Weber Performer 22 vs Smokey Mountain 22
363 sq in on one grate at $449 against 726 on two at $549. The Performer is a 22-inch kettle with a table; the Smokey Mountain 22 is sized by Weber for 10 to 12.
It depends — and here is on what
Your guest list decides this one. The Smokey Mountain 22 costs $100 more and carries exactly twice the grate: 726 sq in against 363. Weber sizes it for 10 to 12 people. If you cook for a crowd several times a season and own a grill already, take the 22. If most cooks feed a household, the Performer gets lit far more often and does the smoking those evenings need.
What actually differs
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The real gap is nearer $35
The Smokey Mountain ships with its cover. The Performer's is Weber's $64.99 Premium Grill Cover, sold separately. Count it and $449 becomes $513.99 against $549.
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Twice the food, and none of it seared
The 22 stacks 726 sq in on two plated steel grates above a water pan. The Performer's 363 sit on one hinged grate over the coals, with a printed 600°F ceiling for chops and reverse-seared steak.
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A 22-inch bed every time, or half a fire
The Smokey Mountain has no small setting. One pan and one bed serve both grates, so two racks of ribs take the same fire as eight. The Performer's Char-Rails let you bank a small fire to one side.
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.
The widest fuel bed in the range sits under one enameled water pan, and mass is what keeps a charcoal cook still.
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 covers the enamel, but three legs and every fastener under the tallest column in the line get two.
Hand-applied porcelain enamel on bowl and lid is excellent; the grate is plated steel and the side table is painted steel.
Weber scaled the barrel up and added one nylon handle, leaving plated steel grates and the same slim legs.
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.
Reaching coals under a loaded 48.5 inch column is a two-person lift, and one dial reports the whole cook.
$449.00 buys the $149.00 Original Kettle 22 cooking hardware plus $300 of cart, which is steep for a table and a shelf.
At $549.00 this buys 726 sq in against 481 for the 18, with cover, pan and chamber all included.
The One-Touch sweep drops ash into an enclosed, wind-proof catcher, and Weber warrants that system separately for 5 years.
Enamel wipes down easily, yet the largest water pan in the range comes out dirty after every single 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 cook for a household most weeks and want one cooker that sears, roasts and smokes with a table beside it.
Check price →You throw cookouts for a dozen several times a season, and a grill already stands beside it.
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.