There’s a special kind of magic in cooking outdoors. It’s the sound of bacon sizzling as the sun rises over a campsite, the smell of searing steaks at a tailgate party, the joy of flipping a mountain of pancakes for the family on the back patio. For years, my outdoor cooking was limited to a traditional grill with its temperamental flare-ups and the constant fear of a perfectly good shrimp or asparagus spear falling into the fiery abyss. I wanted more. I craved the versatility of a diner-style flat top—the ability to cook eggs, hashbrowns, and burgers all at once—but in a package I could take anywhere. The challenge was finding a unit that was portable without being flimsy, powerful without being unwieldy, and easy to clean without hours of scraping and seasoning. This search for the ultimate portable cooking freedom led me directly to the Captiva Designs 22 in 3-Burner Propane Griddle, a tabletop unit that promised to be the solution to all my outdoor culinary woes.
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- 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧: Cooking made simple, cleanup made easier. Thle slideout gerease cup making used cooking oil and food...
Key Considerations Before You Buy a Portable Propane Griddle
A portable propane griddle is more than just an item; it’s a key solution for unlocking true culinary versatility away from the kitchen. It solves the core problems of traditional grilling: uneven heating, messy flare-ups from dripping grease, and a limited menu. With a solid, flat cooking surface, you can cook delicate items like eggs and pancakes, get a perfect all-over sear on a steak, or even make fried rice for a crowd. The primary benefit is control—control over temperature zones, control over your ingredients, and control over the final cleanup, turning complex outdoor meals into a streamlined, enjoyable process. You can see its full feature set and user reviews to understand the breadth of its capabilities.
The ideal customer for this type of product is someone who values mobility and versatility in their cooking. This includes RV enthusiasts, avid campers, tailgating superfans, and anyone with a small patio or balcony where a full-sized grill is impractical. It’s for the family that wants to make a full breakfast outdoors or the host who loves making smash burgers for a party. On the other hand, it might not be suitable for those who are BBQ purists, who live for the distinct char marks and smoky flavor that only come from open grates. If you need to cook for 50 people every weekend or require a massive, stationary centerpiece for your outdoor kitchen, you might consider larger, more traditional grill setups.
Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:
- Dimensions & Space: Portability is key, but it comes with a physical footprint. The Captiva Designs 22 in 3-Burner Propane Griddle measures 24 inches wide by 20.7 inches deep, making it a substantial tabletop unit. You need a sturdy, level surface to place it on. At 44 pounds, it’s reassuringly heavy but requires a bit of muscle to move, so consider how often you’ll be transporting it and if it will fit comfortably in your vehicle or RV storage bay.
- Capacity/Performance: Look at both the cooking surface area and the BTU output. This model offers 370 square inches, which is ample space for about a dozen burgers or a full breakfast for a family of four to six. Its 24,000 BTU output, spread across three independent burners, is the real star, ensuring it heats up quickly and provides enough power to achieve a hard sear while offering the control to cook delicate foods gently.
- Materials & Durability: The cooktop material is paramount. Captiva Designs uses a ceramic-coated cast iron surface, which is a significant upgrade over the more common cold-rolled steel. Cast iron provides superior heat retention and evenness, while the ceramic coating delivers an excellent non-stick experience and simplifies cleanup, resisting rust far better than uncoated surfaces. The alloy steel frame feels robust, contributing to the unit’s solid, long-lasting feel.
- Ease of Use & Maintenance: Think about the entire lifecycle, from setup to cleanup. This griddle shines with its near tool-free assembly. Long-term care is simplified by the ceramic surface, which doesn’t require the same intensive seasoning ritual as raw cast iron. A well-designed grease management system, like the slide-out tray on this model, is non-negotiable for preventing messes and making post-cookout cleanup quick and painless.
While the Captiva Designs 22 in 3-Burner Propane Griddle is an excellent choice, it’s always wise to see how it stacks up against the competition. For a broader look at all the top models, we highly recommend checking out our complete, in-depth guide:
- High-Heat Propane Gas BBQ Grill – This 4-burner gas grill with an additional 8,500 BTU side burner delivers a total of 46,500 BTU. Enjoy rapid...
- ❤ STAINLESS STEEL BURNERS: This propane gas grill has 3 Stainless Steel burners, can put out 30,000 BTU-per-hour with integrated piezoelectric ignition...
- Heavy-Duty Griddle Plate – Built with a 4mm thick, reinforced hot-pressed steel griddle that ensures excellent heat retention and durability. Perfect for...
Unboxing the Captiva Designs 22 in 3-Burner Propane Griddle: First Impressions and Core Features
The first thing that struck me upon unboxing the Captiva Designs 22 in 3-Burner Propane Griddle was its heft. At 44 pounds, this is not a flimsy, sheet-metal affair. It feels substantial and well-built, an impression confirmed by other users who noted it’s “heavy- obviously made of high quality materials that will last for years.” Inside the box, the components were neatly packed: the main burner body, the impressive ceramic-coated cast iron griddle top, a lid with a handle, four screw-on feet, and crucially, two different regulator hoses. The assembly process was, as advertised, astonishingly simple. I screwed on the four feet by hand, attached the handle to the lid with the provided hardware, and set the griddle top in place. From sealed box to fully assembled, it took less than five minutes, with no tools required. This rapid setup is a massive advantage for anyone eager to get cooking, especially in a camping or tailgating scenario. The control knobs have a solid, tactile feel, and the black powder-coated finish gives the unit a sleek, professional look that sits nicely on any patio table. It immediately presented itself as a serious piece of cooking equipment, ready for action.
Key Benefits
- Superior non-stick ceramic-coated cast iron cooktop
- Powerful and versatile three-burner system for zone cooking
- Extremely fast, tool-free assembly and setup
- Excellent portability with a robust, durable build
- Includes two types of regulators for versatile fuel sources
Potential Drawbacks
- Reports of proprietary regulators failing with difficult replacement
- Cooktop may be prone to warping under prolonged, high-heat use
In the Field: A Deep Dive into the Captiva Designs Griddle’s Performance
A griddle can look great out of the box, but the real test is how it performs under fire. Over several weeks, we put the Captiva Designs 22 in 3-Burner Propane Griddle through its paces, cooking everything from delicate campsite breakfasts to a full-scale smash burger feast for a backyard party. Its performance was not just good; it was transformative, fundamentally changing how we approach outdoor cooking.
The Heart of the Matter: The Ceramic-Coated Cast Iron Cooktop
The single most impressive feature of this griddle is its cooking surface. The ceramic-coated cast iron is a game-changer. Unlike traditional steel griddles that require a meticulous seasoning process and are prone to rust, this surface was ready to go almost immediately. After a quick wash and a light coating of oil for its first heat-up, it performed brilliantly. We started with the classic test: fried eggs. They slid around the surface like they were on ice, with no sticking whatsoever. Pancakes bubbled up evenly and developed a perfect golden-brown crust, flipping with effortless ease. This stellar non-stick performance is a sentiment echoed by countless users, one of whom stated, “The ceramic-coated cast iron pan is excellent quality—food doesn’t stick at all and cleanup is super easy.”
This brings us to the cleanup, which is nothing short of revolutionary. After cooking a pound of greasy bacon and a dozen sausage patties, all it took was a few scrapes with a plastic spatula to guide the grease into the trap and a simple wipe-down with paper towels while the surface was still warm. The griddle looked nearly new in minutes. The heavy cast iron construction also provides exceptional heat retention. Once it’s hot, it stays hot, providing the consistent temperature needed for a perfect crust on steaks or burgers. This ability to deliver high, even heat is what allowed us to achieve what one user described as a “fantastic” sear on a ribeye, far better than what they could get on a skillet. This cooktop is a feature that truly sets the griddle apart and justifies its value.
Power and Control: The 24,000 BTU Three-Burner System
With 24,000 BTUs of power at its disposal, the Captiva Designs 22 in 3-Burner Propane Griddle heats its 370-square-inch surface quickly and effectively. We found it reached pancake-ready temperature in under 10 minutes. But raw power is useless without control, and that’s where the three-burner design proves its genius. Having three independent control knobs on a 22-inch griddle provides incredible versatility for zone cooking.
We put this to the test with a multi-component meal: hibachi-style shrimp, beef, and vegetables. We cranked the right burner to high for a hard sear on the thinly sliced beef, set the middle burner to medium for stir-frying vegetables and shrimp, and kept the left burner on low to keep everything warm before serving. This level of control is simply not possible on a single-burner griddle or a standard grill. One user cleverly noted that they found the back of the griddle runs hotter than the front, which they found “useful to manage cooking speed.” We observed this as well and agree that it creates natural cooking zones that an experienced griddler can use to their advantage—moving food from the hotter searing zone at the back to the cooler finishing zone at the front. This nuanced control is what allows you to cook a complete meal, perfectly timed, all on one surface. For anyone who loves to multitask their cooking, you should explore the three-zone cooking capabilities of this model.
Built for the Road: Portability and Thoughtful Design
While its cooking performance is top-tier, the Captiva Designs 22 in 3-Burner Propane Griddle never forgets its primary mission: portability. The 44-pound weight is the perfect balance point. It’s heavy enough that it doesn’t feel cheap and provides a stable, secure cooking platform, but it’s still manageable for one person to carry from the garage to the patio or load into a truck for a camping trip. As one user aptly put it, it’s “sturdy yet lightweight and portable, making it easy to set up and transport.” The removable griddle top makes it easier to carry in two lighter pieces if needed.
The design includes several thoughtful touches that enhance its on-the-go credentials. The included lid is perfect for protecting the ceramic cooktop during transport and keeping it clean between uses. But one of the most underrated features is the inclusion of two different regulator hoses. This allows you to connect the griddle to a small, 1 lb green propane canister for maximum portability on a hike or at the beach, or hook it up to a standard 20 lb propane tank for all-day cooking at a campsite or in the backyard. This dual-fuel capability is a massive convenience that eliminates the need to buy extra adapters. Finally, the grease management system, a simple slide-out cup, is effective and easy to clean, preventing the kind of greasy messes that can ruin a camping trip. These features combine to make a griddle that is as practical in the wild as it is powerful on the patio. You can check the latest price and availability online.
What Other Users Are Saying
Across the board, the sentiment for the Captiva Designs 22 in 3-Burner Propane Griddle is overwhelmingly positive. Users consistently celebrate its ease of use and fantastic cooking results. One owner, who used it for everything from family breakfasts to a 30-person barbeque, awarded it 4.5 stars, calling it “great” for the cost. Another happy customer summed it up as a “game-changer for outdoor cooking,” praising its quick heating, even cooking, and easy-to-clean surface.
The praise for the ceramic cooktop is a recurring theme. One reviewer, a self-proclaimed “avid BBQ enthusiast,” claimed the “effortless cleanup” after grilling was the standout feature, stating, “There was no wrestling with stuck-on food remnants or spending ages scrubbing away.”
However, the experience isn’t universally perfect. We found a couple of critical issues raised by users that are important to consider. The most significant concern involves potential component failure. One user reported their regulator blew out after only two uses and they faced immense frustration trying to find a replacement part, citing unresponsive customer service. Another user, after four months of regular use, noted that the center of their cooktop began to warp, creating a low spot where food would stick and burn. To the company’s credit, they did reach out and provide a replacement top, highlighting a willingness to stand by their product when contacted successfully.
How the Captiva Designs Griddle Compares to the Competition
The Captiva Designs 22 in 3-Burner Propane Griddle occupies a specific niche focused on portable, flat-top cooking. To understand its value, it’s helpful to compare it not just to other griddles, but to the more traditional propane grills one might consider for outdoor cooking.
1. Monument Grills 4-Burner Propane Gas Grill
- 52000 BTUs COOKING POWER - Four main burners and one side burner with total 52,000 BTUs deliver powerful heat and great grilling experience
- LARGE COOKING AREA - 570 square inches of total cooking area offers plenty of grilling space; 405 square inches of primary cooking area and 165 square...
The Monument Grills 4-Burner is a different class of outdoor cooker altogether. This is a large, stainless steel, cabinet-style grill designed to be a permanent or semi-permanent fixture on a backyard patio. With four main burners, it offers significantly more cooking space and raw power than the Captiva griddle. However, it is a traditional grill with grates, designed for classic barbecue fare like chicken, ribs, and steaks where you want char marks. It completely lacks the flat-top versatility of the Captiva and is not portable in any practical sense. This is the choice for a homeowner who prioritizes a large-format, traditional grilling experience over the portability and varied menu of a griddle.
2. Char-Broil Performance Series 2-Burner Propane Grill
- GAS GRILL: Powered by liquid propane gas, this grill runs on a 20-pound tank, not included. It reaches cooking temperatures quickly, delivers high temps...
- COOKING AREA: Grill up to 16 burgers, 8 chicken breasts or 6 steaks on 300-square-inches of primary cooking space. Cook meats and larger items on the...
The Char-Broil 2-Burner is a closer competitor in terms of its target market: those with limited space. Like the Monument, it’s a cabinet-style grill with traditional grates, but in a much more compact footprint. It’s an excellent choice for a small patio or balcony where a full-sized grill won’t fit. The trade-off is in the style of cooking. You get the classic grilling experience for burgers and hot dogs, but you can’t cook pancakes, eggs, or fried rice. Someone would choose the Char-Broil over the Captiva if they strongly prefer the flavor and texture from open-flame grilling and don’t need the portability or flat-top versatility the Captiva offers.
3. EUHOME 4-Burner Propane Gas BBQ Grill
- High-Heat Propane Gas BBQ Grill – This 4-burner gas grill with an additional 8,500 BTU side burner delivers a total of 46,500 BTU. Enjoy rapid...
- Spacious Cooking Area for Gatherings – With 458 sq. in. of total space, including 332.28 sq. in. main grilling area and 125.28 sq. in. warming rack, this...
Similar to the Monument grill, the EUHOME 4-Burner is a large, powerful, stationary unit designed for backyard entertaining. It boasts a high BTU output, enameled cast iron grates, and a side burner, positioning itself as an all-in-one outdoor kitchen station. It’s built to handle large crowds and a variety of traditional grilling tasks simultaneously. The contrast with the Captiva Designs 22 in 3-Burner Propane Griddle is stark. The EUHOME is about maximum stationary power and space, whereas the Captiva is about maximum versatility and portability. The choice here depends entirely on the user’s lifestyle: backyard feast-master versus on-the-go culinary adventurer.
The Final Verdict: Is the Captiva Designs 22 in 3-Burner Propane Griddle Right for You?
After extensive testing and analysis, we can confidently say that the Captiva Designs 22 in 3-Burner Propane Griddle is an exceptional piece of outdoor cooking equipment that punches well above its weight. Its true brilliance lies in the combination of its superb ceramic-coated cast iron surface and its versatile three-burner system. This pairing delivers an unparalleled cooking experience that is powerful, controlled, and incredibly easy to clean up. It excels in its role as a portable powerhouse, making it the ideal companion for camping, RV trips, tailgating, or simply for those who want to enjoy griddle cooking on a small patio.
While the reports of potential regulator failure and long-term warping are valid concerns to keep in mind, the overwhelming feedback and our own experience point to a high-quality, durable, and thoughtfully designed product. For anyone who dreams of making perfect smash burgers, diner-style breakfasts, or hibachi dinners in the great outdoors, this griddle is a fantastic investment. If you’re ready to elevate your outdoor cooking from a simple chore into a versatile culinary joy, we highly recommend you check the current price and full specifications for yourself.
Last update on 2025-11-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API