How We Recommend

Our sources

• Manufacturer specifications for dimensions, materials, cooking area and stated operating ranges.
• Published findings from outlets that run structured, repeatable testing.
• Long-running owner communities, the best available source on durability and what breaks after three years.
• The physics of each format. A thin-steel offset will swing in the cold and a ceramic kamado will not, and that is predictable without testing either.

What we do not do

• We do not claim to have tested products we have not tested.
• We do not publish star ratings or aggregate review scores, and we emit no rating markup to search engines, because we have collected no ratings.
• We do not hide the weaknesses of products we recommend. Every pick carries an Against column.
• We do not rank unrelated formats against each other.
• We do not accept payment for placement or for a favourable verdict.

Prices

Prices are indicative bands drawn from public US retail listings and carry the date they were checked, currently July 2026. They move constantly, particularly around spring and holiday sales, so every price is paired with a live link rather than presented as a current figure.

How we make money

Through affiliate links. If you buy something after following a link from this site, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. It does not influence what gets recommended: the cheapest pick on the site is a twenty five dollar chimney starter that we argue matters more than any grill upgrade. See the full disclosure.