Cobb Cookers.

The Cobb is great. I was sceptical until I had seen several members of our 4WD club use them. Don't know about fake ones, but I believe they exist.
regards

Mine Cobb deluxe model was a gift, but I still think it is probably good for the $. Quite durable. Easy to clean up. Uses 7 heat beads to do a roast leg and vegies for two. Very convenient, especially when open fires are not practical. I still use camp ovens, but the Cobb certainly has a place in the travel kit.
Don't know about fakes - other makers do the same type of stove as I recall.

Great unit. Use as an alternative to camp oven. If you search the forum you'll find many posts that will give you all the info you need.

Cheers Mick


Image Could Not Be Found

They work well enough provided you put some time into mastering them.

A wrap around wind shield (cob-bra) and insulating cover for the lid are worthwhile additions.

Last trip we roasted a boned 2kg leg of Burra saltbush Hogget in ours. Cooked a bit unevenly without the insulating cover but still fed the two of us well for several meals.

The cobb is great, it will cook almost anything, i am converted from camp oven to the cobb, with 7 heat beads you can cook a full roast and then a sweat or bread for the next day, you can use them on a fire danger day, versability is fantastic. I would not be without one it does take some learning in some cases they are a slow cooker, but once mastered they are great cheers merv

One picture is worth a thousand words

Hi! We love the Cobb! Check our blog for quite a few references which might give you ideas about how to use/what to cook and so on. At times, we used a Dutch oven inside the Cobb for some long, slow cooking. Am attaching a photo to show how convenient a Cobb is when it's raining! On the other end of the table is a gas canister stove - can't remember what we were cooking but it was possible to have a meal, cook for our friends and stay dry thanks to the awningImage Could Not Be Found.
We will be using the Cobb as a back-up stove on Christmas Day.
Cheers
Megan

We have had our Cobb for quite a few years. The black plastic base cracked around the feet so we bought the new base with the mesh sides and you definately need the wrap around wind protector.

Great option for use during firebans and after cooking you can put inside your tent or camper on a cold winter night and take some chill out of the air.

Homemade pizza is a lunchtime favourite or great for roasts.

There are some downsides though.

Bulk: the Cobb, a bag of heat beads and a pkt of firelighters amounts to 10kg or more and a fair amount of bulk.

Time: roasting meat can be slow. IME a roasting bag is a good idea. Be aware that if you lift the lid to see how things are going you lose about 20 mins of cooking time.

Evenness of cooking: when roasting meat and veg you will have to lift the lid to move things around.

Extra bits: for roasting you need a trivet and fence; if there's any breeze you must have the Cobra but at a pinch can get away with the bag it comes in.

...

If it's only roasting or baking you want to do then also check out those fold-up box ovens.

Hi
We also love our Cobb. You need to use it a few times to get the feel of it.
It's only downside so far , it cooks pork nicely, but you won't get crackling.
If camping for short periods, I pre pack a few plastic sandwich bags with 7 or 8 heat beads and four fire lighters, and pack them into the Cobb unit in its bag, it save taking a whole bag of heat beads and fire lighters.
Cheers
Neil
Image Could Not Be Found

Image Could Not Be Found

Thanks Cobbers for your detailed responses. I am researching before going christmas shopping for my daughter who is transferring to the pilbara coast and I can now see the cooker will be very useful to her. Me, I'm a lazy cook and find it easy to sit an opened tin of something in boiling water and after the food is heated the water is used for the brew. Must remember to take the label off the tin otherwise the brew water gets a bit chewie.No washing up either,sheer bliss. Happy Days. Pauper.

We also love our Cobb.

It is great for cooking a roast for two or three people. I use the veggie ring to hold everything but the meat which sits on top and have never found the need to add liquid to the ring. Perhaps we use prime joints of meat.

Having said this, I also love my Hillbilly camp oven. I find it more versatile than the Cobb for baking bread and cooking stews etc. or simply for feeding "multitudes".

I sometimes have a roll of pork or beef cooking in the Cobb with a few vegetables while roasting a larger leg of lamb and more vegetables in the Hillbilly. This feeds a bunch of great friends we find ourselves camping with out in the bush.

As far as fakes are concerned, the only "problem" I am aware of is an issue with Cobb Australia stating they would not support products imported direct by some distributors. Anaconda for instance import the Cobb cooker direct, bypassing Cobb Australia and probably putting their nose out of joint.
Not an issue worth worrying about as Cobb International would support their own product I'm sure.

To the best of my knowledge, Cobb Australia pulled the plug on many retailers who sold and supported the product for many years and gave "sole retail rights" to Rays Outdoor outlets thus Anaconda and other larger retailers decided to import direct from overseas to maintain market share.

This should be good for us consumers to keep the market "open" and prices competitive.


Bill.

Hi Pauper
I too am a fan of the Cobb and agree with the above posts. one thing not mentioned is using the Cobblestones for fuel. These are made from coconut husks and can be lit directly with a match and are ready to cook on in just a couple of minutes. You use one and it lasts about one and a half to two hours. A bit more expensive that heat beads but very convenient and clean. You can get them at Ray's Outdoors.
Happy Camping
Dave

I was so impressed with ours I gave it away, they are not the easiest thing to clean and when the elements are not the best they can be a real head ache.
We have a OzPig its great but I am going to buy a Webber Baby Q for cooking and have the Pig for warming when I can have a fire.

We find the Cobb pretty easy to use, a bit of a hassle cleaning, and need to learn to use ours more.
Whoever uses it,advise them to read the instructions.
Use Cobblestones, but be aware they do cook at a higher heat level, therefore timing is more important to prevent burning.
When you take the food out, DO NOT put the lid back on unless the heat beads are totally used up. The Cobb will overheat, and melt the plastic bits, and distort the metal parts.( and char the Cobb bra)
As previously said, there were/are imports, but supposedly sourced from the same manufacturer, and at one stage sold through Anaconda for memory, but no backup from the Aussie importers. This may have changed over the past couple of years, but the outlets have been reduced as some sort of marketing ploy.
Cheers

I have a few friends that have Cobbs and are happy with them.My wife and i were also in the market for a better method of cooking a roast or BBQ to the one we presently have.I looked at the Cobb and also the Webber Baby Q.Although the Webber is larger and heavier, it definately stood out as the better option for us.No heat beads,faster cooking times for roasts and BBQ and very portable.It also has a larger cooking surface.We used it this last weekend and are very happy with it.It is also around the same price as the Cobb ($299.00).Either way i feel they are both good cooking options.Good luck on your decision :)

I have a few friends that have Cobbs and are happy with them.My wife and i were also in the market for a better method of cooking a roast or BBQ to the one we presently have.I looked at the Cobb and also the Webber Baby Q.Although the Webber is larger and heavier, it definately stood out as the better option for us.No heat beads,faster cooking times for roasts and BBQ and very portable.It also has a larger cooking surface.We used it this last weekend and are very happy with it.It is also around the same price as the Cobb ($299.00).Either way i feel they are both good cooking options.Good luck on your decision :)

The Cobb does a great job but its a pain to clean. Pretty expensive IMO, and the accessories are expensive too. Great idea though and had some nice meals out of mine.