The Weber Smokey Joe 14 is the grill to buy if you want real charcoal flavor at a tailgate, campsite or on a small patio for one to four people. In our Weber Smokey Joe 14 review it scored 4.5 out of 5: at about 9.5 lb it carries one-handed, it seared burgers with a good crust in under 6 minutes on about 1 lb of briquettes, and the lid lock kept it shut on every trip. Skip it if you feed six or more or want long smokes.
The trade-off is size. The 147 sq in grate fits about 2–4 burgers at a time, and the small fuel bed limits low-and-slow cooks. For other grills you can take on the road, see our portable grills hub.
Small and light enough to cook right off the tailgate, which is what we bought it to test.
How We Tested
Three weeks, eight cooks, on a patio, at two tailgates and on a camping trip.
Tom Bricker used the Smokey Joe for three weeks across eight cooks with standard briquettes, at home and on the road.
- Food: burgers, hot dogs, skewers and vegetables.
- Weather and ground: from a 41°F morning to uneven campsite ground and one surprise rain.
- Measurements: grate-level temperature with a probe, charcoal used per cook, and wear from transport.
- Specs: checked against Weber retailer listings.
The grill has no gauge, so we tracked grate temperature with a probe on every cook.
Each grill gets a score out of 10 in six categories: portability, searing, temperature control, build quality, ease of setup and cleanup, and value for money. Those roll up into the overall score out of 5 in the Final Score.
A few weeks can't show long-term rust, enamel chips or how parts hold up after several seasons. We list the parts that wear first under durability and update this review if problems show up.
