Reviews You Can Rely On

Smoke Hollow 205 Review

This is the best value in a portable grill we've seen
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Smoke Hollow 205 Review (Smoke Hollow 205)
Smoke Hollow 205
Credit: Smoke Hollow
Price:  $150 List
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Manufacturer:   Outdoor Leisure Products
By Chris McNamara and Jediah Porter  ⋅  Apr 18, 2019
64
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Output Power - 25% 5.0
  • Control - 25% 7.0
  • Portability - 20% 7.0
  • Cooking Area - 20% 6.0
  • Wind Resistance - 10% 8.0

Our Verdict

When it comes to the Smoke Hollow 205, the price is right. It is comparatively lightweight, yet still packs in impressive power and significant cooking surface area. We love the stainless look, and most of the grill is solid and durable. The lid comes with secure latches. If you're tight on money, get the Smoke Hollow. If price is not as big an issue, it is a tougher call. Our other Best Buy Camp Chef Grill2Go and Char-Broil Grill2Go X200 both perform a little better at higher temperatures, suffer at slow cooking, and are a tiny bit more expensive. Bargain hunters tune in; overall, the Smoke Hollow 205 is the best balance of performance to price in our review. But others come close. We wouldn't grant our Best Buy award to anything else.
REASONS TO BUY
Great value
Secure lid
Good size and heat output
Stainless throughout
REASONS TO AVOID
Burner easily disengaged
Imprecise burner control

Our Analysis and Test Results

Good performance at a good price is a hallmark of our Best Buy winners, across all categories. The Smoke Hollow handily fits that description. For the cost, this is a highly functional product. Even as compared to some of the more expensive products we assessed, the Smoke Hollow performs very well. The only issues you will face, in routine grilling, are minor usability and construction shortcomings. It rattles in transit, the control knob can be sticky, and you have limited control with the one burner. There are many single burner grills on the market that don't do much better than the Smoke Hollow yet cost a hundred dollars more. You have to upgrade to the Editors' Choice or the other, slightly more expensive, Best Buy to get real and appreciable performance gains over the Smoke Hollow.

Performance Comparison


smoke hollow 205 - this image shows the main grill grate and the upper deck 'warming'...
This image shows the main grill grate and the upper deck 'warming' rack. Not much fits on the rack, but it is a nice attribute that few others have.
Credit: Rosie De Lise

Output Power


While 10,000 BTUs is half the BTUs of the hottest tested grill (but close to that of the Editors' Choice), we still felt this grill had plenty of output power. We got it up to temperature in less than five minutes and had no problem keeping the grill hot, even when cooking burgers and dogs for a bunch of people. Searing a steak on the Smoke Hollow isn't as white-hot fast as on the infrared type grills we've begun testing, but it does the job in all but the coldest and windiest of conditions.


Early in our testing we had one small issue with the output of the Smoke Hollow. User beware. When we first used the grill the burner was ajar and putting out very little heat. We thought it was defective. But after a bit of tinkering, we pushed the burner closer to the edge, and it started working just fine. Keep this in mind: the burner may move, and you will have to adjust it (better to do this when the grill is cold).

smoke hollow 205 - the piezo igniter of the smoke hollow works pretty well. its no more...
The Piezo igniter of the Smoke Hollow works pretty well. Its no more or less moody than similar features on other grills and stoves.
Credit: Rosie De Lise

Control


We gave the Smoke Hollow 205 just below average scores for control. We were able to keep the temperature in the range we needed, but it took some effort and time. This is where the other top scoring stoves outperform the Smoke Hollow. The others give much more precise control and have burlier dials. The dial on the Smoke Hollow feels flimsy and delicate. It's not that precise.

smoke hollow 205 - heat distribution on the best buy smoke hollow 205. this image...
Heat distribution on the Best Buy Smoke Hollow 205. This image supports the conclusions we drew from usage. Its hotter in the center of this grill, by quite a bit.
Credit: Jediah Porter

Further, on the second Smoke Hollow grill we tested (that's right: we've purchased and tested, over years now, two versions of this grill. Our testing is thorough, to put it mildly. This isn't a ubiquitous strategy, but it isn't uncommon either), the control knob became literally frozen in place a couple of times. Propane discharge cools the tank which in turns cools the regulator. The knob of the Smoke Hollow froze in place during one test session and one grilling meal. Both of these events were during temperatures in the 30s, Fahrenheit. In milder temperatures, we did not have this problem. In similar temperatures with other grills, we have not had this problem.


When using the green 16-oz canisters, we had some issues attaching them and knowing the dial was turned entirely off. These issues went away with more practice. As with most portable grills, we eventually switched to just using a refillable, small propane tank and associated hose. In that configuration we created less waste and had better results in virtually every grill's reliability and usability. We don't expect very high end control from a budget grill like this. The biggest advantage of a more expensive product like the Editors' Choice is in control. The dual tubular burners of the Napoleon, for instance, offer much greater control than that of the Smoke Hollow.

smoke hollow 205 - we examined the grills closely for even heat output. here it seemed...
We examined the grills closely for even heat output. Here it seemed as though the Smoke Hollow had a cold spot. Professional BBQ caterer Liz Bazzano tries to sort it out. It turns out there wasn't such a problem.
Credit: Rosie De Lise

Portability


At 17 pounds, this is one of the lighter grills we tested. Only a few are lighter. For those extra pounds, you get 30% more cooking area than on the smallest Top Pick, a tradeoff that most people will gladly take. Of course, a smaller grill packs down smaller. Further, the more expensive and portable grills we tested have cleaner outside profiles during transit. When packed up, only the legs of the Smoke Hollow fold in, and they only fold such that it is just a little bit smaller. On top of that, the Smoke Hollow has both an electric igniter and a propane valve that each stick out a few inches. This means you need to give the Smoke Hollow around 30-50% more space when packing than the smallest grills in our review and you have to be careful not to damage the Smoke Hollow propane connector.


While this grill is among the lightest, it's not nearly as portable as the smallest grills in our test. Unlike these smaller options, it has some delicate parts that stick out the side, so you need to give it extra room to account for this. The legs fold away, but oddly don't provide much more room. Don't get us wrong; it is still a small and light grill, it's just not as easy to move around as a grill on wheels or the much more compact options.

smoke hollow 205 - you are looking at frost on the smoke hollow regulator. in two...
You are looking at frost on the Smoke Hollow regulator. In two cold-weather tests this frost essentially glued together, temporarily but tenaciously, the knob and regulator. We couldn't turn it off. We unscrewed the fuel bottle to turn off the fuel.
Credit: Rosie De Lise

Cooking Area


With 205 sq inches of cooking area, the Smoke Hollow is just around average in this metric. However, when you compare the weight per cooking area, the Smoke Hollow comes out near the top. Others can be almost double the weight and have equal or less cooking area. Also, the 205-sq inches of cooking area does not include the 105 sq inch warming rack, which every other higher-scoring grill in our review lacks. The warming rack alone could tip the balance in favor of the Smoke Hollow. It is a nice feature that works well. The only drawback is that it takes up some space under the lid during cooking and during transit.


smoke hollow 205 - a fresh smoke hollow seeing its first grillables. for the money...
A fresh Smoke Hollow seeing its first grillables. For the money, this is an excellent grill.
Credit: Rosie De Lise

Wind Resistance


We gave this above average scores. It's relatively enclosed, but breezes do get in there. At 10,000 BTUs, the wind can take a bit of the power out of this grill and you'll notice it.


For comparison, the hottest grills (up to 20,000 BTUs) has a lot of extra power left over for windy conditions. In actual usage, the Smoke Hollow 205 was fully functional. It cooked all we wanted to cook in the conditions we encountered in both testing and in regular use.

smoke hollow 205 - how many people does it take to test 6 portable grills at once? at...
How many people does it take to test 6 portable grills at once? At least as many as is required to eat a couple dozen pounds of grilled foods.
Credit: Rosie De Lise

Value


You choose this grill for its value. The function and price ratio is optimized. Other grills will perform better, but they are much more expensive.

Conclusion


We've seen this grill sold for much lower than its retail price. At that discounted price and for its quality and features, it's easily our Best Buy Award winner. There are quirks, and other grills offer more sophisticated cooking function, but the Smoke Hollow is a rare Best Buy winner that does most things as well as the top of the line products. Some construction issues and a little additional bulk are easy to overlook, given the low purchase price.

Chris McNamara and Jediah Porter