Wabash Valley Farms Outdoor Popper - Open Fire Pop Popcorn Popper, The Ultimate Lightweight Campfire Popcorn Popper for the Best Popcorn Experience.

This worked way better than I expected. I liked the idea of being able to pop over our campfires while camping, but expected a lot of scorched popcorn while learning to use it. There is no whirly handle or moving part to manipulate while popping, so I found myself gently shaking the popper like my mom did when kettle popping on the stove when I was a kid. The only negative I found is that one side of the lid does not latch down, so if you are gently shaking it while popping it is easy to throw popcorn out the top into your campfire, but I understand this is probably needed in case a person were to add too many seeds and over fill the kettle. The included sample kits of popcorn, oil, seasoning worked surprisingly well with few or no un-popped seeds.

I gave this to my wife as a gift and we used it right away over a fire in our fire pit. It worked much better than expected! We made a total of three batches (one with the included all-in-one packets and two with our own oil and kernels). First, it popped the corn fast. Almost too fast because I wasn't expecting it the first time. Also, I don't think in all three batches there was a single kernel left unpopped and no burnt kernels. Cleanup was a breeze too since we just wiped out the pot with a paper towel and looked good as new. Really made me happy with the purchase.A couple of tips: I shook it pretty vigorously the whole time, which I think helped pop the kernels evenly and completely and avoided burning. Follow the instructions and just wait till there is a couple of seconds pause in popping sounds and then take it off right away. At first, I had a very hard time getting the extending handle off when I was finished. It turns out that you cannot get the handle off if the handle is retracted all the way. The plastic will get in the way and not allow you to push the handle all the way forward. so make sure you extend the handle at least a couple of inches when you try to take the handle off.

Okay, let's get the cons out of the way first, since they're short and honestly not that critical. The seasoning shaker isn't sealed in any meaningful way and lacks any sort of moisture-absorbing packets, so at least for me it was pretty useless upon arrival, with the contents caked into a solid mass. That being said, anyone who's into popcorn probably has their own collection of flavoring shakers already. And the cardboard popcorn boxes are good for maybe 1-2 batches at best, so IMHO the kit would be better off witout them. So I'll take a point off to cover everything that I thought could be better.That being said, I've had great success with this popper and the pre-packaged "open fire" popcorn kits, both over campfire coals and on my gas burner stove at home, so this is a handy 2-for-1 popper that works for me both while camping and at home. So far at most I've had a single burnt kernel (and that was in a campfire scenario), and cleanup has been a snap every time, both for campfire and for home gas burner batches. The camper side of me thinks it would be super-sweet if some future design could make a handle that nested inside the pot, but that's down on the "perfectionist" level where I can't take any points off for it. (But seriously, if you folks ever DO come out with an updated design like that, I WILL buy it!)

I can count on my hand the amount of times I have been camping, but as it is a new family tradition I decided to embrace my inner camper and try this. I did not read the directions, just threw it on the fire and shook it now and again. When the popping slowed down I let it set for a few minutes and it was a perfect batch. The popcorn with existing oil was a little dry for my liking but it was good. I tried some of the movie theatre butter seasoning and learned quickly that a little was better than a lot as I made my little container of it way too salty. Eventually I mixed in the spray butter I had and that made it perfect to my liking. I think the entire combination and the cool little containers was a great value as a package deal. I might seek out other recipes in the future, but the most important thing of all was the popper itself which assembled easily and unassembled and fit back in the box to bring home was solid and did the trick. Kind of a nice homey touch to be able to offer such variety in a rustic environment. Kind of like Martha Stewart meets Ugg the Caveman. I know nothing of Whirley Pop that others refer to, it may indeed be better but I think for the price this set really is a good deal and if I can pop this stuff over an open flame it is a really good sign.

I ordered our popcorn maker for camping this summer, so we have nit used it yet. However, I like that it is stainless steel and not aluminum, it is not overly heavy so I'm sure we'll use it often. For the price and speed of delivery I'm very pleased with my order.

I bought this to use over our firepit. It is very easy to use and its fun for everyone. Cleaning is super easy. The butter and oil come right off with a paper towel. I've had no issue using it over direct flame. The popcorn packets are nice but expensive. I just dump a half a cup of kernals, a couple tablespoons vegetable oil and 1/2 teaspoon of flavacol in it and it saves money and tastes amazing. (Flavacol is what the movie theater puts in your popcorn to make it taste the way it does. No joke. They literally buy the Flavacol brand.) After my popcorn is done I top it off with Orville popping and topping oil to give it that buttery feel. Or I use Kernal Seasons Drizzle Brittle Caramel. Its a thick caramel liquid you can drizzle on top that is delicious. I recommend this popcorn popper to anyone with a firepit or anyone who goes camping often. The handle comes off for easy storage and you can keep your popcorn and flavorings in the popper when you aren't using it to save space.