New The Huntsman Kettle Kamado Grill from Spider coming.


 
Looks pretty cool overall, but for me...all I can say is not insulated, not interested. That is one big heatsink I would not want to deal with in the weather I cook in a good part of the year... Loading up charcoal once for a 10+ hour cook is totally my love for the E6/S6.
 
The E/S6 is most likely more efficient but I do wonder by how much. This is not an offset where the separate fire box has 6 exposed sides. The heat will be absorbed by all that metal and help keep temps. Also with the Viper PID attached it should also help I would think. It would be interesting to see a real life comparison. I think in one of the vids he did a pork butt with very little fuel. My MB800 does not have great efficiency but does have wonderful smoke flavor, another consideration when talking Kamado style grills. I have read that a lot stick burners require adding fuel every 15-30 minutes to properly keep temps but have great smoke (way too much effort for me).
 
If you are talking about efficiency, the early bird peek seems to show very efficient use of fuel, which makes sense given the very thick carbon steel and the design layout, as @Joe Anshien noted. If you are talking about the outside of the grill getting hot, then, yeah, even super thick carbon steel is going to be a good bit hotter than double wall steel like the WSK - or even more so, a ceramic Kamado like the Big Green Egg.

I have already cast my vote, so we will see. A hot grill doesn't bother me here in often very cool Indiana. I use gas all the time, and they are way too hot to touch. That has never been an issue for me, but in a hotter climate I could definitely see it being annoying.

I am mostly intrigued by the fuel door, the extra tight seals, and the hope of making charcoal easy enough that I won't always want to go with pellets or gas. Plus, I like the unique overall look and thoughtful touches that Spider seems to have incorporated. I would never have thought about casting in those reinforcements to the fuel door that Tom Horsman pointed out.

p.s. I will be very curious to see what grates my "regular" shipment grill has. It's hard not to wonder if Tom got special treatment with 304 stainless ones included on his. I will certainly post an honest review of my own.
 
I have confirmed with Spider Grills that the cooking grates are 304 stainless.
Charcoal grates are cast iron.
Their customer service has been incredible. Every question I ask gets answered in a few minutes via email.

The Horsman video was good. I think he will soon figure out the door is able to be opened with one hand, though! 😁
 
I am looking forward to Tom doing some actual cooking on his. He has probably every diffuser they make for the 22" Weber kettle, so I would love to see him try one while he waits for the Spider version.
 
Joe Anshien said:
The E/S6 is most likely more efficient but I do wonder by how much. This is not an offset where the separate fire box has 6 exposed sides. The heat will be absorbed by all that metal and help keep temps. Also with the Viper PID attached it should also help I would think. It would be interesting to see a real life comparison.
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The Summit Kamado will be significantly more efficient - it's an insulated design. We're just dealing with the laws of physics here - yes, the heat will be absorbed by all that metal which will help keep it STABLE (resistant to temp change), but it will also release it to the atmosphere - particularly in windy conditions where the heat will disperse more quickly...and in cold temps even worse. Solid steel is not an insulator. You also have to burn to HEAT all that metal up in the first place.

That is not to say that being efficient is necessarily always a good thing either - particularly when it comes to smoking. Having a less efficient smoker produces better "blue" smoke and I think a better end product. I would not call the Summit Kamado a great smoker. I do think it is an amazing all-round cooker though...it does everything very well - including being ultra-efficient. Other than the ceramic Kamado products, I am yet to see any other products as better "all rounders" - but I find all the ceramics too deep, and not wide enough so they are poor at "grilling" IMO. I predict the Huntsman will smoke better, but will be significantly less efficient, and when it comes to just plain ol' grilling - don't think it really matters - most grills "grill" well.
 
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Nice video. I'm getting closer! This seems like a good entry point for me into a charcoal cooker/smoker; and as an addition to my gas grill. Lots of good features. Though not cheap for an "entry point", seems a better value for me than the WSK. Maybe easier to use with the Venom and the fuel door, at least for me.

If he has one, there's bound to be some others out there for early reviews.
 
Even I am interested in this I was waiting for the Searwood going down the pellet route maybe but to be honest the more I read about issues with people and pellet grills it gives me pause. Yes a lot of people no issues but a lot of people who have issues. I originally wanted a WSK but its just to much money without the benefits this has meaning temp control. I live in ATL so the weather is not an issue the double wall would not mean much and by no means am I dissing the WSK by the way.

Kind of a bummer the SNS won't work I love mine.
 
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Brian B Atlanta said:
Even I am interested in this I was waiting for the Searwood going down the pellet route maybe but to be honest the more I read about issues with people and pellet grills it gives me pause. Yes a lot of people no issues but a lot of people who have issues. I originally wanted a WSK but its just to much money without the benefits this has meaning temp control. I live in ATL so the weather is not an issue the double wall would not mean much and by no means am I dissing the WSK by the way.

Kind of a bummer the SNS won't work I love mine.
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I did not understand why Tom said that SNS will not work. How can it not?
 
I think Tom feels the charcoal grate is so much larger than on a 22" Weber kettle that the SNS won't "fit" exactly right. Maybe not, but I still think you could use it. I actually messaged Tom about trying one of his diffusers on the Huntsman. He was kind to quickly reply and say he thought those would be too small. Maybe he will still try.

Since the Spider diffuser setup won't be available until "late summer" I know that I am going to try what I have before plunking down another $149 (or maybe $199 by then). I may also try my SNS. I hope mine at least arrives by the forecasted 4th of July shipping date.
 
Looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with for diffusers. $149 does seem steep.
 
JackSark said:
If the entire thing was thick steel I think it would weigh more than 150lbs.
The WSK weighs 176lbs or so.
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I'm no expert on either but WSK - 24", Huntsman - 22". And the WSK seems to be deeper/taller so that can make up the difference I suppose.

Certainly the WSK is more time tested, and the warranty better. WSK a little to expensive for me; I'm not there on a pellet grill, and the ceramic kamados are also a bit pricey and not as attactive to me. So the Huntsman hits a certain sweet spot for me and maybe others. I'm excited for the Huntsman to arrive and try out my hand in this type of cooking.
 
I ordered one as soon as preorders went live. I've got their Venom on my WSK, a pellet 22, as well as a couple battery packs. Their products have been great for me and no issues at all, even the WiFi/app issue some have had with the Venom.

Even tho I have a WSKamado I sometimes wish I had a 2nd charcoal BBQ for cooking something else while I use the WSK for a longer cook.

Looking forward to getting mine and trying it out as a 2ndary BBQ. Who knows if it's quicker/more convenient to use for hot and fast cooks, I may end up using it for those only and the WSK for low & slow exclusively.

Cheers!
 

In the video scroll down in the questions/comments someone asks if it works with the SNS and the answer by Spyder is yes. The video was posted earlier in the thread just pointing it out.
 
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🤔 Saw this answer in the comments from one of his videos.
Seems like plenty of people have used a SNS with a Venom on a kettle.
IMG_7116.jpeg
 
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