What the Dripex folding grill is
A small stainless steel charcoal grill that folds into a bag and, according to the seller, opens “in one second” without assembly. On the Amazon page it stood at €19.99 on 20 October 2026. In the charcoal grill category it belongs with the camping grills: no lid, no wheels, built for the picnic blanket, the campsite and the garden.
For this text we had exactly one source, the Amazon catalogue listing. We did not find a manufacturer page from Dripex, nor an instruction manual. What is written here about the device therefore comes from the product title, the seller’s bullet points and the catalogue fields, plus the product photo. That is thinner than for brands with their own instructions, and in two places the information contradicts itself. In each case we say where a number comes from.
Dimensions and weight: three sets of numbers for one grill
When open, the bullet points give two areas, 31.8 × 31 cm for the “upper part” and 20 × 21.5 cm for the “lower part”, plus a height of 24.3 cm. The product image shows what this fits: a rectangular box that narrows towards the bottom, a grate on top, and a flat sheet-metal shelf on each side. Which of the two areas corresponds to the grate, the seller does not say.
The seller gives the weight as 4 kg.
Folded, the grill is supposed to measure 31.8 × 2 × 34.3 cm. Besides this folded size, the same listing contains two more sets of numbers. The product title carries 65 × 25 × 14.5 cm in brackets, without saying whether this means assembled, folded or packed; the size variant field repeats these values with the note “Not adjustable”. The catalogue’s item dimensions are given in inches, 25.59 × 5.51 × 9.45, which converts to approx. 65 × 14 × 24 cm.
Two centimetres of thickness and 65 centimetres of length do not describe the same package. One reading that would fit the photo: with the shelves folded out, the grill becomes much longer than the box alone, and 65 cm would then be the overall length. That is not documented, and the second number (14 or 25 cm) does not explain it either. Equally, one of the sets could be a packaging dimension.
What follows from this: if the grill has to fit into a particular compartment, a bike bag or a boot full of drinks crates, do not plan with the folded size but measure it after delivery, while the return period is still running.
The same applies to the grilling area, only more strictly. We do not calculate a grate area from outer dimensions, least of all for a box with sloping walls that is larger at the top than at the bottom. Earlier versions of this page had listed the 20 × 21.5 cm as the grilling area. In the catalogue, this measurement is called only the “lower part”.
In detail: What “thickened stainless steel” can mean
This is how the catalogue puts it: the grill is made of thickened stainless steel, heat resistant, rust resistant and “not easy to deform”. That sounds clear-cut, but it is not, because stainless steel is a collective term for very different alloys.
On grills, fire bowls and cookware you usually meet three grades. 304 (material number 1.4301) is a chromium-nickel steel, non-magnetic and very corrosion resistant outdoors. 201 replaces part of the nickel with manganese, is cheaper and is more prone to rust in damp and salty air. 430 (1.4016) gets by without any nickel, is magnetic, tolerates heat well and develops surface rust more easily. On a beach with salty air, the difference between 304 and 201 is no quibble. Which grade is in the Dripex remains open; after buying, a magnet at least shows you whether it is a ferritic grade such as 430.
The sheet thickness decides something else, namely whether the charcoal pan warps under embers. Thin sheet gets hotter at the hottest spot than at the edge, expands unevenly and can buckle. On a folding grill whose walls hang on hinges, this can change how the folding parts fit, so that it becomes harder to fold after a few uses. Whether that happens with the Dripex, we do not know. The FENNEK Grill light from our list of alternatives gives 1.5 to 2 mm for its sheet.
Our assessment: without grade and thickness, “thickened” is a direction without a scale. The comparatively high weight for such a small box points more towards thicker than thinner sheet, but it does not replace a number.
Unfolding instead of slotting together
“Opens in one second! No assembly required.” That is all the listing says about the mechanism, and how the grill locks when unfolded cannot be seen in the photo either.
Small charcoal grills without a lid come in two designs. With a folding grill, base, walls and feet hang on hinges and unfold like a box. With a slot-together grill, such as the FENNEK, you push flat individual parts into slots. The folding version is quicker and cannot lose a part on the go. In return it has hinges that take heat, ash and fat, and hinges are the spots on any folding grill that can develop play over time. A slot-together grill does not have this problem; instead it has slots that can warp under heat.
On wind, the seller makes a single statement: the vertical stand is windproof. This presumably means the closed side walls around the embers. Crosswind fans charcoal, which then burns down faster, and less heat reaches the windward side of the grate. Walls that hold off gusts help against that. The charcoal still needs air, which in boxes like this usually comes through openings in the lower area. Whether the Dripex has such openings and where is not described anywhere. If the embers do not get going properly in calm weather, our guide Charcoal will not light properly helps with finding the cause.
Can I use the Dripex on the beach or on a lawn?
Yes. The seller explicitly names “sand, forest, grass and level surfaces”. The same text asks you to use it on a level surface. Taken together, that means: the ground may be soft, but it must be level. Whether you may grill there is regulated by the municipality and the state.
The seller’s clearance is not a permission to grill. As a general rule in Germany, open fires in forests are prohibited by the state forest laws (Landeswaldgesetze), usually also within a certain distance of the forest edge, and many bathing spots and parks have their own grilling zones or a ban. “Forest” in the seller’s list therefore describes the ground the grill can stand on. It does not describe a place where you may light it.
On lawns, the low build height comes into play. The charcoal pan sits close to the ground, and the radiant heat downwards can scorch the grass beneath. A paving slab or large tile as a base prevents that and, on sand, also creates a standing surface the box does not sink into. Sinking in is the bigger risk on soft sand: if the grill stands crooked, embers slide to the lower side, and the box can tip over.
Shelves, bag and packing away
On both sides the grill has “additional holders”, according to the seller for food, small kettles and spice tins. In the photo these are flat sheet-metal surfaces that attach to the top edge of the box and project freely outwards; on the left stands a kettle, on the right lie skewers. No load capacity is given. Because the shelves are fixed on one side only, we would not put a full kettle on them until you have seen how far they give under load. And because they sit right next to the embers, they get hot: put plastic spice tins somewhere else.
The bag is mentioned in the title (“with bag”). In the picture it is black with yellow handles; its material is not stated anywhere. Next to it in the photo lies a small wire hook. What it is and whether it is part of the delivery, the text leaves open.
For packing away, the general rules for charcoal apply, not manufacturer information, because there are no instructions. Ash and grill must be completely cold before either goes into a fabric bag or the car; remnants of embers can stay hot for hours after the last food comes off. Ash belongs in a metal container, not in paper or plastic, and on the beach not in the sand, where someone could step on it barefoot. The seller says nothing about cleaning the grate and pan, nor about the dishwasher.
What the manufacturer does not state
These points are missing from the catalogue listing, and we did not find any instructions in which they could appear:
- Grilling area as an explicit figure, number and material of the grates
- Stainless steel grade and sheet thickness
- Charcoal quantity per fill, air openings, ash catcher
- whether the grate height can be adjusted
- Maximum temperature and heat-up time
- Minimum distances to flammable materials, heat protection for the ground, suitability for a balcony
- Cleaning and care, dishwasher yes or no
- Warranty terms, spare parts, company address and country of origin
- Material of the bag and how the locking works
- a number of people
Where safety is concerned, this weighs heaviest. The request for a level surface quoted above is the only usage note in the entire listing.
Three alternatives from our catalogue
| Model | The difference | Price | Our rating | Choose this one if |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dripex folding grill with bag (this one) | Stainless steel folding box, shelves on both sides | approx. €20 | 7.9 | you want to get going without slotting parts together and need shelves on the grill |
| Charmline portable folding grill 35 x 23 cm | Alloy steel instead of stainless steel, grill mesh can be lifted to add charcoal | approx. €40 | 7.5 | you want to add charcoal while grilling |
| Y’Tbvrt stainless steel folding grill | 1.8 kg, folded 41 × 20 × 3 cm, folding side table | approx. €26 | 7.4 | you carry the grill on foot and every kilo counts |
| FENNEK Grill light | Slot-together grill with manufacturer instructions and stated grate area | approx. €70 | 8.2 | documented material and usage information is worth a higher price to you |
The prices come from our price box and change constantly. The rating is our editorial assessment of the available data; we did not measure anything on any of the four devices.
On price, the Dripex is the cheapest of the four at approx. €20. The Y’Tbvrt stands at approx. €26, the Charmline at approx. €40, the FENNEK at approx. €70. We would still choose by design and available data, not by price alone.
When the Dripex fits and when another one does
In this group, the Dripex is the grill for people who want to stop spontaneously and grill: open the bag, unfold, add charcoal. If you drive to the lake and carry the grill from the car park to the meadow, the weight is no problem for you, and you have a shelf on the left and right for kettle and plates. The Y’Tbvrt has a side table, and the Charmline, according to the seller, an area for sauces.
It looks different if you carry the grill far. On a hike or by bicycle, the Y’Tbvrt weighs less than half, and after a few kilometres you feel that more than any convenience difference in setup.
If you like to grill for a long time and have to add charcoal, take a look at the Charmline. Its seller describes a grill mesh that can be lifted; whether the grate is removable on the Dripex is not clear from the listing.
And if what matters to you is knowing exactly what you are buying, that is, sheet thickness, grate area and instructions with usage notes, we would go for the FENNEK, even though it costs approx. €70 instead of approx. €20 and has to be slotted together.
None of the four is suitable for groups. For six or eight people in one evening you need a kettle grill or table grill with much more grate. How to weigh size, fuel and pack size against each other is explained in our camping grill buying guide; the Grill Finder narrows the selection by group size.
The Dripex is also the wrong choice if you need a grill with documented clearance and ground requirements, for example for a club site with conditions. Such information simply does not exist for this device.
