Trailblazer, one year later

Bytor

Well-known member
Messages
535
Location
Knoxville, TN
Grill(s) owned
  1. Trailblazer
So, after 1 year of using my Trailblazer, I thought I would leave a review. This is my first pellet smoker and prior to this, I was using a Chargriller 5050 with a SFB for around 12 years. Since then, I have bought a Blackstone griddle and replaced my dying Chargriller with a Napoleon gasser.

First off, am I happy with my purchase? Hell ya!! Since November of 2019, I have smoked with this thing 57 times (thanks to whomever suggested keeping a cooking diary!). I can honestly say that it has not let me down ever. I have cooked Butts, Briskets, pizzas, wings, steaks, pork chops, casseroles, mac and cheese, veggies, made smoked paprika, bacon, sausage and Lord knows what else. This thing held temps rock solid.

The only time I had issues with pit temps was back in June when the sun began beaming down on it causing temperature spikes. Once I figured that out, in the shade it went, and the issue was gone. Coming from a stick burner, I was getting tired of the constant fire management. Now, that’s fun and all when there’s nothing needing to be done on a weekend day, but throw in kids schedules and that just doesn’t work. The app and solid function of this thing has been great, it almost feels like cheating (that is until I eat whatever I was cooking on it and it tasted fantastic!). There have been many nights, and more to come now in the chilly weather, I would put my meat inside the pit before bed, all ready to go. I would wake up 3am, or so and turn the smoker on with the app while in bed and get a 12 lb Butt going. I love the simplicity with this thing.

The Rec Teq customer service is also great. Back in August, my flame deflector began to warp. It got to the point of where it was beginning to push up on the drip pan. I sent the guys at RT a photo and in exactly one week, I had a replacement, no issues. I have read on this forum about their customer service and it is great.

Do I have any reservations with my purchase? None what’s so ever. I have to say that I got the extra rack when I bought this and have used it a few times and never ran out of cooking space. This thing runs very efficiently, and I’m amazed by how long I can go in between hopper loads. Additionally, it literally takes less than 10 minutes to get up to temp and then it’s rock solid.



So, if anyone is on the fence with a Trailblazer, or anything Rec Teq, I would definitely say go for it and you will not be disappointed.
 
Well said the Trailblazer is so efficient. Holds temp great, heats up fast and has just enough space for a smaller family. It also stores great in the corner of the garage due to its compact size.
 
Thanks all for likes and comments. I just wanted to provide my perspective on this great smoker. I'm sure we all have read product reviews of how well something did or didn't work out of the box and in any other immediate issues with said equipment.

I like to read comments from after using something for a period of time and I'm not too concerned about if someone had a hard time assembling something or if there was a screw or two missing from the box.
 

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