The Skinny:
- A full-featured charcoal grill designed to cure kamado cooking’s common headaches
- Patented ProZone simplifies ignition, cooking, and cleanup for a premium experience
- Heavy-duty ceramic and heavy-gauge cart showcase quality craftsmanship
- 2-tiered grill grates provide more cooking space than any other Premium kamado
The Skinny:
- Handcrafted, solid construction includes 304 grade stainless steel
- A full-featured charcoal grill designed to cure kamado cooking’s common headaches
- Patented ProZone simplifies ignition, cooking, and cleanup for a premium experience
- Heavy-duty ceramic and heavy-gauge cart showcase quality craftsmanship
- 2-tiered grill grates provide more cooking space than any other Premium kamado
- Limited lifetime warranty on ceramic parts keeps you covered for the long haul
When Vision got into the kamado game, the brand set out to address the biggest complaints surrounding these versatile cookers: difficulty igniting, controlling temperature, and cleaning up messy ash. Earlier lines of Vision kamado grills did a good job smoothing out those issues, but the Vision Elite series aims to take the entire experience to the next level while maintaining a competitive price point. In addition to the array of innovative features, these kamado grills offer unmatched cooking space and color-coded controls for precise temperature adjustments. Of course, we didn’t just take Vision’s word for it — we got under the hood ourselves to see if all the hype was well-founded.
This Vision kamado review takes a closer look at quality, performance, and features, the 3 factors by which we judge every product’s value. Our experts took measurements, conducted real-world cooking tests, and made overall observations of the grills’ features along the way; their findings are detailed below so you can have a better grasp of the Vision Elite series before making a purchasing decision. One more thing before we get started: though this kamado collection includes 4 different models, each is identical except for size (2 variations) and color (3 variations).
Quality:
Kamado quality is mostly about ceramic thickness, and the Elite series delivers with ceramic measuring 1” thick. That’s right in line with the rest of the Premium class, so consider that a box checked. Vision pairs the heavy-duty ceramic grill with a heavy-gauge steel cart, giving you all-around solid quality in a surprisingly elegant design. The only parts left to inspect were the 2-tiered cooking grates, which we noted to be cast iron and stainless steel, a pair of durable materials commonly used in outdoor cooking.
While the materials used in construction impressed our experts, what really stood out is the warranty: lifetime coverage for the ceramic; 5 years for all metal parts; 3 years for the side shelves and handle; 1 year for the cover, temperature gauge, and gasket; and 90 days for the lava stone, electric starter, and Bakelite tab. Throw in US-based customer service, and you’ve got comprehensive coverage fitting for such a well-built kamado grill.
Performance:
Ceramic thickness tells us about more than just quality — the denser the material, the more heat it can absorb and radiate for longer. At a solid inch of thickness, we found that the Elite series had no trouble getting hot and staying there no matter what cooking style we used. Not only that, but switching up styles was easy thanks to the color-coded top vent and bottom draft control vents on Vision’s ProZone (more on that in a bit). Each vent is calibrated with markings for smoking, grilling, and searing, while the bottom set is split into dedicated knobs for smoking and grilling. Temperatures remained quite precise and in line with the markings, making for an intuitive heat-control system that capitalizes on kamado versatility. That heat remained inside the grill, too, largely because of Vision’s upgraded Hi Temp gasket that lived up to its reputation with a tight seal.
The Vision Elite series scores another huge win with its 2-tiered grates, which further enhance cooking flexibility and nearly double the grilling capacity of similarly sized kamados. XD702 Maxis 22-Inch models boast 724½ square inches (362¼ per grate), while XR402 Deluxe 20-Inch kamados feature 604 square inches (302 per grate). Regardless of model type, we appreciated the hinged design that provides easy access to the bottom grate. As we noted above, Vision used different materials for the grates: stainless steel for the top, and cast iron for the bottom. Cast iron’s incredible heat retention makes it a great candidate for searing, so placing that grate closer to the coals predictably led to impressive sear marks and grilled flavor. We were just as pleased with how well the stainless steel top rack handled smoked and baked dishes, another positive sign for the Vision Elite series’ overall performance.
Features:
After outfitting its previous kamado series with helpful features here and there, Vision decided to up the ante with the Elite series. The brand’s biggest additions vastly improve quality of life, starting with the KamadoMatic Hinge. It not only made lifting the grill dome surprisingly easy — ceramic is heavy, folks — but also includes a locking latch and the aforementioned Hi Temp gasket to seal in flavorful smoke. The newly added flexible LED grill light provided plenty of illumination for nighttime grilling, while the kamado cart brought several upgrades of its own: felt-lined storage space for the cooking grates and included lava stone, an integrated holster for the included electric starter, and four 3” swivel caster wheels (two of which lock).
That brings us to the patented ProZone, the heart of Vision Elite kamados. It features the adjusted, calibrated bottom vents detailed in the “Performance” section, along with a port for the electric starter and a removable ash drawer. Our experience with the ProZone proved their value — ignition was easy every time, and cleanup was equally simple with little of the mess commonly associated with charcoal kamados. Elsewhere on the grill, the easy-to-read thermometer was color-coded just like the ProZone bottom knobs and cool-to-the-touch top vent, a helpful bit of continuity when cooking. Our experts were just as grateful for the thermoplastic, drop-down side shelves, which offered ample prep space in addition to convenient tool hooks.
Finally, Vision wisely included a few accessories to increase the Elite series’ overall value. Most notable is the natural lava stone that serves dual purposes; it can be used as a heat deflector when smoking or baking, or as a cooking stone (you should see how our pizza tests turned out). The full-length cover is another bonus, with heavy-duty material and a Velcro seam that makes covering and removing easy. Though sold separately, Vision even offers a patented Quickchange gas conversion insert if you’d rather cook with propane or natural gas instead of charcoal. And if you’re concerned with your kamado’s color, Vision gives you 3 options to choose from. XD702 Maxis 22-Inch grills come in Cottage White and Metallic Gray; XR402 Deluxe 20-Inch kamados are available in Cottage White and Black Onyx. Every model will deliver in terms of quality, performance, and feature, showing that the Elite series truly lives up to its lofty name.
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