Once again it’s that time of year, grilling season. For the die-hard grillers, this is a year round activity and accordingly, you need a grill that will keep up with your passion.
Grills can vary in price, anywhere from $100 to $15,000. But you don’t need to hit the top end of the price spectrum to get a great grill.
Over the last few years, grilling has developed almost a cult like following and new contenders are popping up every year. A couple competitive brands with longevity in that $1,000-$3,200 range are Weber and Napoleon.
We will look at both companies, the grills and then compare at the end.
Napoleon
Wolf Steel Ltd. was started in 1976 by Wolfgang Schroeter in Ontario, Canada making steel railings. In 1981 they started using the name Napoleon. By the mid 80’s they were making wood fireplaces. They are now North America’s largest privately owned gas and charcoal grill manufacturer.
Weber
The first Weber grill popped up in 1952 in Chicago, Ill. George Stephen created the original Weber kettle grill when he cut a steel buoy in half and added some air vents. Since then they have come to represent backyard grilling. 60 years later, Weber is still going strong. They are sold in over 70 countries worldwide.
Weber and Napoleon have been battling over backyard supremacy for a few years now. The following grills are the upper echelon of their respective offerings.
Weber Summit S-670 - $2,499
Features:
- Stainless steel burners: 6
- 9 mm diameter stainless steel rod cooking grates
- Stainless steel Flavorizer® bars
- Main burners: BTU-per-hour input: 60,000
- Side burner: BTU-per-hour input: 12,000
- Sear Station® burner: BTU-per-hour input: 10,600
- Smoker burner: BTU-per-hour input: 6,800
- Rear-mounted infrared rotisserie burner: BTU-per-hour input: 10,600
- Tuck-Away™ rotisserie system with flip-up motor and separate spit and fork storage
- Snap-Jet™ individual burner ignition system
- 769 sq in. total cooking area
- Stainless steel shroud with center-mounted thermometer
- Front access, stainless steel grease tray with catch pan
- Backlit LED tank scale display (LP models only)
- Grill Out® handle light(s): 2
- Lighted control knobs
- Tool hooks: 6
- Limited warranty
Napoleon Prestige Pro 650 - $3,299
Features:
- Stainless steel burners: 6
- 9.5 mm diameter Wave stainless steel cooking grates
- Stainless steel Flavorizer® bars
- Main burners: BTU-per-hour input: 60,000
- Sear Station Side burner: BTU-per-hour input: 12,000
- Smoker burner: BTU-per-hour input: 8,000
- Rear-mounted infrared rotisserie burner: BTU-per-hour input: 18,000
- Commercial quality rotisserie kit
- Jetfire ignition
- 1,150 sq in. total cooking area
- Lift Ease roll top lid
- 304 Stainless Steel
- Grill Out® handle light(s): 2
- Night Light Control knobs and interior lights
- President’s Lifetime Warranty
Comparison
I am a fan of both of these grills. They have great features with the searing, smoking and rotisserie capabilities. Their main grilling capabilities are virtually a tie. It is the extras where these grills differentiate themselves.
Weber has a built-in rotisserie so it’s a quick set-up/disassemble where as Napoleon you have to install and take apart completely each time you use it.
Napoleon gives you interior lighting and knob lighting, whereas Weber does downward facing handle lights and knob lighting. Weber does have one sear station in the grill where Napoleon has two, one on each side shelf. Both have a smoking option built into the bottom burners.
These grills can pretty much do everything the other can. The main differences between the two are the overall power and the fact Weber has a traditional side burner.
Napoleon’s accessory burners are more powerful than Weber. Napoleon only has infrared on the side burners which traditionally is very difficult to control temperature on. So if you want to do anything but broil or sear, it can be a challenge.
Although Napoleon is larger, I think the real difference is the price. Is that extra power worth $800 more for the Napoleon? I think for $2,499, the Weber is a better deal.
Additional Resources
Get the Yale BBQ Grill Buying Guide for specs, features and detailed profiles and BTU outputs of the best grills. Well over 160,000 people have read a Yale Guide.
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