We may earn revenue from the products uncommitted on this varlet and participate in affiliate programme . Learn More ›
Between football season and fall leafage just a drive off , there ’s mickle of opportunity ( and reason ! ) to take your cooking alfresco — and a circle of portable outside cookery appliances to prefer from . For RV encampment trips and stadium tailgate festivities , few options offer the power to cook in so many different ways asMagma ’s competently named Crossover grillwork .
This outdoor cooking appliance ’s modular design uses interchangeable cooktops that allow it to function as a camp cooking stove , standard grill , griddle , and flat - top grill . And with its untainted steel building , it ’s also one of the most attractive portable preparation equipment on the market .
Photo: Tony Carrick
Although the Magma Crossover is an impressive grillroom , it also comes with a steep price tag . I put the Crossover through its paces during a 3 - day RV trip to determine how well it perform and whether it ’s worth the investiture .
Magma Crossover Modular Cooking System: At a Glance
PROS
CONS
Get the Magma Crossover Cooking System at BBQGuys.com starting at $ 499.99 .
What Is the Magma Crossover?
The Magma Crossover is n’t really a grillwork , a griddle , or a stove — it ’s all three . This outdoor cooking gismo commingle what is , in essence , a enceinte camping gas stove with an assortment of similar cooktops to function as a variety of outdoor preparation appliance .
Used as is , the Crossover mathematical function as a large propane camping kitchen range . It come in a single - burner modeling that supports one cooktop and a two - burner model that stand two . The svelte model gets might from a 1 - pound gas canister shot , while the double - burner model takes a 20 - pounding propane armoured combat vehicle .
When conflate with those cooktops — which can be purchased separately or as a bundle with the firebox — the Crossover can be transmute into a standardgas grille , a nonstick flat - top griddle , a monotone - top plancha - style grill , or a pizza pie oven . Set it all up as a tabletop grill or coterie stove , or purchase a telescoping standstill to make a stand - alone grill , griddle , or stove .
Photo: Tony Carrick
The Crossover ’s modular plan not only bring in it a versatile cooking gadget but also keeps it lightweight enough to operate as a portable out-of-door cooking contrivance . Although the sum sum of the Captain James Cook box , stand , and cooktops may weigh well beyond what one might moot to be aportable grill , since no single piece weigh more than 50 Lebanese pound , the Crossover remains light enough to take along . wad just the Captain Cook box and grillroom to take to an afternoon tailgating consequence or field day , or adulterate up all three attachments for a longer road trip .
Exactly How Easy Is the Magma Crossover to Assemble?
One of the dainty thing about Magma ’s Crossover is that it comes pretty much quick to go the right way out of the box . Neither the James Cook box nor the cooktop adherence take any form of assembly whatsoever .
The firebox features sturdy curved - steel dialog box that unfold down either side and function as feet , which are marvellous enough to create a buffer between the firebox and whatever Earth’s surface one adjudicate to breathe it upon . I rested my crossing on a piece of cake table made of composite plug-in at our RV campground . Even with the heat cranked up , the table surface below stayed cool to the touch .
In increase to its tabletop - ready design , Magma also makesa telescoping standthat hold the crosswalk aloft . ( Unfortunately , my stand arrived sans the ironware required to attach the Magma to the sales booth , so I was unable to quiz this specific lineament . ) instead , hardware can mount the Crossoverto trailer hitches and RV bumpers .
Photo: Tony Carrick
Once the base is plant , take out the forked - burner Crossover postulate folding out the two side tables that hinge away from the firebox top . With the burner reveal , adding the cooktops was wanton : I plainly placed the cooktop over one of the 15,000 BTU burners . The cooktops check inside the recessed border of the cook box on four sides , excrete the need to deal with clips or fasteners that might slow down the assembly .
The Crossover also comes with a long gas - supply line , which gave me the flexibility to position the propane tank on the ground out from the Captain Cook box . ( Magma advises drug user to keep the tank at least 18 column inch away from the Captain James Cook box to avoid potentially igniting the gas canister . )
In all , setup was easy ; it took no more than a few minutes to set up and fire up the grillroom .
Photo: Tony Carrick
How Portable Is the Magma Crossover?
The Crossover has some things go for it and a few thing against it when it comes to portability .
On the positive side : The double firebox toes the line of large but still manageable . I like the fold side tables , which not only make the Crossover more summary when folded in but also contain the burner and cooking grate , secure everything is contained .
The Crossover has a collecting of big handles to facilitate bear it . The two side handles make it easy to arise and place the Crossover for frame-up , while the front hold earmark it to be carried like a suitcase when the substance abuser carries it from fomite to cooking location . An optional diffused - sided bagful for the Crossover ( sold individually ) also come equipped with a articulatio humeri strap that makes it a little loose to carry .
Even the individual cooktops are also designed for tape drive . The grill top and pizza oven have time to deem lids and door close so that they do n’t flap open while on the move . All of the four cooktops have strategically placed handles that make them easy to transmit from hand truck or RV to the grill setup , and again , users can elect to purchase cushy covers for each one .
It is important to note that , at nearly 50 pounds , the two-fold - burner Crossover is n’t exactly lightweight . Carrying the double - burner cook box from the layer of my motortruck the 30 or so infantry to the campsite picnic table was n’t strenuous ; however , I would n’t require to carry it much farther than that , even when using the soft display case and its shoulder strap .
In addition to the Captain James Cook corner are the cooktops , which weigh anywhere from 16 to 26 pounds each . And , unless a user plan on taking reward of an existing table , they ’ll also need to tote along the stand , which weighs another 10 Egyptian pound . In all , the total setup weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 Cypriot pound , which is well above the weightiness of a received portable grill . While the Crossover ’s modular design create this setup possible , prepare to carry all of those pieces from point A to point B — and perchance line up some help .
The Crossover ’s many pieces — the firebox , cooktops , and stand — took up a clump of blank in the layer of my hand truck . There ’s also the fuel to take into account . While our RV comes equipped with propane armored combat vehicle that can power the grillwork , tailgate with the double - burner Crossover would postulate one to also tote along a 20 - pound propane tank car .
What I Like Most About the Magma Crossover
Of course , the Magma Crossover impresses most with its legion configurations and , therefore , its versatility . I really appreciated that I could use the grill top on one burner to cook pork chop while at the same time sautéing squash vine and onions using the griddle top on the second burner . It was also easy to remove the cooktop accessories and use the grill as a gas kitchen range to prepare an omelet in a electrocute pan for breakfast and seethe water supply for soup for tiffin .
When it come to performance , the Crossover largely keep up with the good of them . I was capable to char benighted grill marks on my pork chops while go along the insides juicy . Heck , I could n’t have done a good job on the expensive high - terminal petrol grill I have on my back porch . Large side mesa with the removable cutting instrument panel are another plus — these homework surfaces seemed immense even compared to full - size of it petrol grills I ’ve tested .
Aside from that , the Crossover also just attend dandy . Its satiny modern shape and stainless steel expression not only make the Crossover very durable , it also give it a high - terminal tone .
What I’d Change
While my impression of the Crossover were generally irrefutable , I did have my gripes . Though it excelled with the grillwork cooktop reach up to 700 degree Fahrenheit in minute , its griddle was dumb to fire up up — it took 25 proceedings to get live enough to fudge flapcake , and longer to crisp bacon . These two short - orderliness intellectual nourishment dish should really take no clip to manipulate on a griddle .
I also ran into difficulty with the pizza oven get the Malva sylvestris to melt without burning the bottom of the pizza ( and I lost several pizzas attempting to get it right ) . This was made more frustrative by the fact that the Crossover came with no instruction for how to apply it . In fact , there are no instructions for how to fix with the grillwork , which seems very out of line with its bounty price shred . While cookery statement may not be necessary for the grill top , there should be guidance for something as novel as a gas - grillroom pizza oven .
Although I love the versatility of the Crossover ’s pattern and the size of its preparation surface , the sheer size of the full set ( cook box , cooktops , and stand ) makes it more challenging to enrapture than other portable grills . It ’s a chip clumsy to channelize with all its pieces . But once it ’s place up , it ’s backbreaking to reason with the out-and-out public presentation and versatility of this grillroom . The ability to configure the grill open to become passably much any eccentric of cooking one can think of truly place this grill apart from others . A two - burner setup can grill up to 10 little beefburger cake at once on the grill ’s 256 - square - inch preparation surface while buns , brats , and vegetables heat up on a griddle — great for feeding a bunch forward of a game or while serve up a full meal out on the route .
Is the Magma Crossover Worth the Money?
As portable grillwork go , the Magma Crossover is at or near the top of the list when it comes to price . I received my Magma Crossover system for free to reexamine moderately and honestly , but the firebox alone starts at $ 500 for the single - burner model . Users who want to utilise it for anything more than an outdoor gas stove will need to buy the cooktops , which drift from $ 200 to $ 300 apiece , and a stand , which is another $ 260 . And while the Crossover can do more than most other portable grills can , that ’s still a steep price to pay .
That said , the Crossover performs very well , is quite versatile , and is also one of the sturdiest ( not to advert best - looking ) portable grille on the market . This design make it idealistic for RV slip that require one to cook meal ranging from pancakes and Roger Bacon to burgers and hotdogs — and even soup and grilled sandwiches .
The bottom line : It ’s project for hard - core tailgater or RV possessor who want a grille that in effect serves as a concluded outdoor kitchen . For those who can stomach its cost tag , the Magma Crossover is a worthy investiture for agiotage grilling on the go .
While we may earn taxation from review specific product , final decisions about coverage — include opinions , photography , and choice of words — repose exclusively with the editor program . All products , disregarding of their provenance , are dependent to the same testing and reviewing process .
Everything You Need for a Lush and Healthy Lawn
Keeping your grass dark-green and your plants thriving does n’t just take a unripe thumb — it start with the correct prick and supply .