I own a MAK 1 Star and a Kamado Joe and love them both. If smoky flavor is one of your biggest concerns, then you'd be better served with a ceramic cooker like the Primo. If convenience holding temperature is a bigger concern, then right out of the box, the MAK will be easier to control. This can be overcome on a Primo with the addition of a fan & a fan controller.
If I had to pick one over the other (high end pellet vs ceramic), then I'd go with a ceramic cooker because of its overall versatility, cost and the charcoal/wood flavor factor, but you really can't go wrong with either.
smarks112 Never needed Primo customer service. You are looking at two excellent choices though. Really, both are at the top of their class. I went with Primo over a pellet (rec-tec), but I also go direct heat grilling often (last night I did strip steak over charcoal). I have a Napoleon gas grill too, I use that too depending on my mood and time available. Pellet cookers get very hungry as the temperature increases, and charcoal is more even because it isn’t contained in a small fire can. But my neighbor got a rec-tec and I like that thing too. Super easy to use, and produces great results. The Primo is more labor intensive, even with a controller (but not that much more with a controller).
So just pick one and you will like it. Otherwise you will analyze this to death and still not know what to get
Hey everyone - thought I’d provide an update... I ended up deciding on... an M1 instead!
I was leaning towards the Primo XL based on this thread due to the broader range and then stumbled upon the M1 and was blown away. My assessment was it does good enough on efficiency for charcoal smoking (worse than a Primo/Kamodo) but has clear advantages in being able to cook like an offset with splits, Santa Maria style crank, and regular charcoal 2 zone. Plus it seems the build quality might be in favor of the M1, and price is pretty comparable - M1 a tad more.
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