Howdy fellas, I haven't posted here in awhile but I might be able to add something to this talk. I haven't posted because over a year ago I bought a Kamado Joe Big Joe model. Since then it has pushed the rest of my grills and WSM out of the rotation. I still enjoy the look of a Weber kettle but I can't deny the multi functional qualities my KJ has. If you ever see one in person check out the grate system. The cooking grate is split in half with two different heights it can be set at. It has a cast iron grate, and a cast iron griddle that can be added on. The heat deflector is split as well so you can use multiple settings with your charcoal placement. It all adds up to being able to play with your food more, it really is fun.
There will always be a market for the standard kettle model and it's true that you can use it to do 90% of what my KJ can do. What my KJ does though is make each cook seem like more of a event. Hopefully Weber can tap into the "event" cooker market. As for places they can improve on the Kamado experience, price would have been nice but they seem to have skipped that. Hinges are issues with some Kamados and the Weber one looks nice. Weight and portability is another area they could exploit. Finally, ash removal is a big issue with some and it looks like Weber nailed that one. I'll be curious to see if charcoal efficiency is as good as most Kamados. Also I'm going to be curious about how long it'll be able to run going low and slow. All in all I'm excited and I'm pretty sure there's a post from me a couple of years ago asking if Weber would ever make a double walled Kamado , should I call my lawyer??
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