Philip Madden
TVWBB Member
As a product designer (and I have also worked on grills) I have to say that I am not digging some of the new Weber designs. Don't get me wrong, some of it is great but the new platinum is just not right. Plus, it reminds me too much of some of the Outdoor Chef stuff. The new OTP seems overly complicated (visually) and loses some of its iconic look. You could argue that the old OTP was also too far from the iconic tripod design but it still worked out well. The new one is a bit too disjointed, edges are too soft, and it has a "plastic" feel with the painted legs and plastic connections. Also the format of the two side tables is something I never like on other grills. I always loved that weber gave you a honking big table on one side on the platinum and performer. No one else really offers that kind of workspace. Two small tables are much less functional than one larger table, IMHO. But it sure will fit in a smaller box! and I have a feeling that was a driving force behind the new OTP.... "how many will fit on a pallet?" You'd be surprised how important that is when designing products. I hear it all the time.