OUTDOOR UPGRADES

It's time to get outside, and it's come not a moment too soon. Here is the tech that will make your time in the open air both fun and rewarding

-  Alex Cox

1 GRENADIER ELECTRIC FIRELIGHTER

No matches, no chemical firelighters, no crumpled up pieces of old newspaper, and no face full of smoke. Just concentrated heat, blasted onto your solid fuel to get it burning fast. That's the promise of the Grenadier, and given that this electric firelighter comes with its own stand, you can just switch it on and get on with basting chops.

£199, grenadier.co.uk

2 THERMOWORKS SIGNALS

Manually poking one thermometer into one thing at a time just doesn't do it for us. The Signals offers four probes, three for individual bits of meat and one for the pit itself, to keep exacting tabs on what's going on in your grill. And it can even use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, allowing you to mingle as you cook.

£210, thermapen.co.uk

3 MASTERBUILT GRAVITY SERIES 560

The Gravity 560 definitely has chops as a traditional charcoal grill, but its gravityfed charcoal hopper makes it an absolutely tremendous smoker. You can load it up with half a day's worth of fuel, add your choice of wood chips for extra flavour, set it alight and forget it. When you're ready, come back for fall-apart meats.

£649, masterbuilt.com

4 WEBER RAPIDFIRE CHIMNEY STARTER

If you want to get charcoal going quickly and, importantly, consistently, Weber's tool might be the most important in your arsenal. Fill it with briquettes or lumpwood, set 'em alight, and its convection design will pull air over its entire contents. When they're good and hot, just pour them out and you're ready to cook.

£24, weber.com

5 GOZNEY ARC