Kingsford Original Charcoal Briquettes Two 16.7 lb Bags Review (2026)

What you get in this bulk pack

This listing bundles two separate 16.7-pound bags of Kingsford Original charcoal briquettes, for a combined total of about 33.4 pounds of charcoal. Buying in this two-bag format is aimed at cooks who grill often enough to go through charcoal regularly and want to stock up rather than buying single bags on each grocery trip. Kingsford Original is the brand's standard briquette, made with natural ingredients and real wood rather than the instant-light formula some Kingsford products use, which means these briquettes are meant to be lit with a chimney starter, lighter fluid, or electric starter rather than lighting on their own without an accelerant.

What the briquettes are made from

Kingsford states its Original briquettes are made with natural ingredients sourced from North America, combining real wood with other natural materials and no chemical additives beyond what is needed to bind the briquette shape together. This natural composition is part of what gives charcoal briquettes their smoky flavor during grilling, distinguishing them from gas grilling where no combustion byproduct flavor is imparted to the food. The briquettes also feature what Kingsford calls Sure Fire Grooves, a ridged surface texture designed to expose more edges to the flame during lighting, which is intended to help the charcoal catch and spread more quickly and evenly once lit compared with a smooth briquette surface.

Lighting time and burn performance

Kingsford states these briquettes are ready to cook on in about 15 minutes once lit, which is a reasonably fast turnaround for charcoal and lines up with typical expectations for briquettes lit in a chimney starter until they develop a layer of gray ash. Kingsford also describes long burn performance compared with other charcoal brands, though a specific burn duration in hours is not stated in the product materials, so buyers planning a long cook should still budget for adding fresh charcoal partway through rather than assuming a single load will last an entire extended smoke. For typical grilling sessions of an hour or two, the burn time is generally sufficient without needing to relight or add briquettes mid-cook.

Storage and keeping charcoal fresh

Kingsford recommends storing Original charcoal in a cool, dry place and resealing the bag tightly after each use, since charcoal that absorbs ambient moisture can be harder to light and may burn less consistently than dry charcoal. With two 16.7-pound bags in this listing, storage space is worth considering, since 33.4 pounds of charcoal in two bags takes up meaningfully more room than a single smaller bag, and both bags need to stay dry between grilling sessions if you are not using them up quickly. Kingsford also sells dedicated storage containers designed to help keep charcoal dry over longer periods, which is worth considering for anyone buying in this bulk two-bag format specifically to avoid frequent store trips.

Who this bulk pack makes sense for

For anyone who grills with charcoal on a regular basis, weekly or more during grilling season, buying two 16.7-pound bags at once typically works out to a lower cost per pound than repeatedly buying single bags, and it means fewer trips to restock mid-season. The main practical downside is simply the physical bulk and weight, two 16.7-pound bags are not light to carry from a car or store shelf, and ash cleanup scales with how much charcoal you burn through, so frequent users should expect to empty their grill's ash catcher more often when working through this much charcoal. For occasional grillers who cook only a handful of times per season, a single smaller bag is likely a better fit than committing to this larger bulk quantity, since charcoal that sits unused for a long stretch, even stored properly, is more prone to picking up moisture over time.

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