incredible WSM knock-off in the UK

[mike.stavlund]

A friend of mine who lives outside London is shopping for a smoker as a gift for her husband.  She's been keen on a WSM, but she's tempted by this copy, since it gets good reviews and is 100 pounds cheaper than a true Weber. 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B004CS2BQC/ref=mw_dp_img_2?in=2&qid=1360012887&sr=8-3

What is impressive to me is the obvious way in which copies the Weber design in many substantial and aesthetic ways.  My first thought was, "Wow, the UK must have relatively weak patent/trademark laws."  I know we have a few European Weber fans on this site, so I thought I'd send this up for conversation. 

[Duke]

I think they call those Napoleon's here.

http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oGkkJFXRBRa3IAq_RXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE1dXZpc3BkBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA3NrMQR2dGlkA1NNRTExOF8yMTk-/SIG=11ilvh845/EXP=1360055749/**http%3a//www.napoleongrills.com/

[Golly]

Called a pro q frontier here
$399 + freight here in oz

[Hogsy]

Pro Q Frontier
It's a great unit from all reports

[mike.stavlund]

Hey, thanks for the quick responses.  This is really helpful. 

As a hopeless Weber fanboy, I have to admit that I was immediately dismissive.  But now that I look a bit longer at Duke's link, I'm realizing that this design incorporates most of the mods I've made to my own WSM (eyelets for thermo probes, charcoal basket, handles, upsized water pan, lid thermo, etc.).  And if Hogsy gives it a good report, you know I take that pretty seriously.  Must be a good unit.

So this might be just the ticket for my thrifty friend.  Thanks again for the wisdom.

[reillyranch]

Is that 3 n 1 porcelainized?  The way the metal is finished makes a big difference in regards to heat retention and temp control.  It is why the Webers cook so well and last so long.  There is more to the Weber than just the way to looks. 

I need to proof read better.  It should say: There is more to a Weber than just it's good looks!

[1buckie]

Is that 3 n 1 porcelainized?  The way the metal is finished makes a big difference in regards to heat retention and temp control.  It is why the Webers cook so well and last so long.  There is more to the Weber than just the way to looks.   

      Famous Quote # 517 from the WKC group...... 

[mike.stavlund]

I hear ya, Reilly, and I would only have a Weber smoker.  But then again, I live in a place where I can -- with some patient waiting-- buy a nice used one for 80 bucks.  Finding a used one in the UK is almost impossible, and the new ones are ~$450 US.  If I were in that place, I would be mighty tempted to take a chance on the FakenWeber. 

[glrasmussen]

Correct me if I am wrong,  but is it only 16-1/2?

Could you find a way to ship this one?
http://slo.craigslist.org/hsh/3578918468.html

[G$]

I have done EXTENSIVE cooking on both WSMs and Napolean/ProQs.

The WSM is by far the better product. 

That being said, if budget is a major concern, I would have no problems supporting a ProQ purchase.  On the other hand, if this is a thing that is going to last and BE USED for years, I would try to convince them to get a WSM.

[mike.stavlund]

This is all very helpful!  Thanks everyone, and especially G for the expert advice.

[Hogsy]

Hey G , care to elaborate on the differences

[mike.stavlund]

The happy ending here is that my friend took a peek at this thread and decided to throw down for the full Weber.  Sounds like a bunch of friends contributed to the gift to make it possible.  So hopefully we'll have a smartassed Welshman on this forum sometime soon. 

[G$]

Hogsy.

Let me see if my analogy traverses the pond succesfully.  The ProQ (I will refer to the Napoleon as a ProQ) is like a Suzuki Swift.  The WSM is like a Lexus ES350. 

The swift is affordable, and will certainly move you from point A to B.  Like most modern things, it is fairly reliable, and will last with proper use.  It is NOT anywhere near top quality, and will never find itself on a list of most reliable cars.  The Lexus is a premium car, with a much higher price. It will however last as long as you want it to, and perform very well it's whole life, unless you want to sell it, wherein it will retain a good bit of value.  It is always among the most reliable cars in the world, even though it touches the "luxury" category.  It performs very well.

Specifically: 

• ProQs are made of a thinner material, which also has a thinner, more matte like coating on it.  Unfortunately, I can not give you specs, but plinking a ProQ with the back of your finger, and then doing the same to a WSM is like plinking a foil pan and then an alluminum pot.  The WSM is STURDY.  In addition, the true porcelain finish on a WSM is  far more receptive to cleaning and durability than that ProQ matte.
• The proQ has a basket, not a grate with ring. You might think this sounds great, but in reality, the basket is a little small, and not quite as sturdy as the grate and ring on a weber.  In addition, in ALL the ProQs I have used, I had to modify the basket and raise it about an inch to get proper air flow from the vents.
• The proQs legs are either dangerous, or sub par, depending on your point of reference.  I HAVE seen someone using a ProQ where the legs bent (and the thing tipped) while using it.  Bluntly, they are poor design, and a little weak.
• Someone mentioned they thought the system was 16.5 inches.  I don't know about that.  I will say the size of a complete proq seemed to be between an 18.5 and 22 WSM.   (Bear in mind the company also sells or sold  stacker conversions similar to the cajun bandit that were weber sized).  Replacement parets .... I dunno.  I do know where to get Weber parts. Easy.
• The stacker concept is an interesting one, with the option of adding another cooking section.  In practice, it is just a little unwieldly, and it does increase variance in cooking temperature.
• Which brings me to cooking temperature.  For the reasons stated above, and others that may be mysteries, the ProQ simply is not rock solid, especially out of the box, like a WSM is.  It can be used. It is not an overwhelming amount of work, but when compared to the set it and forget it nature of a WSM, the two are not close.

One interesting thing about the ProQ is that I do believe thought and effort goes in to it's design. Specifically, there are things that seem like a good idea, but don't work for me in practice:  For example, it has clips that hook the cooking sections together.  This sounds really neat, but in practice, if the pieces are well made, this should be unnecessary.  And taking two sections off at once (clipped together) is a little un wieldly anyway.  The built in therm is nice, except it's accuracy is dubious, especially when considering that variance of temps throughout the unit. And besides, the WSMs have them now as well.  The probe eyelets are nice.  Of course I added them to all my WSMs when acqired ....

If you have any other questions, I would be glad to answer, but truly the best explanation is "they aren't made as well".  There is no doubt, they will get you from A to B, but you will do it more comfortably in a WSM.

[Hogsy]

Thanks G for the write up, the ProQ arrived on our shores about 6mths ago and have been touted as being better than the WSM mainly because of the stacker units and probe eyelets. It is a lot cheaper than the WSM , so I wondered about the build quality
But I think you've cleared that up for me with this review
Cheers
Joel
P.S. I drive a WSM