Weber Smokefire 3rd edition


 
Just in case those that may have missed it, posted here SmokeFire Sear+

Will have to wait for the reviews, to see if it makes any differences, other adding some extras as standard to the Stealth?
 
Paul M said:
Just in case those that may have missed it, posted here SmokeFire Sear+

Will have to wait for the reviews, to see if it makes any differences, other adding some extras as standard to the Stealth?
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It seems to me Weber is stepping back from marketing it as a smoker that can also grill and sear, and re-branding it as an all-round grill that happens to be pellet fired, and oh hey, it can also smoke. This makes some sense because smoking is still somewhat niche, and changing the sub name and model numbers means they can get listed separately from EX4/EX6 on Amazon, leaving behind all the negative reviews lingering from the initial launch.

I work in the consumer goods industry, and I'm also located in west Chicago burbs not far from Weber HQ; from what I've heard there has been a big shakeup going on internally at Weber, so it doesn't surprise me at all that they would change up their marketing strategy to try and relaunch it targeting a different market segment. I'm just really glad they aren't cancelling Smokefire entirely because I think it is a solid platform.
 
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Jason,
That sounds very likely to me. Weber has seemed to struggle financially recently. My removed casual observer has also noticed that their presence in Home Depot, Lowes and even Ace has declined over the past few years, with the SmokeFIre unceremoniously exercised off the Lowes sales floor along with all the accessories. Meanwhile, Blackstone has a growing number of grills, and at Lowes at least, a LOT more shelf space for their accessories. I know online and all that, but this still has to hurt Weber's sales. Out of sight, out of mind...

I am in Weber’s "Grillers Circle" and while I have honored my commitment to not talk about things we are shown, I can say that the activity in this group has dropped to zero in recent months. I am guessing whoever headed that up has been let go or reassigned.

We can only hope that Weber can get back to basics and re-affirm itself as the maker of QUALITY grills in the middle market.
 
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Yesterday while at the Fleet Farm in Delavan WI I was killin a little time. So one place I went was the grill section. They had an OONI there. Prettycool little thing but can't figure out for the life of me how you make a fire in that weird fire pot. They had a selection of some Weber stuff (Geneis, Spirit, etc) and one lonely Smokefire. Oddly while there were quite an assortment of pellet grills (Oklahoma Joe, and others) and all of them screwed together nicely to show them off well, there was one lowly Smokefire. Not sure if by intent but the casual observer would never want a Smokefire if they looked at that particular EX4. It was wobbly, the legs were loose, the handle was not well attached, etc. Almost like the people at FF wanted the SF to look bad compared to the Traegers and OK Joes. Quite disappointing
 
LMichaels said:
Yesterday while at the Fleet Farm in Delavan WI I was killin a little time. So one place I went was the grill section. They had an OONI there. Prettycool little thing but can't figure out for the life of me how you make a fire in that weird fire pot. They had a selection of some Weber stuff (Geneis, Spirit, etc) and one lonely Smokefire. Oddly while there were quite an assortment of pellet grills (Oklahoma Joe, and others) and all of them screwed together nicely to show them off well, there was one lowly Smokefire. Not sure if by intent but the casual observer would never want a Smokefire if they looked at that particular EX4. It was wobbly, the legs were loose, the handle was not well attached, etc. Almost like the people at FF wanted the SF to look bad compared to the Traegers and OK Joes. Quite disappointing
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Off topic but they have several versions of the OONI one of which uses pellets as a fuel. They have others that use gas, others that are multi-fuel.
 
PHolder said:
Off topic but they have several versions of the OONI one of which uses pellets as a fuel. They have others that use gas, others that are multi-fuel.
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This was not gas. Whether or not pellets or something else no clue. Had some weird stamped waterfall looking grate in the little "fuel drawer"
 
Jon Tofte said:
I am in Weber’s "Grillers Circle" and while I have honored my commitment to not talk about things we are shown, I can say that the activity in this group has dropped to zero in recent months. I am guessing whoever headed that up has been let go or reassigned.
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It is interesting, though, that some of the things previewed in Grillers Circle have come to fruition...I won't say which ones to honor the confidentiality agreement.
 
Thanks, Lance!

It looks nice enough, but I still think it is a place holder while Weber tries to sort things out and get in better shape to be able to do a more substantially update design.
 
I stumbled onto this financial look from an alert I got from cookoutnews.com . It appears to be from Weber where management examines their strengths and weaknesses. I thought the line about "Strong pipeline of new product initiatives that will be released in 2024" was especially interesting. I also would rather see Weber make grills in Mexico than in China, even though I really want them to bring everything home.

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I would have to believe that the 2024 pipeline has to include a more substantially updated SmokeFire and maybe some other entry into the pellet grill arena. It will be fun to see what Weber brings to market next year.
 
I would love to see a new and substantially improved SmokeFire. I love mine and as much as I get excited to see Bret on his S6 I would like to stick with my performer and GB 26” for grilling and my SmokeFire for smoking. I personally love the technology and ability to multitask with smoking food and making sure my kids don’t get in too much trouble.
 
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