Weber Performer 22 vs Smokey Mountain 14
363 sq in on one grate at $449 against 286 on two at $289. The Performer's single grate is larger than the whole Smokey Mountain 14, and it sears.
We pick the Weber Performer Charcoal Grill 22
The Performer, if you have the patio for it. Its one grate is 363 sq in; the Smokey Mountain 14's two grates add up to 286. Included Char-Rails bank coals for indirect heat, and the hinged grate lets you feed them. That is enough for occasional low cooks. The 14 earns its place where a 40.25-inch cart cannot stand.
What actually differs
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The kettle has the bigger cooking area
286 sq in sounds generous until it is split across two round 14-inch grates. The Performer lays 363 on one, all within reach, with room for a hot side and a cool side.
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Both make you feed a long fire
The 14's small chamber needs topping up through its lift-off door. The Performer's coals sit behind rails under a hinged grate, so you lift one side and add more. Neither has a fan to hold a number for you.
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A 40.25-inch cart against a 14.7-inch barrel
The Performer wants a table-width spot 28 inches deep, on level paving for its two wheels. The 14 stands 31.4 inches tall, carries in one hand and stores in a 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 Kettle 22's bowl and 363 sq in, plus Char-Rails and a hinged grate that hold two zones and feed a long fire.
Four dampers, a water pan and an enamelled barrel give real control, though a 14-inch fire has less mass to steady it.
Bowl and lid carry 10 years like every 22 in kettle, but the painted-steel cart, table and wheels sit in a 2-year bucket.
Ten years against rust through on bowl and lid, with aluminium at the door, so cover is longest where a smoker dies.
Hand-applied porcelain enamel on bowl and lid is excellent; the grate is plated steel and the side table is painted steel.
Porcelain-enamelled steel throughout, but the grates are plated steel rather than the cast iron Weber uses elsewhere.
Beats the Master-Touch's kit of hinged grate, Char-Rails, Tuck-Away holder and lid dial by adding a side table and a shelf.
The thermometer and removable fuel door help, yet a small charcoal chamber means the cook checks in more often.
$449.00 buys the $149.00 Original Kettle 22 cooking hardware plus $300 of cart, which is steep for a table and a shelf.
A cover and a decade of rust cover are included, though Weber's own listing has climbed well above street price.
The One-Touch sweep drops ash into an enclosed, wind-proof catcher, and Weber warrants that system separately for 5 years.
Enamel wipes clean and the chamber keeps ash off the dampers, but the water pan needs emptying every cook.
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 have a patio, cook for a family, and smoke now and then rather than every weekend.
Check price →Your outdoor space is a balcony corner and you want two racks of ribs from a cooker 14.7 inches across.
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.