Weber Master-Touch 22 vs Original Kettle Premium 22
Same 363 sq in bowl, same 10-year cover, $289 against $229. The Master-Touch adds Char-Rails, a GBS grate, a Tuck-Away lid holder and 42 in of height.
We pick the Weber Original Kettle Premium Charcoal Grill 22
Buy the Premium unless you will put Gourmet BBQ System inserts in the middle of the grate. Both cook on 363 sq in in the same 22 in bowl. Both have a lid dial, a hinged plated-steel grate and an enclosed ash catcher, and both carry ten years on bowl and lid. At $289.00 against $229.00, the Master-Touch's extra $60 buys comfort and an accessory path. None of it makes the fire bigger or hotter.
What actually differs
-
The grate is an accessory decision
Both grates flip up for fuel. Only the Master-Touch's is built for circular GBS grillware: a sear insert, a wok, a griddle, each sold separately. If none of those is on your list, this difference is worth nothing to you.
-
Char-Rails hold the edge of the fire
On the Master-Touch, two rails pin the coal bank where you set it, so the cool side stays cool as briquettes collapse. On the Premium you bank the coals by eye under one hinged flap. Both work; one is easier to repeat.
-
42 inches tall against 39.5
Lid shut, the Master-Touch stands taller on longer aluminium legs, and parks its lid on a Tuck-Away bracket rather than a hook. It also runs 29.5 in deep against 27, so it claims a slightly bigger corner.
The scorecard, side by side
Both reviews are scored on the same six weighted categories, each bar on the same 0–10 scale, and every cell carries the reason that review gave. A row is marked won only where the two differ by a tenth or more. How we score →
The Original's 22 in fire, no hotter, but Char-Rails pin a two-zone split and the hinged grate feeds it mid-cook.
The plain kettle's 22 in bowl and dampers, so the same fire, but the hinged grate lets you feed it mid-cook.
Bowl and lid get ten years, One-Touch five; the hinged grate, rails and Tuck-Away holder, more parts than the Original, get two.
Bowl and lid carry 10 years against rust-through, but the hinged grate, the dial and the wheels sit under the 2-year term.
Porcelain enamel, aluminium legs and glass-reinforced nylon handles are sound, but a plated-steel grate is thin dressing on a $289.00 grill.
Fused enamel, aluminium legs and dampers, and nylon handles are sound; Weber states no steel gauge and contradicts itself on area and damper count.
Tuck-Away holder, lid dial, Char-Rails and a hinged grate, standing 2.5 in taller than the Premium; only the Performer adds a table.
A lid dial, a lid hook and flip-up grate sections remove the three chores that slow a plain kettle on a long cook.
$289.00 buys the same 363 sq in as $149.00, and $60 over the Premium pays for comfort and GBS access, not cooking.
$229.00 at Weber buys the $149.00 Original's cooking plus three convenience parts; a burgers-only cook pays $80 for little.
A swipe of the One-Touch lever empties the bowl into an enclosed, wind-proof catcher, warranted five years like the sweep itself.
One-Touch blades push ash into an enclosed catcher, warranted five years, so emptying it is one lift and no grey drift on the patio.
Published figures that differ
Quoted from each maker's own specifications, as each review records them. Figures the two products publish identically are left out — only the differences are listed.
Which one is for you
You cook long two-zone sessions on your feet, and a GBS sear insert or wok is already on your shopping list.
Check price →You want the dial, the hinged grate and the closed ash bucket, with no accessory system to buy into.
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.