Update - Available through Mountaineering Equipment Cooperative
We just received our Large Pack & Carry Fireplace, canvas bag, and grill from Mountaineering Equipment Cooperative:
http://www.mec.ca/product/5038-315/snow-peak-pack-carry-fireplace-l/?q=snow%2Bpeak
They apparently have others in stock if you are interested. A couple of points:
1. They are a membership cooperative and you need to be a member, but lifetime membership is only $5.00.
2. They are in Canada, but ship to the US via a combination of Canadian Post and US Postal Service. This was fast, efficient and did not seem to involve any extra customs fees (although there is some chance that we could get a separate invoice directly from US Customs for inspection charges but that seems unlikely).
3. Their website can be a bit confusing regarding availability (check individual stores - if any store has one you can order it).
4. If you decide to order, I recommend calling and have a salesperson confirm availability, etc.
5. At various stages you might receive emails suggesting that the items are backordered and could take 4 - 5 weeks to be shipped. Upon receipt of each of those notices I called and was assured that was an automatic notification due to the order coming from a particular store rather than their central shipping facility. Since ours arrive in a week, those assurances were spot on.
6. If price is more important to you than immediate availability you might prefer to wait. I felt MEC's prices were OK, but waiting for Snow Peak's incoming shipment might save you some money. How long that wait will be seems debatable.
Howard
