Weber Master-Touch 22 vs Original Kettle 22
Same 22 in bowl, same 363 sq in grate, $289 against $149. The Master-Touch adds a lid dial, a hinged GBS grate, Char-Rails and 42 in of height, not more fire.
We pick the Weber Original Kettle Charcoal Grill 22
The Original Kettle, for most buyers. It burns the same coals in the same 22 in bowl over the same 363 sq in, with ten years on bowl and lid, for $149.00. The Master-Touch spends its extra $140 on the cook, not the fire. And anyone tempted off the bottom rung should look at the $229.00 Premium first, which carries the dial and hinged grate for less.
What actually differs
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Nothing on the Original reports the fire
Weber's specification for the Original names no thermometer, so you cook by coal colour and the heat on your palm. The Master-Touch has a lid dial. It reads the dome rather than the meat, but it is a number.
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A grate you can stand at
Lid shut, the Master-Touch measures 42 in tall against the Original's 39.5. Over a long cook, less stooping is the upgrade you feel. The cost is depth: 29.5 in front to back against 25.
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$140, almost a second Original
The gap comes close to the Original's whole price, and none of it adds a square inch of grate. Both grates are plated steel under the same two-year cover, so the dearer kettle still wears its weakest part as fast.
How they score, category by category
The Weber Master-Touch 22 scores higher in 3 categories, the Original Kettle 22 in 2 categories. One is level.
Level overall: within a tenth of each other.
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Heat Performance
Counts for 25% of the scoreWeber Master-Touch 22 8.9 Better by 0.2Original Kettle 22 8.7Why the Weber Master-Touch 22 scores 8.9The Original's 22 in fire, no hotter, but Char-Rails pin a two-zone split and the hinged grate feeds it mid-cook.
Why the Original Kettle 22 scores 8.7
Lid and bowl dampers over 363 sq in run two zones well, but feeding a long cook means lifting the loaded, fixed grate.
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Long-term Reliability
Counts for 20% of the scoreWeber Master-Touch 22 8.4Original Kettle 22 8.6 Better by 0.2Why the Original Kettle 22 scores 8.6Ten years of rust-through cover sits on bowl and lid, where kettles die; One-Touch gets five, and the grate, dampers and wheels two.
Why the Weber Master-Touch 22 scores 8.4
Bowl and lid get ten years, One-Touch five; the hinged grate, rails and Tuck-Away holder, more parts than the Original, get two.
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Build Quality
Counts for 18% of the scoreWeber Master-Touch 22 8.3Original Kettle 22 8.3Level: within a tenth of each other.
Why the Weber Master-Touch 22 scores 8.3Porcelain enamel, aluminium legs and glass-reinforced nylon handles are sound, but a plated-steel grate is thin dressing on a $289.00 grill.
Why the Original Kettle 22 scores 8.3Porcelain enamel on both halves, aluminium dampers and nylon handles, over a plated-steel grate and no published steel gauge.
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Ease of Use
Counts for 15% of the scoreWeber Master-Touch 22 8.9 Better by 1.6Original Kettle 22 7.3Why the Weber Master-Touch 22 scores 8.9Tuck-Away holder, lid dial, Char-Rails and a hinged grate, standing 2.5 in taller than the Premium; only the Performer adds a table.
Why the Original Kettle 22 scores 7.3
The lid hook and tool hooks help, but no thermometer is listed and refuelling means lifting the whole grate off the coals.
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Value
Counts for 12% of the scoreWeber Master-Touch 22 6.7Original Kettle 22 9.3 Better by 2.6Why the Original Kettle 22 scores 9.3Leads Weber's 22 in kettles on price: $149.00 buys the same 363 sq in fire the dearer models sell with extras attached.
Why the Weber Master-Touch 22 scores 6.7
$289.00 buys the same 363 sq in as $149.00, and $60 over the Premium pays for comfort and GBS access, not cooking.
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Maintenance
Counts for 10% of the scoreWeber Master-Touch 22 8.9 Better by 0.5Original Kettle 22 8.4Why the Weber Master-Touch 22 scores 8.9A swipe of the One-Touch lever empties the bowl into an enclosed, wind-proof catcher, warranted five years like the sweep itself.
Why the Original Kettle 22 scores 8.4
One-Touch sweeps ash into a catcher warranted five years, but Weber never calls it enclosed, as it does the dearer kettles' buckets.
See all six scores in one table
| Category | Weber Master-Touch 22 | Original Kettle 22 |
|---|---|---|
| Heat Performance (25%) | 8.9 Better | 8.7 |
| Long-term Reliability (20%) | 8.4 | 8.6 Better |
| Build Quality (18%) | 8.3 | 8.3 |
| Ease of Use (15%) | 8.9 Better | 7.3 |
| Value (12%) | 6.7 | 9.3 Better |
| Maintenance (10%) | 8.9 Better | 8.4 |
| Avid Griller Score | 8.4 | 8.4 |
Both reviews are scored on the same six weighted categories, on the same 0 to 10 scale, and each reason is the one that review gave. A category is marked better only where the two differ by a tenth or more. How we score →
Where the spec sheets differ
Quoted from each maker's own specifications, as each review records them. Figures the two products publish identically are left out, so only the differences are listed.
Which one is for you
You run long two-zone cooks, mind a low grate, and plan to use GBS inserts in the centre.
Check price →You want a 22 in kettle to learn charcoal on, and would rather spend the difference on fuel, baskets and a cover.
Check price →More head-to-heads
Every score and figure on this page comes from our own reviews of these two products, linked above. We have not tested them side by side in one place; the comparison is between two full reviews, each built from the maker's published specifications and documentation. Prices move, and the ones quoted are the ones each review checked on its own date.