Does More Smoke = More Bark?

I have only cooked a few times on mine and at first I thought the smoke ring was lacking but I went back through pics of all my cooks on my Traeger (where I thought I had great smoke ring) and the FEC100 is the same or better.
Can't talk to bark other than more smoke does not equal bark just flavor in the bark. Bark is more a function of heat.

My guess is the bark is a function of your rub and possibly higher heat ,at times.

If smoke is causing any bark,I'd guess it is laying on creosote.

Now,level of smoke and potential smokering,could be a function of slower/lower temps in early stages of the cook.

You could always order some smoke sticks and try two cooks and compare them.

Tom's correct. Bark is the end result of high heat, or prolonged lower heat drawing moisture from the meat leaving behind a crust. Sugars in rub will add to the crust as they cook and caramelize. Consider the difference between the steak cooked close to a high heat source vs low.

Wood sticks over the FEC firepot will increase the volume of smoke, thus promoting the development of smoke ring. "Green" wood will produce more smoke intensity vs Candy Sue's smoke sticks. They will not affect bark as that is a factor of heat rather than smoke.

The subject asked one thing:

More smoke equal more bark

but your post asked about the SR.

SR and bark aren't the same thing.

Do you want more bark or more SR?

I'm assuming SR.

Do a search on SR and you'll find 100's of posts on the subject. SR is a visual issue -- period. People think it's the definition of what good BBQ is because they don't know better.

It's a chemical reaction to smoke (or chemical nitrates/nitrites). It's meat that gets cured and is pink just like a hot dog is pink or a ham is pink -- it's cured.

You have to look at your process, but you can get plenty of SR.

I use the new CS pellets and have zero issue with SR, don't even have to go with the 180 lower temp method.

What pellets are you using and what times/temps are you using for what type of meat?