Equipment
 

Hi,

I know that people are very careful when choosing their equipment for comps.

Aside from your smoker, people seem pretty attached to their knives and thermapens seem pretty ubiquitous (especially the superfast mauve ones).

Are people also particular about their coolers (for example, Yeti vs. Igloo) or tents or tables?


Thanks,

Eric

I think on the tables a lot of people like the ones some at Sam's. Think they are called Lifetime tables or something. Mainly because they are adjustable.

I dont have a preference on the cooler. Just big enough to hold all my comp food.

I like canopies that go up quick. Not that stuff that has to be pieced together. Most guys you will see have EZ Up Brand.

I like Igloo coolers.

hmm....coolers, igloo for the cold stuff, CAMBRO for the hot stuff. Maverick et-73's, cant beat the ez-ups. Tables, doesnt matter to me as long as i have my trusty 15 inch pvc pieces to raise them up to a respectable height.

Yep.
That PVC trick will save your back.

I really like the Oxo Good Grips equipment line. I like the peelers, paring knives, etc. One thing I'm VERY particular with is tongs. (NOT THONGS!) I can only use the Oxo brand tongs with the lock feature. My BIL kept my very first pair of OXO tongs. I was lost when I discoved I had lost em. Looked all over the place and just decided to go out and buy a new pair. I felt much better knowing there was a pair in the kitchen drawer in case I needed them. Strange, but I just can't use any other kind. I have fits when I'm at my parent's house and using their pair of tongs. It must be my OCD!

Haven't bought Cambro's yet... but do use a few large "5 day" coolers until then.

global knives..... 8" chef my fav

From my studies as far as consumer grade goes , the igloos are more expensive than coleman, but have better hardware. They both hold cold as long as one another.

Ultimately its how you use the cooler. How often you open the lid, if you add another piece of foam on top of your contents, drain the water off as it melts, etc.

Caravan Canopy's are #1 on the west coast:

http://www.caravancanopy.com/

I agree on the Cambros but not just for the hot stuff... I have a large Igloo that I use for transportation of the meat but once it's trimmed and or seasoned it goes into a pre-cooled (large hotel pan of ice for 20-30 minutes) cambro on a sheet pan. This works out best for us. In fact, we have two of them stacked and keep the top one pre-heated and the bottom one chilled. Once all the meat is out of the igloo (the meat is cryo-sucked before it goes in so there is no cross contamination) our boxes are made up and stored in there...

We also bring two Maverick ET-73's at the comps. One to use and one for a back up. Excuse the pun but we almost got burned when we broke one....

As for the canopy, we picked up a 'King Canopy' at Costco that we really like. It came with four walls that not only keep the heat in (it gets chilly here) but also gives us some privacy.

Hmm, so what exactly would you be doing in this King Canopy that you would need "privacy?":twisted::wink:

Some how I know that no matter what I say it's going to sound wrong so I might as well just say it....

It's all that secret seasoning that I use.

And what's that? :-P

Ya gotta know the password.....