MattHay86

Just thought I’d drop you all an update. I ended up going for the award leisure option, 27”. It was from a OEM In China but couldn’t find the factory. first impressions are great, it’s just ginormous!! I had no idea 😂 and can’t believe the value. All accessories look premium, the grills are thick, and the pizza stone looks decent. The fire pit isn’t fully segmented but does have the one side open which I assume is slightly better than a single bowl. Stand seams good, and the tools came with it. Complete bargain for £500 I think. I’ll do a full review once I’ve started cooking which of course is the important thing! But here’s some pics…

Considering this one… as I got a hot tub from them and there’s a 5-year warranty. https://awardleisure.com/27-inch-bbq-egg-oven.html seems like a bargain but no deflector plate, or multipart fire pit

That does look like a bargain. Great find. I’ll look in to that.

Yeah good point - I really don’t want the hassle either. It looks like the same manufacturer I found in China as the upgrades are quite similar, could be identical. But the exterior pattern is definitely unique and the matte finish looks super cool. They’ve obviously tried to differentiate. Trolley and tables also look like unique upgrades as well. If I’m right, it’d be an all on one fire box. I’ll get the low down tomorrow including shipping costs.

Hi Guys, Has anyone got any thoughts on this kick starter… it just looks epic 😂. spoke to the chap and it’s 999 Euros which is way more than I wanted to spend, but comes with all the bits and bobs.

Thanks guys, really love the activity in this forum. I think I’ll heed the advise and opt for a UK based Kamado, and I’ll post in here what I’ve gone with. I may start a side hustle one day and import on mass, but don’t see the value for personal use based on your comments. There definitely seems like a lot of room in the margins to offer a superior product at a middling price point, but I guess the hike in price is down to breakages and warranty. I may still opt to batch order a tone of accessories as they wouldn’t have the risk of breakages and shipping would be much less. I’m sure I’ll be back on soon for some cooking inspiration and will keep you posted

Thanks Hoogl, some good advice there. I think I’d only be able to do it is with some form of crowd fund or know the people. But like you say, there are some lower cost options out there. Il keep lookin

Hi Everyone, I've gone down the rabbit warren, watched 1,000 videos online, and now super keen to get some form of Ceramic egg type grill. They just look mega. However I had no idea how much they were when I first started this new obsession. I simply can't afford anything decent at the moment. In these times, I'm sure I'm not the only one. I want to be spending £700 max. So I've done a fair amount of research, and outside of the 3 or 4 main manufacturers/ mark leaders (which are clearly a cut about the rest in terms of quality and features), almost all other brands just seem to be re-badging Chinese exports and are still charging £1000+ once you've added on all the odds and sods. They don't seem to have any added value other than a short warranty. Looking at some of the terms, they could almost definitely wriggle out of if they were so inclined. PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG - I'm sure there are outliers, and if there are any companies where I have an option for sub £750 I'd love to hear it. I found this article very interesting UK Budget Kamado Grill Review (barbecue-smoker-recipes.com) This just begged the question. If I were going to resort to one of these "Re-Badgers" because of budget... Why not just go direct to the Chinese manufacturer? I've looked into the different manufacturers in China and I whilst there are hundreds, I see many factories that produce them that are well established, have a large amount of sales and are likely the products that are being passed off as other brands. Fujian Auplex Kamado Grill Co Fujian Steel Egg Hardware Wuxi M.y. Advanced Grill Co Fuzhou Kimstone Ceramic Technology I have managed to get quotes from each company. I've kept the brief quite similar for comparison, and to be honest, the cost difference is negligible between them. The Fugian Steel Egg seems to be the front runner from my initial research, as the materials used, videos and QA processes look good. The costs for a 23ish inch grill, with upgraded everything (hinge, vents, gasket, thermometer, trolley etc.) and all the accessories (divide and conquer, deflector plates, cover, rib rack etc.) the total costs comes out about $400, so we're talking 4-5x lower than a UK reseller. But here's the kicker...!!! The shipping fee for a single grill is ~$970. Mental! complete deal breaker. I'd guess these are going to fluctuate all the time (this is Jan 2023). However, when probing more, the cost for shipping 2 is basically the same so halves the price. Shipping 4 is $75 more, shipping 10 would be $200 more etc. so economies of scale really come in to force. So for 10 Grills we'd be talking ~$520 (£425) each including shipping and all the bells and whistles. I've got absolutely no physical experience with the aforementioned products, so I'd love to get some guidance on whether this is a fools errand, or a viable solution of getting a lower cost grill. I realise this may be a bit contentious and fully expect some abuse :). The whole thing feels a bit dodgy, but I have imported things from China before and its been fine and think this might be a winner. Further more, If this is a good solution, a bulk order for the UK, figuring out logistics once landed, is the only option to make this commercially viable. So drop a note if this is something you'd be interested in going with a joint venture. Anyway, can of works opened, I look forward to the discussion...