Napoleon TravelQ PRO285 Portable Gas Grill review

Want to bring your grilling A-game wherever you go? The Napoleon TravelQ PRO285 ($299, Amazon) is a portable gas grill designed to help you do exactly that.

Running off propane gas, this two-burner grill gives you some serious grilling capability in a minimal, lightweight package. There’s enough space on the grill to cook a bird, rack of ribs, or up to 20 burgers at once, and thanks to the PRO285’s automatic ignition, you can start cooking without even striking a match.

This all sounds great – but does this gas grill live up to its promise? To find out, I set up the Napoleon TravelQ PRO285 and used it to cook a variety of meals in my yard. Read on for my findings on the grill’s cooking performance, setup, ease-of-use and upkeep.

Before we start, it’s worth noting that this grill is designed to stand on a stable surface such as a table. Unlike some competing models, it does not have a base or stand. If that’s okay with you, we’re good to go.

Overall rating: 86/100

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Pete Wise

A frequent contributor to TopTenReviews, Pete helps us with our outdoor cooking coverage – including reviews of gas grills and guides on how to use them. He also writes for Good Food, The Guardian and several other publications, with a focus on product reviews and how-to guides. Pete’s favourite foods to cook outdoors include hickory-smoked beef burgers with charred red pepper, and pineapple slices seasoned with Tajín.

Napoleon TravelQ PRO825: Key specs

Napoleon TravelQ PRO285: Setup

Even portable gas grills often require a lot of setup, but the Napoleon TravelQ PRO285 is almost ready to cook straight out of the box. Open the cardboard and you’ll find the grill pre-assembled, with just the instruction manual and some recyclable packaging for company.

The cast iron cooking grids are ready to use after a quick rinse with soapy water. And there’s no stand to set up or unfold, so all that’s left to do is connect a compatible propane canister, which I found easy.

Different propane products attach in a few different ways to the regulator, so check the manual for the most relevant guidance. In my case, I simply pressed the regulator on and turned a lever to let the gas flow.

One of the first things I noticed with the PRO285 is just how light the grill is, especially with the cast iron grates removed for cleaning. It’s a really easy item to lift around the yard and onto your cooking platform, whether that’s a sturdy table or the back of a pickup truck.

The first time you use the grill, you should run it on a high temperature setting for about half an hour. This allows any manufacturing smells or detritus to burn off of the grill’s components. You wouldn’t want those aromas infusing your food.

Another task before your first use (and every use) is to season the cast iron grates with cooking oil, which will give them some protection from corrosion and prevent food from sticking. I chose avocado oil for this task, but you can use any cooking oil with a high smoke point.

Seasoning is straightforward if you have an appropriate brush to apply the oil, but it does take quite a lot of oil just to cover the entire surface of the grates, as the porcelain-coated cast iron is expansive and ‘thirsty’.

• Score: 10/10

Napoleon TravelQ PRO285: Design & Features

This grill could hardly be easier to set up and use. With no assembly required, you can have the PRO285 ready to cook within 10 minutes. To put that in context, some other gas grills I’ve tested took as long as two or three hours to set up. Meanwhile, the grill’s setup with two self-igniting burners and a single cooking surface (made up of two grates) is the height of simplicity. You can easily hear when you’ve successfully clicked the dials (and therefor the burners) into their off position.

It’s a convenient appliance to store, too. The absence of a stand or base gives the PRO285 a very small form factor relative to its cooking capacity, so it can potentially be stored on a shelf in a garage or similar space. You also have the option to keep the box and store the grill inside it between uses – but if that’s your plan, you must make sure the grill has cooled completely before storing it.

Thanks to its compact design, you hopefully won’t need to store this grill outdoors. However, if that’s your preference, use a compatible cover ($29.99, Napoleon).

In terms of aesthetics, this grill is going to appeal to users who value quality components and contemporary styling. Every part seems well made – especially the aluminium lid with its in-built thermometer. In short, it’d make a fine addition to pretty much any yard.

The grill grates have a softly curving, wavy grill pattern. Not only is this pleasant to look at, it also adds fantastic griddle lines to food. The two grates slot together seamlessly.

For grease management, there’s a small, removable drip collector that slots underneath the cook box. It works pretty well, although you will inevitably still have some mess to clean up inside the box and on the burners after cooking.

If the PRO285 has a weakness to its design, it’s probably in the scope of its features. For example, the grill grates are not height-adjustable and there’s no cooling rack. The lack of these ‘nice-to-have’ features will limit you a little in terms of how you cook with the grill.

But as a simple, effective, and portable option, the PRO285 does a great job. Everything works as it should, and the ergonomics are on point, from the easy-to-open lid to the very robust side handles, which you can use to carry the grill when it’s cool.

You get a pre-attached gas hose and regulator with the PRO285, which is a win for convenience. Take care to ensure the hose and regulator are not in contact with any of the hot surfaces of the grill, and that the hose does not trail beneath the drip pan.

Of course, you will need to obtain your propane cooking gas separately. Make sure the gas product is compatible with the grill, with a valve that can connect to the regulator before each time you cook. The user manual provides the relevant technical data and instructions.

• Score: 8/10

Napoleon TravelQ PRO285: Performance

I was really impressed with the PRO285’s cooking performance. During my tastebuds-on testing, it cooked a variety of foods including burgers, chicken legs and vegetables evenly and thoroughly.

With only a relatively small cook box to heat, the grates got hot enough to cook within about 15 minutes – although you might want to wait a little longer if you need a super-hot cooking surface. Consistency of temperature across each grate was very good, with the burner tubes each directly heating a wide area.

The grill produces a fair amount of smoke from the cooking oil that falls into the cook box and drip collector, which I’d consider a good thing in terms of flavour. At the same time, I didn’t get too many flare-ups with leaping flames. For me, that’s just the right balance of control and added flavour.

Speaking of which, the best thing about reviewing a grill like the PRO285 is tasting the food it cooks. I got great griddle lines on veg and meat – especially on eggplant slices – and some lovely charring on truffle-oil-and-balsamic chicken legs, in particular. The grill cooked beef burgers very evenly and thoroughly, and it crisped up burger buns nicely, ready to serve.

Using the PRO285 is incredibly straightforward, just so long as the gas is properly connected. The main thing to worry about are the two burner tubes – one heating the left-hand grate, the other heating the right-. These are operated via a pair of foolproof temperature dials, both of which have automatic ignition. You push the dial in, turn it to a high setting, and this ignites the relevant burner.

The temperature got really high, really soon after I added my meat or veg to the grates. Using both burners at different heat settings allowed me to simultaneously cook different ingredients at different temperatures, which I found really useful – especially when I wanted to sear and crisp up my veg, while cooking meat more slowly and gently.

As is often the case with portable gas grills, the integrated thermometer was good at taking the air temperature within the cook box, but it’s not much use for assessing the temperature of the grates during heat-up. So, you’ll get a low reading before you start cooking your food – and then the measurement shoots up after the meat hits the iron.

• Score: 8/10

Napoleon TravelQ PRO285: Care & Maintenance

None of the PRO285’s parts are dishwasher safe, so you’ll need to wash components like the grates and drip collector by hand. While this isn’t exactly fun, it’s part of the deal with most gas grills.

On a positive note, the grates are easier to clean than some competing designs. Their softly-profiled wave-shaped bars are easier to get at with a scouring pad than, say, the troughs in a grate with a v-shaped design.

The drip collector has a disposable foil insert, so you can swap it out when it becomes too oily to clean and reuse. This is a useful feature, but the downside is that you’ll need to keep buying replacement inserts ($3.99 for a 5-pack, Napoleon).

To keep the appliance hygienic and safe to use, you’ll also need to keep the cook box clean between uses. Thankfully, the shallow design makes it easy to reach inside with a cleaning cloth, once you’ve removed the grates.

One important ongoing maintenance task is to occasionally check for a loose connection between the grill and the gas hose, as this could potentially cause dangerous gas leaks. Napoleon advises that users should always disconnect the gas regulator from their propane canister after each use. The user-friendly gas regulator makes that easy to do.

• Score: 9/10

Napoleon TravelQ PRO285: Price & Value

At $299, the PRO285 offers excellent grilling performance and quality relative to the price you pay. So long as you're happy with the portable design (which does not include a stand or base), then this grill is as good as it gets for under $300.

In terms of cooking capacity, the 285 square inch cooking area of the PRO285 is advertised as providing enough space to cook 20 Burgers at once. You could try this, but they’d have to be small patties, and it would be very difficult to reach them with a flipper. My view is that you’re getting plenty of capacity here for a family-sized cookout, but you might need a larger grill if the neighbors are invited too.

• Score: 8/10

Would I buy the Napoleon TravelQ PRO285?

If I wanted a new portable gas grill that cooks effectively and doesn't cost too much, then the PRO285 would definitely be on my shortlist.

Having a solid, raised surface to cook on will be important for getting the best out of this grill, due to the lack of a stand. It's a great choice for tailgating or camping, but it will be awkward to use at home if you don’t have a suitable table or structure in your yard.

With that said, while the PRO285 is primarily designed for use on a table top or a similar surface, it can be bought with an optional stand ($199, Amazon) that will make it easier to use around the yard, especially if you don’t have a suitable stable surface to elevate the grill.

If you like to smoke food on your gas grill, you can do this with the PRO285 – but probably not using a stainless steel smoker box, as there isn’t enough room to accommodate this type of accessory. Instead, you’ll need to wrap some soaked aromatic wood chips in foil, place the loosely wrapped bundle inside the PRO285’s cook box and heat it until it smokes, before adding your food to the grill.

Ultimately, this grill is all about convenience and portability. Sure, you could get a model with extra burners, grates or cooking features, but the PRO285 is going to be a much better choice to take on the road, or store on a shelf when you don't need it.

How does the Napoleon TravelQ PRO285 compare?

If you want something fairly similar to the PRO285 that comes with a fold-down stand, you could try the Weber Traveler Portable Gas Grill ($399), but bear in mind that the Weber model has only one burner.

Meanwhile, for a more premium and permanent option to set up in your yard, the three-burner Napoleon Rogue 425 ($749) would be a fine choice.

How I tested the Napoleon TravelQ PRO285

I tested the Napoleon TravelQ PRO285 over a period of several days in my yard. I prepped the grill and connected it to propane gas, following the manufacturer's instructions, and then used it to cook a selection of meals including beef burgers, grilled vegetables and marinated chicken legs. I tried grilling at various temperatures, using the grill's burner dials to control each of the two burners individually.

Discover more about how we test.