I’m with Scott on this one. I just finished smoking a 15-ish pound whole brisket pastrami and it is outstanding. I also have a large Weber Kettle that I bring to tailgates but I have not used it at home since I got the BGE 10+ years ago. Sounds to me like there is a problem of user error combined with user lack of creativity. 
I even used it recently as a Tandoori oven with two long rotisserie spits resting on an old ceramic casserole sitting directly on the coals and threaded through the top.
Good thread. I have a BGE that I love but am thinking of taking the next step and also getting a real offset smoker – something like Yoder or Shirley makes.
Are you married? That is the only thing stopping me from doing that!
Beware of rust/pant issues with Yoder
I would love a Shirley too. Or a Jambo.
But let’s get real for a minute.
Is your priority to have fun cooking the meat or to get a good result.
If it is the former, go for the offset.
But even good backyard Q’ers are not going to get consistently good results with brisket on an offset.
Wind conditions, outdoor temps, the sun being out or not, the wood being burned, how the fire burns, and any number of other things, tangible and intangible, seen and unseen, will work to F up your cook.
I still want one. What the hell, life is short. Having an insulated fire box helps but nothing beats a BGE or a vertical insulated smoker with a DigiQ or similar heat regulator/fan for consistency.
I have a 270 vertical insulated. It is OK. To do it over again, I would spend more and get a Stumps.
Amazingribs is pretty much as serious as they come…
I have the Smokin Tex 1100. Love it!! Not super expensive but works well for me!!
Thanks!
We have a Green Mountain Grill “Jim Bowie” and love it to death.
It doesn’t cold smoke, we use A-Maze-N accessories for that, as well!
The Green Mountain can hover at 160 and up.
So easy to use.
I have used “manual” smokers and also liked a propane “Masterbuilt,” but got seduced by the ease of GMG (very similar to Trager.)
The GMG makes it so I can smoke stuff so easily, that I do it more!
Mine is an older model, but the newer ones have WiFi!
Klose.
Like this: https://bbqpits.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20_24x54_Master_Chef_2016.pdf
Love to hear from folks who know Klose and like something else as we’re in the market for another.
Besides my previous comments which were in response to your post, may I suggest you watch or help someone clean up their reverse flow offset after a smoke?
Most designs involve a sloping sheet of metal to collect the melting fat. You have to remove this sheet of metal and scrape out the collected congealed fat. Not pretty or fun.
Insulated verticals have the advantage of allowing the user to just place an aluminum foil type pan under the meat and easily dispose of the fat.
I have never had to scrape out collected congealed fat once after at least 60 smokes with my insulated vertical.
I decided to go with the same one Phil Franks has, the Camp Chef SmokePro SG24, a pellet smoker, as the price was fantastic at Dick’s Sporting Goods, only $449.98 (that extra $50 off ended yesterday - https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/camp-chef-slide-and-grill-24-pellet-grill-18ccfu24bttrplltxcfp/18ccfu24bttrplltxcfp ), and eventually will add the Sidekick. I decided I’m too much of a control freak to ‘set it and forget it’ but the SmokePro comes with two probes and is programmable, so if I choose to get a wifi probe system it will be easy to do so.
Amazing Ribs reviews really liked it, and while my first choice was the Woodwind, the price on the SmokePro drew me in, particularly since this will be my first smoker. While electric drew me in, most of the info I read on Amazing Ribs pushed me toward pellet grills. Ordered some glue-free pellets, as well 
Thanks for all the amazing info here. I skipped around often based on the recommendations, but, as is often the case for me, I go back to my first choice. 
Congrats Todd! Share pics of your first smoke
It’s gonna be Flannery hangers, let me assure you of that! Next will be chicken thighs, and I’m gonna make a white bbq sauce that I had when in Alabama last year - those smoked thighs blew my little mind
Smoked some Flannery hangers and some veggies last night, along with a piece of salmon for my daughter. While I loved the flavor of the hangers, I prefer grilling, as it’s still so juicy that way. I smoked at only 250 degrees so next time I’ll amp it up to 350, and use direct heat. The low-temp smoked hangers looked gorgeous (gotta love what smoking does to beef, color-wise) and were flavorful, but both Braydn and I preferred the juiciness of a grilled piece instead. I figure ‘grilling’ on the smoker should be the perfect combo of juiciness and smoky flavor. This unit supposedly gets to 500 but I’ll do 350-375 instead.
I loved the texture of the vegetables, but at low temperature they are exposed to a lot of smoke, so the marinade was a little overwhelmed. Salmon was denser and less juicy, again, low temperature smoking. I think all three of these dishes would be better at 350 degrees.
Today I’ll be trying smoked chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, that I brined yesterday than dry-rubbed, left in the fridge overnight. Later in the week will be ribs, but since we like our ribs juicy, might have to do a slow roast in a pan with some water/onions/beer first, finish on the smoker. Recommendations welcome on that!
Todd, how long did you have the hangers on your smoker for?
For steaks (predominantly NY and ribeye, with an occasional Denver cut if I find a nicely well marbled piece), I use my Traeger as a reverse sear. I’ll keep it on the smoke setting, which will be as low as 125-130 degrees when temps are cooler, and 150-160 degrees if it’s a warm day. Smoke the proteins for 1.5 to 4 hours, depending on thickness. Then heat up a cast iron on the stove at high heat, give it a good sear (usually 30 seconds to 3 minutes per side, again depending on thickness), cover with foil and let it rest. The result is crust, smoky flavor and juiciness.
We always do whole brown mushrooms at the same time in the Traeger, tossed with salt, pepper, garlic powder and olive oil beforehand. Bell peppers, red onions, whole green onions and asparagus often show up, as well.
30 minutes. With other cuts from Flannery I do reverse sear, but on 225-250 in the oven, take out around 115 degrees, sear on grill. I’m amazed you use such a low temperature - 125-130 degrees is like Dallas on a hot day lol. Might try the smoker as the first step for reverse sear, but not sure I want to try the temperature that low!
I did bell peppers, red onions, yellow and green zucchini, sweet potato, mushrooms, used a balsamic and garlic glaze
For the veggies, I’d KIS (keep it simple) with the seasonings. The smoke really gives it a wonderful flavor (if like most folks, you like smoky notes). Perhaps do a dipping sauce or oil, for folks who really want the party in their mouth.
Smoking at that low of a temp for steaks isn’t dramatically different than doing a sous vide IMO. And when you’re doing things like smoking homemade bacon, or a 20+ hour packer brisket, then having that low of a consistent temp setting really comes in handy!
Smoked boneless skinless chicken breasts were a hit - really like tenderness. They took longer than expected, but very worth it. While I used a brine, I didn’t tenderize/pound them at all as I figured that would open up a lot of pores which would just soak up smoke
As someone who has wanted a smoker for years, This thread has thoroughly only managed to confuse me more.
If anybody has the time on their hands, would you mind taking a step back from individual smoker recs and give a short tutorial on dedicated smoker types. (BGE folks, we know that thing can Devil Eggs if you put in the time 
)
Fuel sources, lack of smoke rings? Will my meat be legit on a Chinese smoker or will the Deep South kick me back to Yankee land 