Opinions on Kamado cookers

[T.G]

Originally Posted by jonumberone

Most of the reviews I read were positive, but the big question that looms is longevity.

The company that makes these, Visiongrills, has only been around for about 5-6 years now, and, I'm not sure when this particular model Kamado-style grill came out. IIRC, it was 2 (3?) years ago when I first saw this model at costco. So, I'm not sure how much real world longevity can be measured yet.

BGE, on the other hand, has been around for over 20 years and their products have a good track record.

Warranties seem to be comparable, lifetime on the ceramics, 5 years on the metal, wood is 1 year (BGE) or 90 days (Visiongrill).
http://www.visiongrills.com/warranty.php
http://www.biggreenegg.com/support/warranty/

I know someone who has one and they like it. Unfortunately, they can't give a direct comparison to a BGE because they never owned one. I also know people with BGEs and they love them equally to how the other loves their visiongrill kamado, but again, they haven't had both so, any kind of direct comparison isn't possible.

One thing with the BGE, yes, they nickel and dime you to death (or in this case $50 and a $100 bill you to death), but it's usually easy to find parts and accessories locally, as for the Visiongrill, I really have no idea.