Our team has cooked on and reviewed eight different Pit Boss pellet smokers over the last few years.
The best Pit Boss smokers are generally great value for money. They tend to be generously sized, offer a good mix of features, and are mostly reliable.
Understanding the different models and options can be confusing, as Pit Boss produces a lot of retailer exclusives.
Best Pit Boss Pellet Smokers
Our Top Pick – Pit Boss Sportsman 820
See our full Pit Boss Sportsman 820 review.
The best Pit Boss pellet smoker we’ve tested is the Sportsman 820. It’s amazing value for the price, with more square inches of cooking real estate than the Traeger Pro 780, but for around half the price.
At this price, we would expect Pit Boss to cut corners on the build quality, but we were happy to find the Sportsman was perfectly sturdy, with the body, heat diverter, and legs all made from heavy gauge steel.
You also get a folding front shelf and steel side shelf included. There’s even a slide and sear system for direct grilling, although the sear zone is small.
The only thing you’re missing out on is WiFi. There’s no app connection, but you do get a single probe included to measure your temps via the digital controller.
Best Large – Pit Boss Lockhart Platinum Series
Read our full review.
Pit Boss offers more large grills for the price than any other manufacturer.
The Lockhart is a really unique grill design that gives you a whopping 2,136 square inches of grate space.
You’ve basically got a regular pellet grill with a two-door cabinet stuck on top. Build quality feels good for a grill at this price, and you get some nice features like a built-in light that is usually only found on more expensive grills.
You can sear on the lower part of the grill using Pit Boss‘ slide-plate flame broiler system.
We did notice an issue where pellets didn’t smoothly slide down when they were running low but so long as you remember to top the hopper up it wasn’t a problem.
This grill does come with a WiFi connection, so you can use the Pit Boss app to keep an eye on the temperature of your grill and what you’re cooking. Definitely not our favorite app to use, but good enough to check your temps.
Best Vertical – Pit Boss Copperhead 5-Series
Read our full review.
The vertical smoker design should be far more popular than it is. Using vertically stacked grill grates allows you to fit way more food into a small footprint. And because the racks are adjustable, you can choose different heights to maximize space so if you are smoking ribs or turkey, you can fit your food in.
Pit Boss also does a Sportsman vertical series, but for our money, the Copperhead is the best buy.
You get 1,659 square inches of porcelain-coated cooking racks, which is crazy for a smoker that fits into a 28.8″ footprint.
Best Budget – [TAG86]
Read our full review.
The 700FB was one of Pit Boss‘ top-selling grills but it’s become a little outdated now with the release of the Sportsman and Navigator range.
Like its name suggests the Pit Boss 700FB has 700 sq inches of cooking surface.
This grill does have plenty of options for cooking hot though. It’s able to hit 600°F and you’ve also got the flame broiler system where you use a slide-plate to get direct flame grilling.
You get a standard digital controller (Not a PID controller) so the temperature will fluctuate a little more.
We would recommend upgrading to the Sportsman 820, but if you want to save money the 700FB is still good value.
Compared to other brands
- Value for money – Pit Boss makes some of the most affordable pellet grills on the market while still including features found on more expensive grills.
- Searing option – Many Pit Boss models include a slide system to create a small searing zone.
- Readily available – Pit Boss is easy to find in many big box stores, including Lowe’s and Walmart.
- Wifi/App – The Pit Boss app consistently scores low with users and suffers from poor range and connection issues.
- Build quality – It’s a budget price for a reason, so make sure you keep them covered.
Pit Boss VS Traeger
Pit Boss is generally quite a bit cheaper than Traeger. Once you get past the Traeger Pro series, there’s no comparable competition. The higher-end Traeger Ironwood and Timberline go for $1800 and $3000, and Pit Boss doesn’t offer anything close to that price range.
At the entry-level point, Pit Boss grills compare well with the Traeger Pro series everywhere but WiFi. The Traeger App is better designed and has more features.
Pit Boss also offer more variety, with their selection of vertical pellet grills.
We have a whole guide comparing Pit Boss vs Traeger for a more detailed comparison.
Pit Boss VS Camp Chef
Camp Chef has been moving more up-market recently, with the Woodwind increasing in price and the launch of the Woodwind Pro.
The DLX WiFi would be the closest competition to Pit Boss.
The digital controllers on Camp Chef are better than Pit Boss, as is the app. Pit Boss grills generally compare well when it comes to grill size, price, and prep areas.
Pit Boss lineup and availability
As we mentioned in the intro, Pit Boss produces a lot of retailer exclusives. In most cases, these grills all share a lot in common, with slight design tweaks.
- Lexington, Austin, Tailgater, Laredo – Available at Walmart
- Pro Series – Available at Lowes
- Pit Boss Titan – Academy Sports
- Navigator – Pit Boss & Retailers
- Sportsman – Pit Boss & Retailers
- FB – Pit Boss & Retailers
- Mahogany Series – Pit Boss & Retailers
In 2024, Pit Boss launched the Titan through Academy Sports. The Titan is their most recent grill and boasts some impressive specs with 1600 square inches of cooking space and a 40-pound hopper.
It’s an interesting move from Pit Boss to launch their latest and greatest grill as another retail exclusive rather than offering it on their website.
Pit Boss & Louisiana Grills
Pit Boss and Louisana Grills are both owned by the same parent company Dansons. Dansons also owns Country Smokers and A-MAZE-N.
Dansons is now owned by W. C. Bradley, which also owns Char-Broil and Oklahoma Joe’s.
We have reviewed the Louisiana Grills Black Label 1000. In general Louisiana Grills are more premium than Pit Boss, with higher build quality and prices to match.
All Pit Boss Reviews
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