I am a firm believer in crying once but I am at the stage of my life where I do not need the biggest or the best or the most expensive cooker anymore.
We are picking up a Green Mountain Daniel Boone next week with the 100 buck off promotion........however.........if this sucker acts up.....................................................I will open up the vaults and a 2 star will be ordered.........with all the goodies...................
Oh my dear, dear friend.....PLEASE...stop the self-imposed suffering. Nothing hurts worse than having to re-do decisions. Time consuming, and un-comfortable for everyone...
Order the MAK, and skip the "
Grim Mouthing"...er Green Mountain. The Green Mountain ( and I say with with apologies to any GM owners here...) have had a pretty significant amount of issues with warped heat deflectors, lids not fitting, controllers failing/smoking - and others. Yes - they DO offer a lot of advertised features for the dollar. But, just like a certain electric upright smoker brand that uses a proprietary puck for fuel...They have to make SO many compromises on the quality of materials to afford all of those "features" at a lower retail price point - that they have a well known quality control record which can be Googled. Not the kind of record one wants....
A MAK is solid, dependable, durable AMERICAN MADE....and truly, truly the one that you will never wear out. MAK 2 star = ALL stainless steel that will not rust. Some manufacturers have downgraded their stainless - and it RUSTS....What a shame.
You have seen my MAK that has been appearance restored - (and up-dated on the electronics ) 3 times since new. And - it STILL looks new. MAK has always had an "up-grade path" for all of their owners. Mine is No# 48. The first 25 MAK 2-Stars were used as prototypes to prove out he design. SO, actually - mine is No#23 that was sold. It was originally bought by Rick (nepas) and then I bought from Rick when he an the Mrs. bought a motorhome and live a more free lifestyle now.
There is just so much to say about a company that believes so much in this country - that they will not even buy Chinese fasteners....And - they take care of their customers in an un-compromising fashion. JUST the "up-grade path" alone is worth it, but that is just a side effect of their philosophy.
My advise is driven by the need to see you really happy with your choice. And whatever you decide - I am all for you. But - I have made clear WHY I believe in MAK. I will never need another pellet grill. Of that I am confident.