Meet the "New" Weber Summit Kamado

[onemanlan]

Neat. If I see one on a good sale I'll consider buying it. Alternatively I'm interested to see the pricing of the metal kamado joe there was a video of a while back. Hoping that bangs in at a lower price point if it ever does come out.

I do and don't miss my Kamado at times. The Weber kettle pretty much took over those duties. Insulated smoker for the rest.

 

[dealgagrill]

Kamado......I'll stick with my BGE.

I think many look at the Weber Kamado and assume it's a glorified kettle grill and have no idea of how well it actually performs.

I have owned a a Weber Summit Charcoal Grill ($1199 new) for almost two years. After researching all of the Kamado options, I picked the Weber over the Kamado Joe Big Joe and the Big Green Egg XL due to performance, price, versatility, and ease of transport.

Performance: Mine has held temps steady in the mid 200s for 24 hours off one
load of charcoal/wood. Great for cooking at high or low temps. I
have never needed to refill fuel on long cooks.

Price: Fully ready to grill/smoke out of the box without additional
accessories. It's cooking area is the same as the Big Joe and the
BGE XL that each cost upwards of $1700 once ready to
cook/smoke. Mine was discounted to $1199, and $999 is even
better (I don't use the gas assist)

Versatility: Easy to use as a kettle grill (but with much better charcoal life) or
as a smoker. Mine has tackled everything from basic grilling to
brisket, ribs, turkey, etc. Lump charcoal or briquettes can be used.

Ease of transport: MUCH lighter than the ceramics, and no worries of it
shattering if tipped (the BGE, with it's flimsy "egg nest", is always
an adventure to move).

The Big Joe was a close second on my list, but I am still very satisfied with the WSCG. Assuming performance of the new Weber Kamado is the same, $999 is a bargain to pay for a ready to use 24" Kamado.

 

[El Ropo]

I hear you on the price.

I personally view it more as an improved charcoal grill because-
1) the charcoal grate can be raised and lowered, a feature sadly lacking on the other Webers, and
2) it has the ability to go low and slow if you want to.

In theory it should outperform a basic Weber kettle for both grilling and smoking.

Point 2 is not accurate. A basic Weber kettle can go low and slow just as well as any kamado style cooker if you setup the fuel correctly and use the intake to adjust air flow. I've done dozens of low n slow cooks on my 22" kettle and never had any issues I couldn't resolve with a slight adjustment of the intake.

 

[M1]

amazing the price for what it is
probably about $150.00 of metal and labor

Weber is late to this market, if they really want to make a splash they should drop the price on these significantly. Like the OP said can't cost much to manufacture