Expandable campsite transforms barren ground into caravan-style kitchen

The last time UK tent manufacturer Cinch and Chinese global equipment manufacturer Wild Land teamed up, they brought the world a push-button inflatable rooftop tent with serious starry night views. A year later, they’re back, this time with a product that could perfectly complement the tent to create a more complete base camp.

The new Kitchen Cruiser is a nomadic camping kitchen that packs away neatly at camp and transforms into a caravan-like kitchen block with a hob, worktop and sink. Throw it in the boot of a car with a tented roof and you have a broken-down camper van ready to explore the world and go camping.

The Kitchen Cruiser packs down very similarly to the iKamper AIOKS, but it has a bit more volume at 22.2 x 15.9 x 18.7 inches (56.5 x 40.5 x 47.5cm, W x L x H) when all closed and packed for transport. It doesn't have wheels or an extendable pull handle like the AIOKS, which we prefer because it loads flat and securely.

Cinch/Wildlands

Unlike the AIOKS, which only opens horizontally, the Kitchen Cruiser also increases in height when camping with four foldable legs. Users can place it flat on the floor while sitting without extending their legs. In both cases, the two side shelves fold upwards, one acting as a countertop while the other holds the foldable sink. The included lithium battery-powered tap connects to a water canister or bottle (not included) to provide water for washing, drinking and cooking.

The Kitchen Cruiser’s top lifts up and back to act as a shelf or extra worktop, revealing the included 2.2kW LPG hob. Cinch also notes that campers can use a second single-burner hob on one of the worktops, creating the two-burner setup familiar to many campers.

Cinch/Wildlands

The design also includes several drawers for storing cutting boards, knives, cooking utensils, and more. This makes the Kitchen Cruiser a nice, organized grab-and-go cooking solution that campers can leave stocked to ease the ever-challenging task of packing the car for a trip into the wilderness. The unit includes several top carrying handles, and the base (cabinet unit, stove, and sink) weighs 43 lbs.

Since getting a van I’ve become quite obsessive about keeping all my camping gear and boxes as square and vertical-walled as possible, so that they all fit together like a puzzle in the square-cornered van bed, making optimum use of space. Equipment like WaterBricks and Front Runner Wolf Packs are great for this, and it’s always good to see the market welcome another neatly squared-off piece of kit, especially when it combines several functions into one easy-to-pack design.

Come to think of it, a few WaterBricks neatly stacked on the Kitchen Cruiser to connect to the faucet would be a really nice space-optimizing clean water solution. The sides of the Kitchen Cruiser don't line up perfectly because of the shelves, but the front and back panels look like they're ready for puzzle piece packing.

Cinch/Wildlands

Cinch is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for the Kitchen Cruiser launch. Early bird prices start at $449, which seems crazy high to us, but it looks like about 150 campaign backers disagree. With just over a week to go, the campaign has already surpassed its goal six times over.

Take a closer look at the Kitchen Cruiser in the trailer below.

Source: Kickstarter