Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Had to make a quick stop at Home Depot, so I toured the grill section, of course. The NexGrill Evolution 5 discussed in an earlier thread (See a First Look at GrillGrates) was front and center on display. I couldn’t spend as long as I would have liked but took some pictures and have a few observations.
This grill is really sharp. One of the nicest looking “lower tier” brand grills I have seen. I think they are trying, within the price point they are working within, to make some headway toward a higher quality presentation. This grill has somewhat smaller grill space than the Weber Genesis II 4–burner that was standing nearby (at almost 4x the price), but this grill features 5 burners. On the surface that seems like a better sear potential.
Of course, the big selling feature of this grill is the so-called infrared system that uses perforated trays below the stainless rod grates. Pretty much what Larry has been advocating. In the earlier thread we laughed at the way these were installed up side down, but it turns out that NexGrill advocates using them BOTH ways or not even at all for "traditional" grilling.
This display model was just like the one Bruce saw, having all the grates underneath the perforated panels. I swapped one out with the grate on top to see how it would look the way I would expect to use it:
Speaking of the grates, check out how thick the bars are. (I know, Larry, you could drop some smaller items in between), but I think these bars would make great sear marks and, for that purpose, I think I like them spaced out more like this:
So, this IS an attractive grill. Does it appear to be somewhat lightweight and thinly made? Yes, at least the bottom cart pieces and the perforated panels seemed pretty lightweight. I doubt they are high quality stainless, although the bottom cart side and bottom may actually be aluminum which at least won't rust out. The grate and burners superficially at least compare much more favorably.
After seeing in person, I will stick with my observation that this could be a very nice grill that may, in fact, cook excellently. What it would take, however, is a high degree of attention to cleaning and maintenance and a thorough coating of the metal parts with something like Everbrite. If you did that, and maybe recoated it every year or so, you might actually have a cool grill.
Certainly, the $379 price for a five burner grill with flashy style and eclectic features stood in sharp contrast to the Spirit II 2-burner for a higher price stationed just in front of it. You can easily see the challenge Weber faces in the marketplace today:
If I had an extra $379 laying around and room for it, I would really like to try one of these, giving it special care and see how it worked and held up over time.
This grill is really sharp. One of the nicest looking “lower tier” brand grills I have seen. I think they are trying, within the price point they are working within, to make some headway toward a higher quality presentation. This grill has somewhat smaller grill space than the Weber Genesis II 4–burner that was standing nearby (at almost 4x the price), but this grill features 5 burners. On the surface that seems like a better sear potential.
Of course, the big selling feature of this grill is the so-called infrared system that uses perforated trays below the stainless rod grates. Pretty much what Larry has been advocating. In the earlier thread we laughed at the way these were installed up side down, but it turns out that NexGrill advocates using them BOTH ways or not even at all for "traditional" grilling.
This display model was just like the one Bruce saw, having all the grates underneath the perforated panels. I swapped one out with the grate on top to see how it would look the way I would expect to use it:
Speaking of the grates, check out how thick the bars are. (I know, Larry, you could drop some smaller items in between), but I think these bars would make great sear marks and, for that purpose, I think I like them spaced out more like this:
So, this IS an attractive grill. Does it appear to be somewhat lightweight and thinly made? Yes, at least the bottom cart pieces and the perforated panels seemed pretty lightweight. I doubt they are high quality stainless, although the bottom cart side and bottom may actually be aluminum which at least won't rust out. The grate and burners superficially at least compare much more favorably.
After seeing in person, I will stick with my observation that this could be a very nice grill that may, in fact, cook excellently. What it would take, however, is a high degree of attention to cleaning and maintenance and a thorough coating of the metal parts with something like Everbrite. If you did that, and maybe recoated it every year or so, you might actually have a cool grill.
Certainly, the $379 price for a five burner grill with flashy style and eclectic features stood in sharp contrast to the Spirit II 2-burner for a higher price stationed just in front of it. You can easily see the challenge Weber faces in the marketplace today:
If I had an extra $379 laying around and room for it, I would really like to try one of these, giving it special care and see how it worked and held up over time.
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