clean up, wipe out with a rag n oil and bam done.... We even use it at home many times, I think the wife is in love with the thing.

All I can say is it is not a wok, a wok will not even come close to this, there are varied temp ranges on here and your cooking all the foods at once, like I said the wife loves it which means I love it and am eating great LOL

I would suggest finding one for sale used, but then again they are not sold to often, which should tell you something as well....

To each his own and as the guy packing and unpacking, I am sold.

Jim

Can't agree more! The wife loves it because of ease of cooking and clean up. I love it for the ease of set up and break down. This is NOT a fancy wok. If you have the ability to make one, go for it, it's an amazing invention. For us, the money was worth the many conveniences.

 

[Jeep'n It Simple]

I picked up a Bayou Classic Campfire Griddle for $52.00 on Amazon. Made some 4-inch blocks to support is over my Coleman Single burner stove. For about $60.000 have a Skottle and lots of extra $$$ that I would have spent on a Tempo Tusk Skottle. Take a look and check out the Youtube videos,.

Bayou Classic 7488 17" Cast Iron Campfire Griddle,Black; ou+classic+grill%2Caps%2C260&sr=8-2

 

[Outdoordog]

cast iron pan, $25
Butane stove, $25

Works very well for me.

 

[MattLew]

Are Tembo Tusck Scottles worth the price? North of $350 dollars seems like a lot for a glorified griddle.

I am not trying to take away from Tembo, but they are available from other companies much cheaper, and it is easy to
DIY a discata... Tembo's owners are said to be a part of the general overland community, and I am in favor of supporting those in our community, but the price is too steep for me.

whether you get a tembo, or another brand, or make one your self, they are nice versatile cookers combination skillet / griddle / wok in one... but I can buy a propane cooker, and a bunch of lodge cast iron for that price.

 

[MrChris]

Cinnamon Rolls on a wok? I think not LOL

 

[BizzyB]

Sure it's not the same, but I just got this Lodge Cast Iron Griddle and it fits perfectly on my Camp Chef 2 burner stove for when I need one large cooking surface.

Personally I hate the idea of all the disposable green propane tanks so my stove has a long hose and adapter going to my 5 lb refillable propane tank. Since the Skottle was made for overlanders, they really should just include the big tank adapter hose to encourage more people to do the same, especially for the price. Most of us are driving around big gas guzzling rigs, so we should at least do what we can for the environment we recreate in. More companies could steer people in this direction in my opinion.

Having a truck, I cook on my tailgate so don't really need the legs of the Skottle. It's very expensive for what it is, but you're again paying the overland tax. More than the cost though, I couldn't justify the extra storage space. Even with a pickup truck, space becomes a premium when overlanding with the family (mine is only a midsize truck).

 

[John Hallett]

An Idea on that question:

Could you not, assuming you have a little welding knowledge, buy 3 short pieces of pipe. Then buy enough length of smaller pipe that would telescope inside the larger pipe, to create 'legs'. Buy enough to cut to length for your desired cooking height. Buy 3 of those butterfly screws to tap in the welded pipe to create stable 'locked' legs. Weld a 'cage under the disc to hold a burner. Walla...... as above, but with the removable legs for easy transport.

A gen 2 kinda homemade improvement. What do you think?

I realize this post is over a year old. Perhaps someone can glean some insight. I have been making these for years out of old 20 in disc blades and giving them away as Christmas presents.

I use 48" 1/2" black gas pipe for the legs. They have to be threaded on both ends. I weld three 3/4 to 1/2 reducers equally about three inches in from the edge of the blade. Cut the pipe in half and weld on 1/2" coupler to the cut half of the pipe that isn't threaded then thread everything together. I've been using Napp gas as the fuel source with an cheappo Walmart one burner. Probably the most labor intensive part to building one is making a plug to cover the gang hole in the middle of the blade, grinding down the weld till it is smooth and seasoning the blade. I would imagine Timbo is buying them without the gang hole cut. Lots of folks put a adapter on the burner and run it to a 5 gal propane bottle.

 

[dpsmedic]

Sure it's not the same, but I just got this Lodge Cast Iron Griddle and it fits perfectly on my Camp Chef 2 burner stove for when I need one large cooking surface.

Personally I hate the idea of all the disposable green propane tanks so my stove has a long hose and adapter going to my 5 lb refillable propane tank. Since the Skottle was made for overlanders, they really should just include the big tank adapter hose to encourage more people to do the same, especially for the price. Most of us are driving around big gas guzzling rigs, so we should at least do what we can for the environment we recreate in. More companies could steer people in this direction in my opinion.

Having a truck, I cook on my tailgate so don't really need the legs of the Skottle. It's very expensive for what it is, but you're again paying the overland tax. More than the cost though, I couldn't justify the extra storage space. Even with a pickup truck, space becomes a premium when overlanding with the family (mine is only a midsize truck).

Have to agree with you on the disposable green tanks. Came across these. A local sporting good store here refills them for free to decrease the numbers of those Coleman 1lb bottles in the landfill. Filled New Propane Canister 16.4 oz (they are also on Amazon without the free refill)

 

[Snerk]

Skottles seem neat but like many others have expressed, it's difficult to justify the price.

Even the cheap one at $320 is pretty steep for what is a single cooking device. My Coleman two-burner Triton stove was under a hundred bucks, add in some money for cookware and I can still come in for considerably less.

 

[HIALT2D]

I love to cook and have done 95% of the cooking for us for as long as I can remember. I also love cooking different foods in different ways and with different heat sources. I used to bring so much stuff with us when we went camping; my cast iron pans & Dutch ovens, at least 1 grill, a smoker, stuff to cook on/over/in the fire pit... Now that I'm older, lazier, and just don't cook as much anymore, the versatility of the skottle really caught my eye. Although I stayed away from it for over a year due to the price, the more I ran into folks using them the more interested I became and the easier it started getting to justify the investment. Additionally, for me, it would actually be a space saver.

Tembo Tusk is just a short drive from my house so I went over to see Jerry the owner and to get a closer look. After a quick tour, a bit of chit chat, and a chance to see just how well they are built, I decided to go for it. Although I do love the new adjustable legs, I'll have to say it's still a bit hard to see the justification in the price. Hopefully, it will be money well spent...

 

[RonaldHoward1313]

yeah, no.....will never pay that kind of price for a disc with a tiny burner that I can make for 1/10 that price. That goes for a lot of the other gear people buy for camping/overlanding too. RTT....hahahah, NO!!! Most of what I am seeing on the youtube videos and elsewhere is known as glamping, not camping. And carrying far more than needed. KISS!!!

 

[Edy Coyote]

Skottles seem great. Price? Not so much. I carry a propane burner when I overland. I use it to boil water in a big stock pot for dishes and to fill my road shower with hot water. So....I'm thinking I'll save the money on a skottle by just buying a discada to use with the burner. Going to do this for the upcoming summer. To be continued....

 

[ScottEtkin]

I bought one and used it several times. It was nice but I would say not worth the price for me. I eventually went to a steel partner 22 inch double burner stove with a 5lb propane tank. The skottle was just to much of a pain to keep clean and took up too much space in my rig to justify. I also use a UCO fold flat grill which is awesome and inexpensive.

 

[Mtnmn99]

I keep waiting for someone to come out and say Grey Poupon.

I thought the fire pit one was the best idea. I am sure they are great to cook on, but the estra space and costs are hard to justify.

 

[TheAdventureIndex]

Pardon me good sirs who buy skottles, do you have any grey poupon?

Keep you cash in an investment not a fad, get a partner steel stove and cast iron skillet.

 

[Hammer Time]

I thought that the Tembo Tusk was too expensive. I went with the products from Southwest Disk. Southwest Discada Cooking Plow Disks - Page 1 - Southwest Disk

I got the 18" Madrid Discada, 18" Madrid Discada - Southwest Disk and the short burner, Discada Plow Disc Burner - Southwest Disk

About half the cost of the Tusk.

I'm waiting for the burner with the adjustable legs to come back into stock.

I like being able to keep several courses warm by pushing them to the outer edge of the disc, while the main course is still cooking.

I'm VERY fond of how easy clean-up is. Remove the big chunks of food after the disc has cooled down. Then get it good and hot ,and pour about half a glass of water into it. Scrape gently with a spatula while the water boils away and then pick up what's left with a paper towel. Lightly coat the disc with some cooking oil and you're done.