The F-15E of Smokers

I'm a fighter pilot, so standby for fast, pointy jet analogies.

I did a ton of research before purchasing this smoker. I looked at an older model Traeger, larger and older Camp Chef models, Pit Boss, and other brands. Here's how they break down and compare:

The Traeger is the F-35 of Smokers. It's super expensive, and not as useful or awesome as the price tag suggests. Objectively, the Camp Chef has literally all of the features of comparable Traeger models (in most cases MORE capability) with a lower price purely based on the brand name.

The Pit Boss, Green Mountain, and other cheaper smokers are the F-16s of the smoker world. They are cheap, and okay if you need a specific mission but are not super capable. You probably need a lot of them to get the job done.

The Camp Chef Woodwind Series are the F-15Es of the smoker universe. They are cost-efficient. Meaning, they're not the cheapest smokers on the market, but the capability-to-cost ratio is on the right side of 1. This smoker can do everything and do it well. Need wifi connectivity? Check. Need lots of space for multiple racks of ribs or a 24-pound brisket? Check. Need to change the smoke level by time of the grill? Check. (Also, no other grill can do this...). Cleanup? Easy peasy. The ash cleanout system is super easy to use and effective. Also, I love the direct flame option by removing the heat shield (not sure if that's the technical name for it, but it should be) to increase the grill temp more quickly and allow for super-high temps (such as 500 for a quick sear on some steaks). Like the mighty Strike Eagle, the Woodwind series Camp Chef smokers are manly, cost efficient, and more-than-capable of conquering any threat (grilling challenge) you can throw at it.

No fighter pilot debrief would be complete without direct critiques. Here's the only negatives I've found in my 6 months of using this grill regularly:

1. The grease trap warps if you let the temp get too high. Still functional, just annoying.
2. The app isn't as good as Traeger's. Just download the Traeger app and steal the recipes.
3. Wish it had the option to startup without physically touching the switch. This is the only area that I think Traeger has a leg up on Camp Chef. Once you start it up, the connectivity is great.
4. I wish you could see a chart with your cooking stats (grill temp, time, probe temp rise, etc). See point 2.

BLOB (Bottom Line On Bottom): Buy this and thank me later. If you want to be the fighter pilot of the grilling world, this is your weapon of choice.

Unboxing and assembly was easy.

Pork shoulder first up--easy and awesome.

Questions on that?