MasterTouch worth the extra money, grillgates on mastertouch?

[IndianBBQ]

Dear All,

I have been following this forum for weeks and loving every topic i read.

I am from India and have been grilling for 4 years now. Currently I own two grills (non-weber).

I am lucky enough to travel to USA (Dallas) for the next two weeks (yay!) and I would be buying a weber kettle (for sure) even if they off-load me I will ask them to carry my kettle back home for me .

Weber recently opened a franchisee in India however the prices are 3-4 times of what we get in USA. e.g. performer is around 1000 USD and 22 One Touch Premium is around $700. Mastertouch is not available in India.

As you can figure out that buying this kettle is a rare and a special moment for me, but I HAVE two doubts and would appreciate your expert opinion.

1) Is MasterTouch ($199) worth the extra $50 compared to the 22 inch kettle ($149)?
2) Do grillgrate work on charcoal grill and are they good addtion to MasterTouch, given mastertouch is already coming with GBS? I am thinking if I buy only two panel (around $40) instead of going for the whole set for master touch ($106). Please note that I have a custom made cast iron grate, basically it is same design as grill grate but in cast iron (it works great).

Info;
I grill 3-4 times a week. Mostly the grilling is for dinner for me and my wife. Once a month I grill for parties ~5 people; we also do few pizza sessions in a month.

I use lump charcoal. (sometime i make my own charcoal , thanks youtube!) using hardwood.


Thanks,
IndianBBQ

[captjoe06]

Is buying two an option?  If you can buy two Mastertouch and sell one for 2/3 of the price of  a One-Touch premium back in India , then you're grill costs you nada.

Wouldn't that make sense?

If you couldn't bring two back then when you consider that this grill is going to last over 30 years, on a per year basis the extra money means nothing.   I'm not a grill grate guy.  i like the ease of handling on teh basic flip up grates  for handling and ease of adding charcoal.  when i first started with charcoal I thought cast iron grates were must have's.  Now it's more about the simple things.

[IndianBBQ]

@captjoe06  Thank you for the reply!

Your idea is great and I did NOT think about that. However carrying two would not be an option as the package weight is approx 50lbs. I am allowed 97 lbs on my flight and I have my luggage too. If I could, i would have followed your idea.

I see what you are saying with the money spent vs. life of grill. I think I have made up my mind with MasterTouch now.
Thank you for helping me decide.

[kettlebb]

Could you ship one of the grills back home?


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[Bertl]

Hello @IndianBBQ!
Last year i took a trip to the USA and i brought a grill back home to Europe. I payed for one extra luggage, it was $100 and worth for me.
I'd say, contact your airline about size, weight and price.
I think you can check in per person a second luggage depends to the airline.

Good luck and have a nice trip!

[IndianBBQ]

@kettlebb Shipping is more than cost of the grill (as it weights upwards of 30lbs) so cant do that option.

@Bertl Thank you, I will check with airline. I think i am already entitled for 2 packages 53 lbs each (i am travelling business class). But good idea to recheck just in case.

[Josh G]

Have you tried ordering online from another country?  Amazon De in Germany ships to the U.S for around $50-$60.  Not sure if they would ship to India or what that would cost but might be worth checking out.  Plus you could get one in a cool color rather than just black. 

@IndianBBQ

[Winz]

Hi Indianbbq - in answer to your original question, I would highly recommend spending the extra money to get a mastertouch.  The enclosed ash pan, lid holder, and upgraded grill grate are all very useful items.  That is great to hear that you are planning to take one back with you and that the WKC will be alive and well in India!


Winz

[IndianBBQ]

@Josh G, I checked amazon.com and it does not ship to India, if it did, i would have gotten myself a performer

@Winz thank you very much for the suggestion. I have made my mind and going to go with mastertouch. Rest assured I would be keeping it as my baby. WKC will live very well in India. I already made a small store room covered and insulated from elements (next to my grilling area ) to store my grill.

[Josh G]

It sounds like a lot of us would be broke if we lived in India

[WNC]

Welcome @IndianBBQ !
I think you're making the right call with the master touch.
Another thing to maybe consider is finding a vintage kettle while you're here, maybe line up something before you get to Texas.
So glad the this WKC madness is spreading! Be sure to post up some pictures of your kettle, especially when you get it home


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[AZ Monsoon]

Yes yes yes

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[JDann24]

I think the mastertouch is worth it for the the lid holder and gbs grate alone. I get anxiety when hanging a lid on the bowl using the lip on non mastertouch grills.

[pbe gummi bear]

Welcome, @IndianBBQ. I agree that the $50 is worth the extra accessories. They will make your grilling experience way more pleasurable. A mastertouch is right around 50lbs or the regular international check-on limit. If you can get a 70lb check in limit from your airline status or whatever then I would reccomend adding some extra padding (clothes will work fine) near the porcelain.

I fly with kettles all the time:

Flyin' high today.

[IndianBBQ]

@pbe gummi bear 
Thank you. I have checked with airline as per your suggestion and my limit is of 50lbs each. (2 bags)

Does the lid get scratched while transportation/flying? You suggested to add padding (like clothes). I am worried if I open the box I might not be able to pack it properly. Is it difficult?
i am thinking to take out the manual/paper work possibly the grate and carry it with my cabin baggage so my weber box would still be under 50lbs with padding.

I thank you for your reply and suggestion. It is very helpful.