If you’re trying to find the best smoker you can get, there are a number of ways you can conduct some research. You could go to a local store and ask a salesperson for their opinion. You could look in publications or look at websites that test various products. Or you could research reviews from customers to see what they have to say.
If you go into a local store and talk to a salesperson, you may be talking to someone who really doesn’t know all that much about smokers. Or you may get there biased opinion about the one that they like. There’s no way that they have personally tried all of the different options so it’s difficult for them to tell you with any certainty which one is “the best.”
When you look at magazines or when you go to websites that test consumer products, you can get some good information because they will put various products through their paces and tell you which ones they find to be the best. However, if a site like Consumer Reports spends a few days testing a product, that doesn’t tell you anything about how long the product is likely to last. A smoker they test may work great for a few days while they’re testing it, but will it last for a year or more?
The way we prefer to find quality products is to research customer reviews online. We can get information from customers who have purchased and used various products to see what they like or don’t like about them. We can also hear from customers who have used a particular product for months or even years so we can get a good idea about the durability and longevity of a particular product.
The problem with researching customer reviews is that it is a time-consuming process. The good news for you is that we have already done that research so you don’t have to. Below are three of our top picks for the best smoker.
Masterbuilt 30″ Vertical Two-Door Propane Gas Smoker

This smoker offers you 717 square inches of cooking space and has a simple, pushbutton ignition system. This particular smoker is available on Amazon.com for just $167 and is getting good reviews from customers. We found over 300 customer reviews online and this smoker received an average user rating of 4.3 out of a possible 5 stars. Many customers are saying that this smoker is the best one you can get for under $200.
Char-Broil Big Easy TRU Infrared Smoker, Roaster, and Grill

This is a versatile product that is more than just a smoker. Like the name says you can smoke, roast, or grill with this product. It costs about $300 and it’s getting great reviews from customers. We found over 100 customer reviews online and it received an average user rating of 4.5 out of a possible 5 stars.
Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker

This smoker costs $299 and it is getting the best reviews we have seen for any smoker. We found over 500 customer reviews online and this smoker received an incredible average customer rating of 4.9 out of a possible 5 stars. That’s about as close to perfect as you can get. If we had to pick one smoker and call it the “best smoker” it would be this one.