Really just a komodo but isn't it? Has a ceramic firebox like one.

A lot less heat retention,

Be interesting to see the price ? Are they even released yet in Aus ?

Quote from BBQbushy

A lot less heat retention,

Be interesting to see the price ? Are they even released yet in Aus ?

$499 USD so I wouldn’t be surprised if it retailed for over $1,200 AUD here.

Quote from werewolf

Really just a komodo but isn't it? Has a ceramic firebox like one.

It looks like a Dragon/Akorn kamado with ceramic undies rather than metal ones. It would be interesting to see what the heat retention is like in it. I imagine it will be sort of cool outside at the bottom with the ceramics and hot at the top having single skin metal?

for me at that end it would be an Akorn all day.

I get what they are trying to achieve but leave Weber to what they are good for and KJ to what they are good for.

Looks like a kamado designed by a committee.

I think smokin dad bbq did a cook on one in a YouTube video. I watched a different video where he was referring to a cook on the kettle Joe where it used a lot more charcoal but the smoke flavour was better, so he was experimenting with running the ceramic kj hotter to get cleaner smoke.

Confusing messaging from KJ. My assumption was they would want it positioned low price to draw people to the brand and upsell the Classic / compete with Weber etc. But really don't like the dilution of the brand and confusing price point. Agree with you all; would go with alternate. 100% agree w. Gumb about designed by committee. Just.... not quite right.

I haven't looked at this one in detail, but based on the comments it sounds like an interesting proposition to me.

Kamados are great because their insulation reduces the amount of fuel needed and in turn the airflow and related moisture loss. Where this can cause some issues is in cooking overly moist food. For example the difficulty in achieving pork crackling in comparison to a kettle.

This one potentially allows you to cook more like a kettle, but with the addition of a well designed thermal blanket could also cook like a kamado.

That's a fair point although, since I started salting the pork rind uncovered in the fridge over night, getting crackling on the kamado has been easy. Before that it was definitely touch and go.

Quote from 12x7

Slowly but surely we are seeing the rise of the metal Kamado vs the ceramic. We see Kamado like the Akorn, Dragon and Keg and people realise they can cook just as good as a ceramic and being insulated, much lighter and generally tougher as advantages. I also get the feeling they're also quite a bit cheaper to produce.

Kamado Joe have three models in the classic. Compared to the Classic II and III the Kettle Joe is way cheaper with more grill area. Americans love to grill/broil and the Kettle Joe seems a good fit to that lifestyle,

I suspect the committee who designed the Kettle Joe were also the same committee who created wood panel station wagons.

Yep totally agree 12x7 and I guess there's no accounting for taste cos i like those wagons

The Kamado Joe "Slo Roller" and the KJ Kettle are an offshoot of a Harvard University Engineering students, Problem Solving and Design class.

Quite innovative thinking really.

Two great articles to read on the students and the project solution:

Wired article

Engadget article