Review: Roundup: L'il Grills

Summer and cookouts go together like Baby Ruths and swimming pools. Compact grills let you BBQ anywhere at a moment's notice.

Roundup: L’il Grills

Learn How We Rate ##### Wired

Quick cleanup and cooling make it easy to head home.

Roundup:

• 1/10A complete failure in every way
• 2/10Sad, really
• 3/10Serious flaws; proceed with caution
• 4/10Downsides outweigh upsides
• 5/10Recommended with reservations
• 6/10Solid with some issues
• 7/10Very good, but not quite great
• 8/10Excellent, with room to kvetch
• 9/10Nearly flawless
• 10/10Metaphysical perfection

1. Big Green Egg (small)
The Egg lived up to its lofty rep: Our food came out flavorful and juicy—even veggie burgers! Unfortunately, at 65 pounds this charcoal burner weighs nearly as much as the other three grills combined. And the Egg's brittle ceramic shell made us apprehensive about carrying it down steps, much less tossing it in the trunk. When we did take it on the road, we had to wait hours for the thing to cool down before lugging it home.

2. Solaire Everywhere
Equipped with its own shoulder bag and weighing in at just 15 pounds, the Solaire is as portable as a briefcase, and its infrared burner and stainless steel housing positively drip with geek cred. The grill was ready to cook in five minutes, and a maximum measured temperature of just over 700° F meant we were able to produce tempting grill marks and juicy insides. With such spunky burners and a lid that isn't designed for flame-on use, though, slow cooking is sadly not an option.

3. Weber Q140
After we got over our prejudice against its electric heating element, we realized that the Q140 was a pretty effective cooker. Its heat-reflecting lining and oval shape direct BTUs at your grillables, and closed-lid cooking provided excellent results on fish and veggies. Keep the cover down, though: Even though you plug this 1,560-watter into a 120-volt outlet, it still struggles to reach 500° F. Serious searers should look elsewhere.

WIRED Never runs out of fuel (as long as you pay the electric bill). Optional fold-up stand leaves table space for food and eating.

TIRED Low top heat. No temperature gauge. Portability is limited to the length of your extension cord.

$280, weber.com

4. Char-Broil CB500X
The CB500X looks like a tough man's treasure chest, with black metal construction, preseasoned cast-iron grate, and a front-side fire-pit door. But we struggled to achieve precision grilling: The charcoal burned too hot and fast, and the vents were too small to let us control the temperature effectively. On the plus side, it offered the largest cooking area in our roundup (24 x 10 inches) while still fitting nicely into the back of our Honda Civic.

WIRED Removable bottom for easy cleanup. Adjustable fire rack.

TIRED At 37 pounds, it approaches don't-lift-with-your-back territory. Hot metal vent knobs inflicted the only burn of the test, and back flash singed arm hairs.

$150, charbroil.com