A small box grill with a lid
The Kendane is a portable charcoal grill that you place on a table or on firm ground. With us it sits in the charcoal grills category, and it costs approx. €80 (Amazon page on 20.10.2026: €79.99). In the Amazon catalogue it is called “Holzkohlegrill Campinggrill Klappbar, Tragbarer Holzkohlegrill Tischgrill”.
If “foldable” makes you think of an open grate on scissor legs, the product photo says otherwise. The picture shows a rectangular black box with the lid open, and a bar handle of bare metal on top of the lid. Tubular handles stick out at both ends, and four angular legs sit underneath. At the bottom of the front, a silver strip runs across the body, with another handle in its middle. Above the main grate stands a wire rack that reaches up under the open lid. Steaks, peppers and skewers lie on the grate, and smoke rises from the cooking chamber.
That puts the Kendane among the small lidded grills and not among the open folding troughs. For everything said further down about smoking, that makes the difference. The seller’s description text, however, does not mention the lid anywhere; we rely on the photo alone for this.
Parts and dimensions according to the catalogue
On the material, the description has one half sentence: the “stainless steel construction” is said to ensure durability. The catalogue lists black as the colour, and that is also how the body looks on the photo. Bare stainless steel is silver. It becomes black through paint or a coating, or the body is made of another sheet metal and only the handles and trim strip are stainless steel. Which of the two applies cannot be settled from the catalogue. This has a practical consequence for you: a paint layer does not tolerate a wire brush and can flake off over the embers in time, whereas bare stainless steel is more forgiving there.
Grilling happens on a “perforated grilling surface”, in other words a grid grate. The seller calls it the main grilling grid and suggests grilling burgers on it while bread rolls or vegetables stay warm on the warming rack above. Below the grate, the embers lie in a removable charcoal pan, which according to the description makes cleaning easier. We assume that the handle at the bottom of the front belongs to this pan and that it can be pulled out forwards. That is not documented, but on the picture the strip is clearly set apart from the rest of the body.
There is one promise about the handles: they are meant to allow safe handling “even when it is hot”. Judging by the photo, this presumably means the two tubular handles at the sides and the bar on the lid.
The dimensions are given in inches in the catalogue. Converted, 37.40 inches gives a length of approx. 95 cm, 11.02 inches a width of approx. 28 cm and 14.57 inches a height of approx. 37 cm. Whether that is the assembled or the folded state remains open, and the figures only partly match the photo: there the body looks wider than deep, but not nearly three times as wide. We consider it possible that at least one of the three figures is a packaging dimension. We do not calculate a cooking area from this. Catalogue dimensions include handles and legs, and with this grill the tubular handles on the picture clearly stick out beyond the box on both sides.
The photo does not reveal what actually gets folded in the “folding design”. Most likely it is the legs, which are bolted to the side of the body.
In detail: how a small lidded grill controls its heat
Charcoal glows as hot as the oxygen that reaches it. On an open grill, the embers draw their air from above, and turning a vent there achieves little. Only a closed lid turns the grill into an oven with an air intake and an air outlet. The vent opening then determines how much air passes through the embers, and with it how hot the cooking chamber gets. Wide open: more heat, faster charcoal consumption. Almost closed: the embers are throttled and last longer.
For the Kendane, the seller mentions “adjustable air vents for temperature control”. On the photo, a round opening can be seen on the inside of the rear wall of the lid, with a small knob next to it. That looks like a rotary vent, of the kind many lidded grills have on top as an outlet. The picture can neither confirm nor rule out a second intake at the bottom of the body, because the food and the handle strip hide the front.
Height adjustment for the grate or charcoal pan is not described anywhere. That leaves you two controls: the amount of charcoal and the venting. On a large kettle grill a third would come in, namely the position of the embers. You push the charcoal to one side and cook indirectly on the other. How much space is left between the embers and the food cannot be calculated, because neither the grate size nor the pan size is stated. Judging by the photo, the box is small, so we consider a true indirect zone tight. How the principle works on larger grills is covered in the guide on direct and indirect heat.
A thermometer is not provided for in the description. The seller advises combining the grill “for best results with a BBQ thermometer”. We factor that in as an extra cost in the decision further down.
Can you really smoke on the Kendane?
Short answer: yes for small pieces and short times, and in our assessment hardly for long smoking sessions. The lid on the photo keeps the smoke in the cooking chamber, but the small charcoal pan and the short distance to the embers make low temperatures over hours difficult.
The seller advertises that the grill works “both as a grill and as a smoker grill”, and gives slow-smoking ribs as an example. When smoking on a grill, the meat lies beside or high above throttled embers, and wood pieces on top smoulder and give off smoke. For ribs, cooking chamber temperatures of around 110 to 130 °C are usual, held for four hours or more. For that, the embers must glow evenly for a long time, and you must be able to add more without opening the whole cooking chamber each time.
Both count against long sessions on the Kendane. A small pan holds little charcoal, the embers lie directly under the grate, and how you add more during operation is unclear. We expect that either the grate and warming rack have to come out, or the pan with the embers has to be pulled forwards. Both cost heat.
What we can imagine: sausages, chicken thighs or a salmon fillet that get half an hour to an hour of smoke under the closed lid. That is hot smoking on a small scale. If you want to read up on wood types, temperatures and cooking times, you will find it in the guide on smoking on the grill.
Safety and care, without a manual
We did not find an instruction manual for the Kendane, nor a manufacturer website. From the Amazon description, exactly three statements on this can be drawn: the handles for the hot grill, the removable charcoal pan for cleaning, and the sentence that the folding design has a stable stand “to use it safely on any surface”.
We would not follow the third point. A charcoal grill with short legs radiates heat downwards, and with this box the embers sit close to the ground. In our assessment it has no place on plastic tables, varnished wood, tablecloths or dry grass. A stone slab, paving slabs or a fireproof grill mat underneath are the safe choice.
As a general rule for every charcoal grill: it belongs outdoors only, never in a tent, an awning, a caravan or a garage, not even for burning off. Glowing charcoal produces carbon monoxide, which you can neither smell nor see. Light it with solid firelighters or a chimney starter, never with methylated spirits or petrol. Keep a generous distance from tent walls, awnings and hedges; Kendane has not published a figure for this.
On campsites, the site rules also apply, and in case of wildfire risk, authorities can ban open fire including charcoal. What else you should bear in mind on the road, we have collected in the camping grill buying guide, and the rules for rented flats are in the guide on grilling on a balcony.
What the manufacturer does not state
In all the sources we found, the following are missing for the Kendane: the cooking area in square centimetres and the grate size, the dimensions of the warming rack, the weight, the pack size, whether the catalogue dimensions apply to the assembled or the folded grill, any description of the lid, the grade of stainless steel, the material thickness and the type of the black finish, the material of the grate and charcoal pan, the maximum amount of charcoal, a maximum temperature, the number and position of the air vents, a number of people, the scope of delivery, spare parts, warranty terms, whether assembly works without tools, and any guidance on use on a balcony. An official Kendane website could not be found, nor any details about the company or since when this model has existed. Everything in this text therefore comes from the Amazon catalogue and the product picture.
These three alternatives are worth a look
| Model | The difference | Price | Our rating | Pick this one if |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kendane Folding Camping Grill (this one) | small box with lid according to the photo, warming rack, hardly any dimensions documented | approx. €80 | 7.6 | you want to grill with a lid and the Weber is too expensive for you |
| Hocamel XXL Folding Grill | open stainless steel trough without lid, two grates, seller states over 8 people | approx. €43 | 7.7 | you grill skewers and sausages for larger groups |
| HUOLE Foldable Charcoal Grill | open folding trough, folded size 73 × 33 × 16 cm stated | approx. €28 | 7.5 | you need to plan the boot space precisely beforehand |
| Weber Go-Anywhere Charcoal | lid with two vent sliders, grate 42 × 26 cm according to Weber | approx. €95 | 8.3 | you want reliable manufacturer data and can spend more |
The prices come from our price boxes and change constantly. The rating is our editorial assessment from the data comparison; nothing was measured on any of the four grills.
When the Kendane, when another
The first question is: do you need a lid? If you only grill sausages, skewers and thin steaks over open embers, with the Kendane you pay for a component you will hardly use. The Hocamel XXL Folding Grill costs approx. €43, the Kendane approx. €80. The Hocamel has two grates and, according to the seller, room for over eight people. In our rating it even sits just ahead of the Kendane, at 7.7 against 7.6.
If you also want to cook a piece of chicken under the lid now and then, or smoke briefly, only the Kendane and the Weber Go-Anywhere come into question. The Weber costs approx. €95, the Kendane approx. €80. For that you get what the Kendane lacks: a manufacturer-stated grate size of 42 × 26 cm and two vent sliders. At these two prices we would go for the Weber as soon as documented manufacturer details mean anything to you.
Then the boot. With the Kendane you do not know for sure how big the package is when folded. The HUOLE Foldable Charcoal Grill costs approx. €29, the Kendane approx. €80, and its seller publishes a folded size of 73 × 33 × 16 cm as well as a number of people of approx. 5 to 10. If you plan every centimetre between cool box and tent in a small car, you can count on that. The HUOLE has no lid.
Factor in the accessories for the Kendane. The thermometer that the seller itself recommends adds to the price, as does a fireproof mat if you want to grill on a table. If you do not yet know which type of grill suits you at all, the Grill Finder gives you a shortlist by space and budget.
Who is it for?
The seller writes that the grill offers “enough space” for family and friends. This cannot be checked: the seller states no grate size, and whether the catalogue dimensions apply to the assembled grill is open. Judging by the photo, we consider the grate small.
In our assessment, the Kendane suits two or three people who drive to the pitch by car, grill on a stone table or a slab, and want to close the lid now and then. The warming rack helps here, so you do not have to put bread rolls and vegetables on the grate at the same time as the meat.
It is the wrong choice for groups of six or more who want to eat at the same time. It is equally wrong for anyone who wants to smoke ribs or pulled pork over an afternoon: a smoker or a kettle grill with room for an indirect zone is built for that. And anyone who only buys a grill once they can read the manual beforehand will find none for this model.
