I've got the straight Highland - bought it two summers ago on a whim because I saw a sale I couldn't refuse. I like it a lot but I've done a lot of mods.
I think of the COS's, defined by less than quarter inch steel, OKJ is probably the best.
Having said that, Jirby recommends sticking with what you have, saving your money and getting a Mill Scale 94. :-)
I thought the reverse flow was switchable without having to buy a 2nd stack. Can't one just loosen a screw and move the stack to the conventional side?
I like the idea of the reverse flow, but for some reason, the straight Highland is rated higher on Amazon than the reverse. Why? I don't know. One thing that bugs me about the reverse flow is that the stack is on the side.
Re the firebox, the V shape grate is an improvement over the stock set up, but a charcoal basket is a vast improvement over the V shape. See Smoke Trails BBQ on youtube.
My highland cooks very nicely with even temps from right to left, but it took some mods to get there.
Good luck
I tend to remember his video not necessarily giving the win to the firebasket. It did some things well, but it did other things not as well. <edit: not in the "do mods make a difference" video--that video he acclaimed the firebasket>
An older video, he gave a different conclusion:
1) You can wait longer beford adding splits (3-5 min or so) on v-grate
2) V-grate supports lower temps better
3) It's free
4) (he missed saying that you can also add splits via the side door which is a pro)
Sometimes it's hard to keep his recommendations straight. He changes his smoker a lot so I think that's partly why. For example, his older video he didn't have a stack extension yet and mentions a con that the v-grate method has slower starts. I can assure you that with a stack extension and with the smoker properly heat soaked, wood starts right away in my experience
He states the cons of the firebasket being pretty inverse of the above: hotter temps burns, more coal bed refreshes, and costs money.
I would find it to be annoying to have to open the main firebox chamber to add splits IMO. Infact, this is
affecting his results because obviously when you open the fire box door wood ignites faster, regardless if it's the v-grate method or the firebox method, so that conclusion could possible be tainted unless he added wood the exact same way each time. I've only used my highland once so I have a long time before I REALLY learn it well, but I tended to add splits via the side door about 70% of the time. 30% of the time I did it via the top, and these were because the smoker wasn't heat soaked yet and required a little extra help getting ignited fast or when I waited too long before adding by getting pre-occupied. This was my error though and not the error of the v-grate. I let the smoker get to 225 (slowly) before I started cooking on it, but next time I'm going to get the smoker to 350 before I start cooking on it.
The V-grate is essentially a firebox without walls. I'm not convienced it's "better", but I'll certainly try it if someone gave one to me. They're not necessarily cheap, and you're better off doing the stack extension or the exhaust lowering kit because those are theoretically sound recommendations.
