Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I love this grill. I previously owned a Big Green Egg, but gave it to my son when I was living in a high rise. Now I'm back on solid ground with a patio and needed a grill. After a lot of research, I decided to try the Kamado Joe. It's not cheap, but given the fact that it comes with plate setters, ash tool, and grill grate tool, it is cheaper than a Big Green Egg which includes no accessories. I was amazed at how fast I got it. Free 2 day shipping with Amazon Prime. There is some assembly required, but that is also simple. You will need someone to help you get it out of the crate, but that's more from bulkiness than weight. I loved my Big Green Egg, so I was a little worried that the Kamado Joe wouldn't have the same quality and temperature control abilities. No need to have worried. This is a well built product that has actually made some improvements over the Green Egg design. I'll compare the two since my dilemma was to buy this or The Big Green Egg: 1. The temperature control is as easy, accurate, and consistent as my Big Green Egg. Once the charcoal is lit, you can adjust the dampers to achieve your desired temperature, and it stays right there even on windy days. 2. The top has a felt ring around it that holds the cast iron damper cap in place even when opening and closing the grill. This is an improvement over the Big Green Egg which just had the cap sitting on the ceramic. I would have to remove the cap when opening the lid to keep it from falling off of the Egg. 3. With the Big Green Egg, you needed a bucket and ash tool, that was not included, to clean out the ash after cooking. The Kamado Joe has a slide in drawer that catches the ashes. The drawer holds enough ash to burn down a full load of charcoal, then you just pull it out, empty it, and put it back in. It would be a good idea to occasionally remove the fire box, etc. and clean around it (also true of The Big Green Egg), but this tray makes it much easier to empty the ash out during every day use. 4. You could only cook on the upper or lower level at one time on The Big Green Egg. The Kamado Joe comes with the Divide and Conquer system that allows you to cook all on one level or half the grill on the upper level and half on the lower level (closer to the coals). It also allows you to make half of the grill indirect heat while cooking with direct heat on the other half. This was great for reverse-searing steaks. I could cook them to medium rare with indirect heat then move them to the lower grate with direct heat to quickly sear them. 5. The only thing I can think of that the Big Green Egg has over the Kamado Joe is the ceramic cap that you can put in place after using to shut off airflow and put out the coals. Closing the damper on top of the Kamado Joe has the same effect, but maybe a little less efficiently than the ceramic cap. I don't want to take anything away from the Big Green Egg, because it is a quality product and mine is still in use performing like-new after 4 years. I have only had the Kamado Joe for a few months now, so while I can't say how durable it is, I can say that it feels as solid as the Egg and I would expect it to also be performing like a champ in 5 years. Overall, I am very happy with my Kamado Joe, and keeping in mind that I have 5 years experience with the Big Green Egg and only 3 months with the Kamado Joe, so far I would recommend the Kamado Joe to anyone who is on the fence like I was between this and The Big Green Egg.