Press Kit Fact Sheet

“A potato baked in the coals for three hours makes an excellent hockey puck.“

The Pocket Grill™

What It Is

The Pocket Grill is the first camping grill that folds up small enough to fit in your pocket!

This is the first in a line of ultra-foldable products based on our patent-pending technology that will redefine standards of compactability in many industries.

Who We Are

The Pocket Grill is produced by the Bashpole Group, a close-knit, internally funded “invention house” comprising a team of engineers and business persons dedicated to solving wide-scale problems in mass consumer markets. Bashpole Group is an alumni of the Wharton Venture Initiation Program at the University of Pennsylvania and recipient of the 2010 Pennvention Customer Innovation Award.

Industry Stats

In 2008:

33.7 million Americans participated in car and backyard camping
16.5 million Americans participated in RV camping

Did you know: Camping participants made more than 597 million outings in 2008 alone? This averages about 14 camping days per person!

43% of all campers are female, and 56% of all campers are male. 34.5% of campers are within 24 to 44 years old.

73% of all car and backyard campers, along with 70% of RV campers choose public campgrounds at least once every year.

The two reasons most often stated as the ‘reasons for participation’ in outdoor activities such as camping are fun and relaxation, and most campers said that their friends and parents were the most influential in introducing them to their favorite outdoor activities!

The favorite activities of car, backyard and RV campers are hiking and swimming in the outdoors (usually while on a camping trip).

Did you know: The demand for grills and other outdoor furniture will increase 3.9% annually through 2013? That’s a lot of demand! Currently, the grill and outdoor furniture industry is worth $6 billion.

In 2009:

82% of all households in the US own a grill or some similar appliance, and of these households, 97% of them actually used their grill recently! (Within the last year).
More than 16.7 million new grills were shipped.
There was a 6.24% increase in the number of people who went tent camping, as well as a 4.3% increase in visitations to camping sites in general.

Contrary to popular belief, grills are actually used year round, although the majority of grilling is done during the peak summer months. 45% of all grill owners grill at least once or twice per week during this peak time, but 56% of all grillers actually also report to using their grills during the winter as well.

Did you know: The most popular occasions for grilling are: The 4th of July, Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Grilling occurs in so many different places, from backyards to campsites, to tailgating at sports games.

Some of the top reasons that US households give for grilling are: