Ole Hickory CTO vs. BBQ vault vs. Lang 60

Traditional Offset For the Win! Lol I'm Biased of course

Depends on your use really.

I've cooked on a couple of stick burners. Love em, but they're a bit of work at least as far as fire maintenance goes.

Cabinet smokers are more of a "set and forget" mentality.

LOVE the CTO, but then you gotta have power. The built in thermo is KING though.


If you plan to cook a lot of meat, the Vault will hold more than the CTO. CTO has more temp variation from top to bottom than the vault, but less than the traditional offset. Of course, some folks like that variable temp throughout the cooker too for versatility.

Not played with a reverse offset like a Lang personally.


Again, depends on how much meat you plan to cook at once, portability, etc. They're all great for Q and as versatile as the cook wants to be.



Out of all that I have cooked on, I think I love the Jambo the most, which is a "traditional" offset. Awesome cooker.

the previous owner of 5, yes five Langs - and two Ole Hickorys, I vote for Ole Hickory.

Wood is cheap, but do you want to get up at 1am and start splitting wood, light a fire and keep it burning all night? Fun the first time - well, not really.

With the Ole Hickory - or any wood/charcoal/gas back up machine, you'll get your life back.

In regards to the silly (IMHO) comment someone made about being an oven ---- it is all an oven. If you are using wood, it will give it a nice wood flavor. But moisture is the key - and having a life. For me the OHP is the only way to roll. and we cater a bunch - can't do it with a stick burner - and not burn you out.

We use a Guru controlled gravity feed and a Lang 84. They both do a great job but it depends on how you like to cook. In the winter here in South Dakota, I like to cook on the gravity feed cooker for obvious reasons. If the weather is nice I really like drinking beer with the Lang!

I owned the CTO, it's a great rib cooker, make a bigger charcaol basket and just keep on a rolling by throwing more charcaol in, steady temps for me. I hated the fan blade since it creasotes up. I f you run on gas cant get any easier.

I learned on an offset then bought to a CTO. It took me awhile to get used to the change, and for a bit I even regretted buying it. Now that I've got it figured out, I love the CTO and am convinced I can do anything with it. Still, when ribs are on the menu, they go on the offset.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB_go0ltJXI"]Chef Danny Puts Ole Hickory to the Test - YouTube[/ame]