Campfire Heat Reflector

Hmmmm, that is a nice piece of kit....but, that PRICE! I'm thinking that printing a couple of the photos and taking them to a sheet metal shop or aluminum supply house and they could help you out for a FRACTION of that price. In fact, I think I'll do that very thing! That would not be hard to make at all!

Well those are 24" x 24" which seems perhaps a bit big.....I think I'd check pricing on the aluminum and choose something from 18" to 24".....also, I'd find where I was going to store it which might decide the size as well.

I just looked at that website and unless I'm missing something, this product is a sure sign that some people have far too much disposable income. $399 plus shipping! It's just four 24"x24" aluminum panels with hinges and a fabric case. It weighs 27 pounds, though I can't see why the panels need to be so thick.

The website claims, "Using the principles of a parabolic arc and the properties of aluminum. It reflects heat exponentially back to the user or users keeping them warm and cozy." There's also a warning not to let flames touch the reflector.

Well, parabolas are not flat and there's nothing parabolic on that product. Exponential heat reflection is certainly not a real thing. Only a fraction of the energy can be reflected.

As zgfiredude said, a similar reflector could be made from four lighter aluminum sheets. At 10-15% of the cost for materials, twice that if a shop built it. And foil-on-cardboard would do in a pinch, at <1% of the cost.

Or did I miss something that makes this thing so pricey?

@HellFish, you're right. That's certainly their implication, but calling four linked planes "parabolic" is somewhat "hyperbolic" for my taste.

(Now that I think about it, parabolas focus on a point. But that's not so good if there are more than one person around the fire. Four planes are probably more like what most camp fire situations call for.)