Great video. My wife is getting me the Camp Chef for Christmas. I have a Masterbuilt electric smoker now and wanted something that will give me a great smoke ring and something I don’t have to babysit all day, putting wood chips in it. I also love the easy clean out of the fire pot. Keep smoking and making videos.
Thank Matt for the review. I’m currently looking at both models and leaning towards the Camp Chef only because of clean up. From what I understand, the CC Woodwind has a trap door below the firebox to release the ash whereas the Traeger has to be manually vacuumed out after use. I believe that the CC has a trap door behind the hopper as well if you want to change the wood pellets on the fly and it comes standard with the meat probe compared to the Traeger where the meat probe is an additional cost and if you want to change out the pellets, they have to be scooped/vacuumed out. What are your thoughts?
I just received my Camp Chef with sear box. Setup was easy with no issues. I did extensive online review of both units. To me, it was a no brainer to select the Camp Chef. The features that won me over were: easy clean out, four wheels for easy moving, removing pellets from hopper and sear box. I am on my way outdoors to start smoking my new york steaks!
Hi Matt, Thanks for the feedback and observations. I, too, am a Traeger owner. I notice the formed barrel cover lid on the Camp Chef might be one additional design feature the Woodwind has over the Traeger that may account for a deeper smoke flavor experienced from the Camp Chef? I experienced an excessive amount of “smoke leak” out of the top and bottom of my Traeger cover. It’s because the closed lid sits on top of the barrel end caps leaving a gap at those locations. (I added high-heat seal along the inner cover edges, which completely fixed the issue. Plus, it made the Traeger operate more efficiently by reducing the 10F/12F temp fluctuation to 5F/7F degrees, with a noticeable reduction in pellet consumption.)
Did you notice a similar “smoke leak” issue in your comparison? Just curious …
Jeff
Bonus: Military? Not sure about Traeger, but Camp Chef offers a SIGNIFICANT military discount if you call them and order. Love mine. Doing a brisket now for Christmas dinner in 40F weather (first cold weather smoke for me). Thanks for the review.
Great video! And Thanks. Have you done any cold weather smoking with either unit ? Do they keep up in lower temps and do you cover them. Noob smoker guy here looking to upgrade from the old brinkman. Oh and I love the Ram!!
If you had to choose a Camp Chef Woodwind with Sear box or a Traeger without the ability to sear, what would you choose and why?
That K5 though!!
Great vid! GREAT TRUCK too!
#GoHawks
Great video. My wife is getting me the Camp Chef for Christmas. I have a Masterbuilt electric smoker now and wanted something that will give me a great smoke ring and something I don’t have to babysit all day, putting wood chips in it. I also love the easy clean out of the fire pot. Keep smoking and making videos.
Thank Matt for the review. I’m currently looking at both models and leaning towards the Camp Chef only because of clean up. From what I understand, the CC Woodwind has a trap door below the firebox to release the ash whereas the Traeger has to be manually vacuumed out after use. I believe that the CC has a trap door behind the hopper as well if you want to change the wood pellets on the fly and it comes standard with the meat probe compared to the Traeger where the meat probe is an additional cost and if you want to change out the pellets, they have to be scooped/vacuumed out. What are your thoughts?
GO BEAVES!!!
I just received my Camp Chef with sear box. Setup was easy with no issues. I did extensive online review of both units. To me, it was a no brainer to select the Camp Chef. The features that won me over were: easy clean out, four wheels for easy moving, removing pellets from hopper and sear box. I am on my way outdoors to start smoking my new york steaks!
Love the K-5 …..and the hilarious shopping cart comment!
Hi Matt, Thanks for the feedback and observations. I, too, am a Traeger owner. I notice the formed barrel cover lid on the Camp Chef might be one additional design feature the Woodwind has over the Traeger that may account for a deeper smoke flavor experienced from the Camp Chef? I experienced an excessive amount of “smoke leak” out of the top and bottom of my Traeger cover. It’s because the closed lid sits on top of the barrel end caps leaving a gap at those locations. (I added high-heat seal along the inner cover edges, which completely fixed the issue. Plus, it made the Traeger operate more efficiently by reducing the 10F/12F temp fluctuation to 5F/7F degrees, with a noticeable reduction in pellet consumption.)
Did you notice a similar “smoke leak” issue in your comparison? Just curious …
Jeff
Bonus: Military? Not sure about Traeger, but Camp Chef offers a SIGNIFICANT military discount if you call them and order. Love mine. Doing a brisket now for Christmas dinner in 40F weather (first cold weather smoke for me). Thanks for the review.
That apron is sick great video
But which one gives a better flavor profile? Smoke ring and better smoke flavor?
GREAT REVIEW! Keep these videos coming.
Great video! And Thanks. Have you done any cold weather smoking with either unit ? Do they keep up in lower temps and do you cover them. Noob smoker guy here looking to upgrade from the old brinkman. Oh and I love the Ram!!
Thank you. Interesting review
Curious how the RecTec stacks up against these.