Pit Boss versus Camp Chef

[Blue Kettle]

Hey all,
First post here. Been debating a pellet grill. Not looking to spend a ton. Have it narrowed down to Pit Boss classic 700
http://bit.ly/2GJ1aJW

Or the Cabela's (made by camp chef) http://bit.ly/2F12ScG

Cabela's seems like a heavier made product but I can't escape thinking that pit boss is probably good enough. And $150 is sort of just enough money to make me think pretty hard about it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[bconrey]

I can’t comment on the comparison of the two smokers, but wanted to chime in to say that if you end up buying from Cabelas there’s a gift card store on eBay that sometimes sells $100 gift cards for $80, which may equalize the cost a bit more.

As an aside, I just purchased a Pit Boss 820 based on the advice of a good friend who has worked for both Pit Boss and Traeger. Haven’t taken delivery yet; can’t wait for my first cook!

 

[radio]

Hey all,
First post here. Been debating a pellet grill. Not looking to spend a ton. Have it narrowed down to Pit Boss classic 700
http://bit.ly/2GJ1aJW

Or the Cabela's (made by camp chef) http://bit.ly/2F12ScG

Cabela's seems like a heavier made product but I can't escape thinking that pit boss is probably good enough. And $150 is sort of just enough money to make me think pretty hard about it.

Thanks in advance.

Check and see if Cabela's is still doing the lifetime warranty on their branded products. If they still are since Bass Pro bought them out, I would go with Cabela's/Camp Chef . That's the direction I was leaning until I got a deal I couldn't pass up on a Green Mountain

 

[Blue Kettle]

As an aside, I just purchased a Pit Boss 820 based on the advice of a good friend who has worked for both Pit Boss and Traeger. Haven’t taken delivery yet; can’t wait for my first cook!

What did your friend tell you that made you go with the Pit Boss (if you don't mind sharing/summarizing)? Did he think they were pretty similar in quality? Just looking at them yesterday I thought the PB 440D (which they had on hand at Cabelas) looked a lot more loosely built than the Traegers they had sitting there, but then when I went a block over to Wal-Mart to look at the 700 Classic (a Wal-mart exclusive for all the pluses and minuses that may imply) looked like it was more solid than the 440. Wish I could have compared them directly but unfortunately Wally didn't have the 440.

The PBs seem to have a lot of true believers in Amazon user reviews but they also have a sizeable minority of people who have had horrible experiences with inconsistent temps and massive temp swings. Something that gives me pause.

 

[Blue Kettle]

Check and see if Cabela's is still doing the lifetime warranty on their branded products. If they still are since Bass Pro bought them out, I would go with Cabela's/Camp Chef . That's the direction I was leaning until I got a deal I couldn't pass up on a Green Mountain

The sales people assure me that the Cabela's lifetime warranty applies. Spoke to customer service (because I wasn't sure if the sales people on the floor really knew what they were talking about) and was informed it only applies to manufacturing defects. So its sort of an illusory promise, you can't just use it until it wears out and then take it back for a new one. Of course, that's probably all up to the manager of the store. Maybe he does you a solid and looks the other way.

 

[radio]

The sales people assure me that the Cabela's lifetime warranty applies. Spoke to customer service (because I wasn't sure if the sales people on the floor really knew what they were talking about) and was informed it only applies to manufacturing defects. So its sort of an illusory promise, you can't just use it until it wears out and then take it back for a new one. Of course, that's probably all up to the manager of the store. Maybe he does you a solid and looks the other way.

 

[bconrey]

What did your friend tell you that made you go with the Pit Boss (if you don't mind sharing/summarizing)? Did he think they were pretty similar in quality? Just looking at them yesterday I thought the PB 440D (which they had on hand at Cabelas) looked a lot more loosely built than the Traegers they had sitting there, but then when I went a block over to Wal-Mart to look at the 700 Classic (a Wal-mart exclusive for all the pluses and minuses that may imply) looked like it was more solid than the 440. Wish I could have compared them directly but unfortunately Wally didn't have the 440.

The PBs seem to have a lot of true believers in Amazon user reviews but they also have a sizeable minority of people who have had horrible experiences with inconsistent temps and massive temp swings. Something that gives me pause.

Unfortunately I can't share a lot of hard specifics which you'll find convincing.

I've known him for 30 years, and previously he was on the customer support team for Traeger, now on the customer support team for Pit Boss, so he's been on the front lines for both. He acknowledged the warranty is shorter but feels the smokers are built much better, and is in the process of selling his Traegers and replacing them with Pit Bosses. At the end of the day I was happy saving a couple hundred bucks and because of our history I knew he wouldn't steer me wrong.

Sorry I can't provide more in terms of hard metrics or facts. If you have a specific question, let me know and I'll get his opinion on it. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Blue Kettle]

Well, I just pulled the trigger. Ended up buying the Camp Chef Smokepro XT. It was cheaper than the Cabela's model for what appears to be functionally the same grill (other than not having a pellet cleanout, but no worries, I've got a shop vac). Excited but a bit nervous. Hope I did the right thing. Bought it from a company called Outdoorcooking.com. Hadn't heard of them before but they were one of the few places I could find it online with free shipping so hopefully they don't screw me over.