Let me prepuce this by saying after exhaustive research the product and crew at cookshack stand a head and shoulders above the competition. And later in this post I will mention the secondary market of which there is virtually none. Why? Well because their product is so good no one parts with it. This is the very best testament anyone can have for their product. Now for the grumbling part.
I have been languishing over buying a smoker for sometime now. I started out with a budget of about $200 - $250 for the purchase, but have since come to the conclusion, after investigation, that the tin toys you get for that kind of money would be more nuisance than smoker. This was the result mainly of stumbling into this website and others. Hence I convinced myself to pony up the extra $300 (not the easiest conclusion to draw with the current economic climate) and buy an appliance rather than a toy. But in the mean time along came the Smokette model changes and price raise. The price raise for more width and better controls, money well spent, considering the differences. And to be honest these changes are attractive enough I don’t particularly want the old style any longer. But the loss of approximately 100 square inches of rack space, 4” of hanging space, (hence rib hooks won’t work) and about 500 cubic inches of overall space has left me back to square one. With careful analysis of the situation one can understand the business thinking that went in the decision making process. Standard rack size and many other parts, as well as a size that virtually overlaps with other models makes cutting down one shelf and going with the standard foot print size a no brainer. And the new units are better for consumers, except for the loss of cooking space. However to me the space loss seems critical. So that leaves choices. Paying close to five times my original budget in order to buy the Super Smoker and get the space back, which sure seems out of the question. This appears to be $450 for the same controls and heating elements, just 4” more box, an extra door latch and one shelf. You can come, amazingly close to buying 2 Smokettes for the price of one Super Smoker. But maybe my ignorance is showing here? There are still the “Toys” (not a chance after becoming educated). Then there is the secondary market or clones which maybe the best of the bad choices left, if I don’t just give up the space.
After writing this and reading it from an outside looking in perspective maybe I am just whining because I am wanting, something for nothing. But it sure seems that they could have left the height in play and raised the prices just a bit more on these two models. I am certain there are likely some potential Super Smoker customers that feel the same way. But at any rate someone please convince me that the space loss is no big deal. Feel free to be critical if I have been out of line here. As of right now I am about to give up on the entire project as it was just for fun and the costs seem to be getting out of control.
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