Sheesh tough room. Here are some comments.
1) When I said "physics not magic" it was after demonstrating the exterior walls of the kettle are cooler with the SnS, thus more heat is retained in the cooker, which means more efficiency. I admit I could have gone into that detail but we were trying to keep the video short.
2) ATC invalidates the test? This is TOTAL HOGWASH. I don't even say hogwash... not sure where that came from. The ATCs guaranteed each kettle was at the same temp the entire cook.... This was an efficiency test... not how easy is it to control temp test.
3) Should have opened the lid? If we had opened the lid as needed based on the type of cook then the SnS would have been even farther ahead, because you don't need to open the lid. With the Snake you're either confined to a small indirect zone or you have to rotate the meat away from the heat as it cooks.
4) Should have used meat? Bad idea... There is no way to guarantee two pieces of meat are identical, and the meat would have added no value to an efficiency comparison.
5) I would also point out it was a very hot day/evening.... It was in the high 90s for most of the period the snake was going... about the time it went out the ambient temp had died down to mid 70s, yet the SnS still went another 3+ hours. On a cooler day the difference would have been even more dramatic.
6) This was a sales pitch? Of course it was! HOWEVER, we pitched scientific data, not marketing spin. And we made the comparison FAIR/FAVORING the snake method.
7) Why didn't they show the kettles after the cook? There was nothing left but ash. Kinda boring.
@troymeister would be interested to know what you feel the test is missing.