First off let me say that I am kind of a BBQ super freak. I have owned just about every kind of charcoal/gas grill/smoker you can think of, except a Kamado grill. I've always wanted one, but have been put off by the price, and have been apprehensive about how well they might work in Denver given the altitude. Then I saw this surprisingly affordable little Akorn cooker by CharGriller on Amazon for $168 or just under $200 with the ceramic deflector plate, (essential if you plan on doing any indirect cooking), so I decided to go ahead and pull the trigger on it.The Cons:I would have given this little cooker 5 stars, were it not for the issues I ran into during assembly. For as simple as this thing should be to but together, it is annoyingly difficult. The first problem I ran into was with attaching the lid to the base. The lid comes with the hinge part already on it, and you attach it to the base with the provided 7/16" bolts. Easy enough to do, but once completed, the base and the lid didn't line up. No amount of loosening and adjusting the hardware helped. No matter what I tried, the lid was still cattywampus. I finally had to get some stainless steel washers to put on the bolts between the hinge and the base to get it to line up perfectly.The second problem I ran into was trying to install the handle that lifts the lid. The brackets on either side of the handle are supposed to screw into the lid with the provided hardware. The way the brackets are designed there is no way to get a screwdriver to line up straight on with the bolt, no is there room to get a socket or a wrench in there either, so it is nearly impossible to get the bolts in without cross threading them. Between the lid alignment issue and the handle problem, I probably messed around with this thing for 1.5 hours getting it put together, when it should have only taken 5 minutes!Now for the Pro's:Other than for the assembly, it is hard to find anything negative to say about this little unit. One thing to note, this is not a ceramic cooker as you will find with other Kamado tile grills. It is made of steel with "triple insulated walls". However I did not find this to detract from it's performance. In fact it is much lighter and easier to handle than a comparable ceramic cooker, yet it was still very efficient and held it's temperature very well.The unit seems well constructed and looks amazing. It comes with a really nice 14" diameter cast iron cooking grate. The center of the grate is removable to allow for charcoal or wood to be added mid cook if you need to, although this thing is so efficient I doubt you will need to add fuel for most cooks. I dumped in about a full large chimney full of lump charcoal, and fired this thing for 1.5 hours wide open to season the grate. It achieved about 650 deg. Then I cooked a rack of ribs on it for 2.5 hours at 250-275 deg's and still had a fair amount of unburned charcoal left in the bottom of the cooker.All in all, i thought it held temperature very well. The top and bottom vents regulate the temperature. For the first I'd say hour of the cook, the temp held steady at 260 deg with no needed adjustment. After that the temp slowly started climbing. When it got to 280 deg, I did my first vent adjustment. Fair warning, a little goes a long way in terms of adjustment. Over shooting both to the up and down side is easy to do. I spent the rest of the cook playing with the vents every half hour or so. I think once I get some experience under my belt with it I will get much better at controlling the temp.All in All, I have to say I'm loving this grill. It is the perfect size for when you are cooking for just one or two people, which is for me most of the time. You can't go wrong for $200.After reading many reviews of both ceramic kamados and this triple insulated kamado, as well as talking to others who have the ceramic type telling me ceramic was the only way to go, I was torn between the two. The big factor was the huge price difference between the two. I'm on a budget and cost is a priority, but I didn't want to sacrifice the kamado cooking quality. Anyway, I rolled the dice and bought this little kamado. Best bbq investment I've ever made, hand down. And I've been grilling and smoking for more years than I care to admit to. Don't listen to those ceramic groupies who say ceramic is the only way to grill. Nonsense, this grill cooks and smokes extremely well and burns for a long, long time. I'll put it up against any ceramic kamado any day, it's that good. It can accommodate enough food for 4 people (chicken, steaks, chops). More if it's just burgers, dogs, sausage, etc. It comes up to temps fast and can reach 700 degrees in no time so be careful. Some tips I've learned. First, season the cast iron grate. For the first time do it the way they recommend in the manual. After that, I spray the grate liberally with cooking oil from an ordinary spray bottle before cooking. I repeat that for several cooks. By this time the grate has changed color from a silver gray to a nice deep black color and the food will no longer stick. Now it's properly seasoned. I repeat this oiling every 4 or 5 cooks to keep it well seasoned. Another tip, use lump charcoal for best results. I use Good Olde Time charcoal. It's eucalyptus wood that adds a nice mellow smoke flavor and burns a long time. Lastly use a charcoal chimney to light the charcoal. When ready, empty into the grill, open both upper and lower vents fully and close the lid. When the temp gets within 100 degrees of your desired grilling temp close up both vents to #2 or #3. The temp will rise about 100 degrees more and your ready to grill. I recommend copying the page in the manual that tells you how to set the vents for different temps and keep it near the grill. It helps in the learning curve. Also, if you care to use it as a smoker, (I highly recommend it) buy the smoking stone, it turns this grill into a real good smoker. It may take a bit of experimenting to get it right but when you do, you can laugh at those ceramic groupies who spent hundreds more on the same cooking experience.Easy to assemble. Don’t be in a hurry and read the directions before assembly, about the lock threaded screws or similar as these need to go into a special place. Also the main cast iron grate is at the BOTTOM of the box and is not missing, which I was worried about until I found it. Temperature went up to 300 Fahrenheit with several pieces of lump charcoal (mesquite) and a Thaan fruit wood charcoal (1 quantity). I then opened up the vents fully and it went to 400 Fahrenheit and held that temperature. At 400 Fahrenheit, I felt the top portion of the Kamado becoming quite warm, but the bottom half and the legs remained cool to the touch. Phenomenal product! You can save quite a lot of charcoal and money with this product for it retains its temperature very well!! Also, my only complaint or CON is the handle as this requires some maneuvering to screw onto the top half of the Kamado. I was able to with a very long screwdriver, and the rest of the screws I used a lithium ion screwdriver. Good luck with your purchase, and enjoy cooking with it!I love this little smoker. It's easy to use and store because of it's size but has plenty of cooking space for a big brisket or medium sized turkey. It takes some careful tending to make sure you have the venting correct to maintain a consistent heat but once you figure it out it works well. The firebox area is plenty large to load with chunk charcoal and wood chunks that can last over 20 hours on a slow cook/smoke. It's easy to clean out with the ash tray on the bottom.The top vent will get hard to slide with the build up of residue from venting so it's better to make sure it moves as the unit cools off. If it gets stuck don't try to force it with the knob, use a screw driver or something else to scrape the underside crude then pry the vent to the side.I hate to have to write this as I really wanted to love this little bbq, but it failed on my first use.After assembling the kamodo, I seasoned the grill at 400 degrees, all went well.I then added some more fuel, and eased it up to 600 degrees. I noticed a bad chemical smell but thought it was manufacturing oil burn off, but then noticed the bottom ash collection tray had become damaged as per photo.Disappointed to say the least.I am hoping this is a unique defect in my bbq, I want to give them the benefit of doubt.Este asador es una pequeña maravilla. No es muy grande, por ejemplo caben alrededor de 6 hamburguesas, sin embargo, ofrece un gran rango de uso. Lo puedes usar abierto, cerrado, controlar la temperatura para un cocimiento prolongado a baja temperatura o un asado rápido a altas temperaturas. Por su diseño, necesitas poco carbón y éste dura incluso para más de una ocasión. Su tamaño es ideal para espacios reducidos como terrazas o pequeños patios, y también es de fácil transportación. Venden muchos accesorios con los que puedes hacer aún más cosas con tu asador, como rostizar un pollo, cocinar una pizza e incluso hornear panes o pasteles. Muy recomendable.I have had this grill for a couple of months now. I'm not one to write reviews what so ever, but this deserves it. I use this thing at least once a week, if not 3 times. I use it mainly to smoke and it is solid. I can have it sitting at 250 for hours without a problem or an adjustment. I would recommend to pick up a dual remote thermometer, one for the meat and the other for the grill temp. That has made all the difference. And it's good on coal. With the amount I use it, I have only just gone through my first big bag of lump coal. I wouldn't even bother with an Egg after using this. Does the exact same thing and a fraction of the price. It's so quick at getting to temp, I'm probably going to get rid of my gas q this year as I haven't used it since I got this grill. Also, I would have gone through several tanks by now if I was grilling like I do with this thing. Assembly is simple, and the fact that it's portable means I can use it in the winter easily. If you want charcoal flavour, buy it. And a tip, when using wood to smoke, don't use wood chips, get wood chunks, the size of a fist or so, they last longer. And instead of hitting Walmart or something and spend 10 bucks for a small bag of chips, drop a line to the local firewood supplier to see if they have maple, oak or whatever and ask for 3 or 4 logs. Cheaper by far and they may be able to cut them down to size.Awesome little kamado! I have a full size ceramic Vision grill, and have loved it for years. I got this one to replicate the experience when camping, and to allow for a little extra capacity at home too.Assembly was easy, didn't even need to look at the directions! Took maybe 20 minutes.Holds temp just as steady as the big ceramic, but responds to airflow adjustments quicker. High temps for searing, and low and slow are no problem with this type of BBQ. It's a solid unit, and weighs in a little over 30 lb.I seasoned the cast iron grates with oil, and baked a batch of cornbread on it for its first run. It worked flawlessly.I'd highly recommend this kamado to anyone looking for a smaller lightweight option to take camping.