Camp Chef Woodwind Review 2022: Is it worth your money?

Camp Chef Woodwind Review 2022:
Is it worth your money?


Find out in this in-depth Camp Chef Woodwind pellet smoker review!

two people having a bbq grill party

The Camp Chef Woodwind pellet smoker is packed with features.

Equipped with a wide arsenal of functions such as WIFI connectivity, an updated PID Controller, robust stainless steel components, the optional attached Sidekick flat griddle, and a variety of optional add-ons, the Camp Chef Woodwind pellet smoker is packed with features and is a great addition to your outdoor cooking equipment collection.

inside Camp Chef Woodwind grill with hood opened up

Starting from a reasonable AU$1,799 price tag, the Camp Chef Woodwind pellet smoker seems like a reasonable choice.

Especially when compared to the current range of comparable competing products from Traeger, Green Mountain Grills, and a lot of other pellet smoker brands out there.

But is it worth your money?

In this in-depth Camp Chef Woodwind review, we will delve deeper into the features of these Camp Chef pellet grills, how they will help you in your quest to smoke great food with minimal effort, the pros and cons, and ultimately help you decide whether you should buy it with your hard-earned money.

Camp Chef Woodwind Overview

Camp Chef Woodwind WIFI 24 overview inside Tucker Barbecue HQ

The Camp Chef Woodwind pellet grills are on the higher end of the spectrum of Camp Chef grills in terms of pricing and quality.

At Tucker's, there are 2 models of the Camp Chef Woodwind available which are the Camp Chef Woodwind WIFI 24 and the Camp Chef Woodwind WIFI 36, with the only differentiating factor being the size (24" and 36").

The Camp Chef Woodwind also features a digital PID Controller, from which you could control the grill temperature to the desired temperature range and more interestingly, the smoke level through the smoke settings.

Woodwind's PID Controller turned off

The PID Controller - used for controlling temperature and smoke level.

This feature-packed grill also has local Wi-Fi connectivity, meaning you can control it right from the Camp Chef app (called Camp Chef Connect) on your phone, making it possible for you to prepare your BBQ while you're busy doing other stuff.

On one side of the grill, there is a pellet hopper where you load your pellets in. We'll cover more about this feature later on in this review.

Inside Camp Chef Woodwind's  pellet hopper

Spacious pellet hopper capacity.

On the other side, both of the Camp Chef Woodwind pellet smoker sizes have a detachable side shelf where you can choose to attach the optional sear box attachment or the "Sidekick" attachment which incorporates a gas grill burner and a flat top griddle, perfect for teppanyaki-style BBQ.

(Hint: we recommend getting the "Sidekick" attachment")
Camp Chef Woodwind Side Shelf

The Camp Chef Woodwind comes with a detachable side shelf.

Build Quality

Porcelain coated steel rack inside the Camp Chef Woodwind WIFI 24

These porcelain-coated steel racks do a good job of giving your steak grill marks that you desire.

Robust and made to last. That's our first impression of the Camp Chef pellet grill when we first had a look at it.

Both the different sizes have similar build quality. The body is mostly made from powder-coated steel while the firebox, flue topper, and lid are from stainless steel.

Camp Chef Woodwind WIFI 24 exhaust flue

The flue cap is made of stainless steel.

Inside the grill, there's the nickel-plated steel rack on top and a porcelain-coated steel rack on the bottom.

These upper and lower grates are fairly non-stick and rust-resistant, and they do a good job of giving the sear marks you desire on a good piece of steak.

Sturdy and built to last

The legs and the base of the grill are made from thicker steel, giving it the sturdy foundation it needs.

Camp Chef Woodwind WIFI 24 grill rubberized wheels

The 2 rubberized wheels give the grill adequate portability around your backyard.

Overall, the Camp Chef Woodwind feels like it will last quite a while and the thickness of the materials used feels just right for the purpose they are intended to be used for.

Ease of Use

Storage shelf underneath Camp Chef Woodwind

Some space underneath the grill can serve as a storage shelf.

One of the strong points of using pellet grills instead of a wood or charcoal grill is that they are convenient.

But even then, most pellet grills don't offer the various features that the Woodwind pellet grill has to improve the ease of use.

With these Camp Chef pellet grills, it gets even easier as you only have to pour pellets into the pellet hopper and have the auger automatically feed it to the firebox, set the temperature on the controller, set the smoke level through the smoke setting, and the grill will do the job for you - all through the PID Controller.

Camp Chef Woodwind pellet hopper chute

The hopper has a well-designed pellet purge function through the pellet chute which you can open by pulling the slider rod to quickly empty the pellet hopper.

The Woodwind grill will automatically feed pellets into the firebox according to the setting that you have set previously on the controller.

The Camp Chef Woodwind pellet grill has ample pellet hopper capacity, meaning you don't need to worry about running out of pellet space anytime soon!

magnetic hopper door latch

The hopper has a magnetic door latch to help secure the pellet hopper.

Easily empty the pellet hopper by pulling the slider rod

This would be greatly useful if you wanted to quickly change the wood pellets, say, from apple blend pellets to fruitwood blend ones, or to quickly remove the pellets for storage.

The Camp Chef Woodwind pellet grill has all the benefits that an equivalent propane grill doesn't have - you get to choose various flavours of pellets for your BBQ!

Camp Chef Apple Hardwood Pellets with white background

Speaking of wood pellets, did you know that Camp Chef's Apple Hardwood Pellets are made of 100% pure virgin hardwood with no additional chemicals or oils added?

Well, anyway.

If you need to leave the grill to do something else, such as doing the laundry or mowing down the lawn, there's a cool grill feature where you can control it from the Camp Chef Connect app on your phone through your local Wi-Fi as the grill has Wi-Fi connectivity.

The app and the grill will alert you once the grill has reached the desired temperature.

Cleaning is made easy with the patented Ash Cleanout System

Woodwind's ash cleanout system slider knob

Simply pull the knob to use the ash cleanout system.

The Woodwind pellet grill has a neat feature that most pellet grills don't have, which is the ash cleanout system.

Woodwind pellet grill burner

The middle burn pot part here is where your pellets go - and turn to ash...

With the ash cleanout system, it allows users to easily clean up the ashes from the pellets by just pulling the sliding rod on the right side of the grill.

Woodwind's detached ash cup

You can attach the ash cup to the bottom of the grill, underneath the burner itself, to collect the burned pellets' ash.

This allows the ash to fall to the removable cup underneath and hence saving you a lot of time!

Oil bucket on Woodwind's oil chute

On the right side of the grill, there is a chute for excess oil and debris which you can easily collect by placing the bucket on it.

Cooking Space

Nickel plated steel rack inside Camp Chef Woodwind

The versatile upper rack system gives the user ample flexibility in managing the space in the cooking chamber.

As previously mentioned, you can choose from the 2 available sizes: 24" with 800 square inches of cooking space and 36" with 1,236 square inches of cooking surface area.

Most people go for the 36" one as they require the additional cooking surface area to grill their BBQs, but that would also depend on the space you have available to place the grill itself.

Inside Camp Chef Woodwind with lower rack removed

You could also remove half or the whole top rack if you require additional vertical space.

These Camp Chef pellet grills have a more cubic design where the inside space is split over two racks, giving that extra cooking surface area for you to place more stuff.

Grilling and Smoking Performance

Grilling has never been this easy.

The grilling performance of the Camp Chef Woodwind grills does not disappoint.

Grilling pork chops with your favourite rubs has never been easier.

Woodwind's smoke diffusing tray

There's also a smoke diffusing tray over the burner to diffuse the smoke and evenly distribute the heat.

Rather than buying separate meat probes for your steak, the Woodwind grills have a built-in meat thermometer which allows the grill to measure the internal temperature of the meat and adjust the pellets automatically to the desired temperature range.

Woodwind's meat probe

The Camp Chef Woodwind grills have a built-in meat probe that connects directly to the PID Controller system.

Cook steak the way you like it.

With the adjustable burner cover in the cooking chamber, you can change the way you cook your meat through indirect flame mode and direct flame mode by adjusting the slider rod on the left of the grill.

Camp Chef Woodwind's smart smoke technology allows you to control the smoke level inside the cooking chamber through the adjustable smoke settings in the PID Controller.

Camp Chef Woodwind PID Controller turned on

Changing and setting the temperature is easy through the integrated PID Controller.

Sidekick Attachment Review

A great addition to your BBQ toolkit.

Camp Chef Woodwind Sidekick  add-on

The Sidekick is an optional propane burner add-on that you can attach to the right side of the Woodwind pellet smoker and can go up to twice as hot as the pellet grill - up to 600°C!

The Camp Chef WIFI Woodwind pellet grills have a lot to offer and can pack quite the punch, but if you require the extra heat for your BBQ, then we highly suggest you take a look at getting the Sidekick attachment.

Camp Chef Sidekick propane burner

The Sidekick propane burner can pack quite the punch - a great addition to your BBQ toolkit.

This is useful if you need to heat anything that would otherwise be impractical to do in the pellet smoker, such as heating a stockpot, frying things such as eggs and onions, or if you need the extra cooking surface to sear some steaks.

Camp Chef Sidekick drip pan

One neat feature of the Sidekick is that there is a drip pan at the front that collects the excess oil for easy cleaning.

The downside to having the Sidekick, however, is you would have to sacrifice and detach the already included side shelf that you could otherwise use for placing your plates and other utensils.

Camp Chef Woodwind Review Summary

a person open fire grilling with Camp Chef Woodwind

Open fire grilling with the Camp Chef Woodwind wood pellet grill is a breeze - thanks to the PID Controller!

Here are a couple of things we liked about the Camp Chef Woodwind pellet grills:

  • Robust build quality that you can depend on.

  • The only pellet grills out there that are packed with lots of well-designed features that not a lot of pellet smokers have.

  • Plenty of cooking space with the versatile upper rack system.

  • Precise cooking by using the include meat probes and setting the temperature with the PID Controller.

  • Able to sear up to high temperatures - higher than the average pellet smokers out there!

  • Beginner-friendly smoking experience by adjusting the smoke setting.

  • Switching from indirect to direct flame cooking is made simple.

  • Easily clear out the ash inside the central fire pot using the ash cleanout system.

  • Ample pellet hopper capacity which you can quickly empty and change pellets using the slider rod.

  • Excess oil collection is made simple with the drip pan design.

  • Overall easy to clean.

Woodwind Sidekick Attachment in Tucker Barbecues HQ

Get the Sidekick attachment - it's worth it!

The Verdict

One of the best pellet smokers out there on the market.

Overall, we feel that the Camp Chef Woodwind pellet grill series are one of the best pellet smokers out there on the market.

The people at the Camp Chef brand have really thought through the design to make the cooking experience as seamless as possible.

Not only does it excel in making smoking your BBQ a set-and-forget experience, but it is also one heck of a capable grilling machine, not something a lot of pellet grills can do.

The PID Controller with temperature settings

The PID Controller and the convenience that the Camp Chef Woodwind pellet grill offers is really what highlights this wood pellet grill differently from other pellet grills.

The optional Sidekick propane grill is something that we highly recommend getting to complement the already versatile Woodwind pellet grill.

All in all, if you can get past the price tag, the Camp Chef Woodwind WIFI series is a great way to add versatility to your outdoor cooking endeavors for beginners and BBQ veterans alike.

Want free BBQ pellets and more?

If you do decide to get the Woodwind WIFI series, then feel free to call our friendly team at Tucker Barbecues and get free barbecue rubs, pellets, and butcher papers with your purchase!

We hope you enjoyed this Camp Chef Woodwind review.

BACK TO ALL BLOGS

Camp Chef Woodwind Review 2022:
Is it worth your money?


Find out in this in-depth Camp Chef Woodwind pellet smoker review!

two people having a bbq grill party

The Camp Chef Woodwind pellet smoker is packed with features.

Starting from a reasonable AU$1,799 price tag, the Camp Chef Woodwind pellet smoker seems like a reasonable choice.

Especially when compared to the current range of comparable competing products from Traeger, Green Mountain Grills, and a lot of other pellet smoker brands out there.

Equipped with a wide arsenal of functions such as WIFI connectivity, an updated PID Controller, robust stainless steel components, the optional attached Sidekick flat griddle, and a variety of optional add-ons, the Camp Chef Woodwind pellet smoker is packed with features and is a great addition to your outdoor cooking equipment collection.

But is it worth your money?
inside Camp Chef Woodwind grill with hood opened up

The Camp Chef Woodwind pellet smoker is equipped with a wide arsenal of functions.

In this in-depth Camp Chef Woodwind review, we will delve deeper into the features of these Camp Chef pellet grills, how they will help you in your quest to smoke great food with minimal effort, the pros and cons, and ultimately help you decide whether you should buy it with your hard-earned money.

Camp Chef Woodwind Overview

Camp Chef Woodwind WIFI 24 overview inside Tucker Barbecue HQ

The Camp Chef Woodwind pellet grills are on the higher end of the spectrum of Camp Chef grills in terms of pricing and quality.

At Tucker's, there are 2 models of the Camp Chef Woodwind available which are the Camp Chef Woodwind WIFI 24 and the Camp Chef Woodwind WIFI 36, with the only differentiating factor being the size (24" and 36").

The Camp Chef Woodwind also features a digital PID Controller, from which you could control the grill temperature to the desired temperature range and more interestingly, the smoke level through the smoke settings.

This feature-packed grill also has local Wi-Fi connectivity, meaning you can control it right from the Camp Chef app (called Camp Chef Connect) on your phone, making it possible for you to prepare your BBQ while you're busy doing other stuff.

On one side of the grill, there is a pellet hopper where you load your pellets in. We'll cover more about this feature later on in this review.

On the other side, both of the Camp Chef Woodwind pellet smoker sizes have a detachable side shelf where you can choose to attach the optional sear box attachment or the "Sidekick" attachment which incorporates a gas grill burner and a flat top griddle, perfect for teppanyaki-style BBQ.

(Hint: we recommend getting the "Sidekick" attachment")
Woodwind's PID Controller turned off

The PID Controller - used for controlling temperature and smoke level.

Inside Camp Chef Woodwind's  pellet hopper

Spacious pellet hopper capacity.

Camp Chef Woodwind Side Shelf

The Camp Chef Woodwind comes with a detachable side shelf.

Build Quality

Porcelain coated steel rack inside the Camp Chef Woodwind WIFI 24

These porcelain-coated steel racks do a good job of giving your steak grill marks that you desire.

Robust and made to last. That's our first impression of the Camp Chef pellet grill when we first had a look at it.

Both the different sizes have similar build quality. The body is mostly made from powder-coated steel while the firebox, flue topper, and lid are from stainless steel.

Inside the grill, there's the nickel-plated steel rack on top and a porcelain-coated steel rack on the bottom.

These upper and lower grates are fairly non-stick and rust-resistant, and they do a good job of giving the sear marks you desire on a good piece of steak.

Camp Chef Woodwind WIFI 24 exhaust flue

The flue cap is made of stainless steel.

Sturdy and built to last

The legs and the base of the grill are made from thicker steel, giving it the sturdy foundation it needs.

Overall, the Camp Chef Woodwind feels like it will last quite a while and the thickness of the materials used feels just right for the purpose they are intended to be used for.

Camp Chef Woodwind WIFI 24 grill rubberized wheels

The 2 rubberized wheels give the grill adequate portability around your backyard.

Ease of Use

Storage shelf underneath Camp Chef Woodwind

Some space underneath the grill can serve as a storage shelf.

One of the strong points of using pellet grills instead of a wood or charcoal grill is that they are convenient.

But even then, most pellet grills don't offer the various features that the Woodwind pellet grill has to improve the ease of use.

With these Camp Chef pellet grills, it gets even easier as you only have to pour pellets into the pellet hopper and have the auger automatically feed it to the firebox, set the temperature on the controller, set the smoke level through the smoke setting, and the grill will do the job for you - all through the PID Controller.

The Woodwind grill will automatically feed pellets into the firebox according to the setting that you have set previously on the controller.

The Camp Chef Woodwind pellet grill has ample pellet hopper capacity, meaning you don't need to worry about running out of pellet space anytime soon!

magnetic hopper door latch

The hopper has a magnetic door latch to help secure the pellet hopper.

Camp Chef Woodwind pellet hopper chute

The hopper has a well-designed pellet purge function through the pellet chute which you can open by pulling the slider rod to quickly empty the pellet hopper.

Easily empty the pellet hopper by pulling the slider rod

This would be greatly useful if you wanted to quickly change the wood pellets, say, from apple blend pellets to fruitwood blend ones, or to quickly remove the pellets for storage.

The Camp Chef Woodwind pellet grill has all the benefits that an equivalent propane grill doesn't have - you get to choose various flavours of pellets for your BBQ!

Camp Chef Apple Hardwood Pellets with white background

Speaking of wood pellets, did you know that Camp Chef's Apple Hardwood Pellets are made of 100% pure virgin hardwood with no additional chemicals or oils added?

Well, anyway.

If you need to leave the grill to do something else, such as doing the laundry or mowing down the lawn, there's a cool grill feature where you can control it from the Camp Chef Connect app on your phone through your local Wi-Fi as the grill has Wi-Fi connectivity.

The app and the grill will alert you once the grill has reached the desired temperature.

Cleaning is made easy with the patented Ash Cleanout System

Woodwind's ash cleanout system slider knob

Simply pull the knob to use the ash cleanout system.

The Woodwind pellet grill has a neat feature that most pellet grills don't have, which is the ash cleanout system.

Woodwind pellet grill burner

The middle burn pot part here is where your pellets go - and turn to ash...

With the ash cleanout system, it allows users to easily clean up the ashes from the pellets by just pulling the sliding rod on the right side of the grill.

Woodwind's detached ash cup

You can attach the ash cup to the bottom of the grill, underneath the burner itself, to collect the burned pellets' ash.

This allows the ash to fall to the removable cup underneath and hence saving you a lot of time!

Oil bucket on Woodwind's oil chute

On the right side of the grill, there is a chute for excess oil and debris which you can easily collect by placing the bucket on it.

Cooking Space

Nickel plated steel rack inside Camp Chef Woodwind

The versatile upper rack system gives the user ample flexibility in managing the space in the cooking chamber.

As previously mentioned, you can choose from the 2 available sizes: 24" with 800 square inches of cooking space and 36" with 1,236 square inches of cooking surface area.

Most people go for the 36" one as they require the additional cooking surface area to grill their BBQs, but that would also depend on the space you have available to place the grill itself.

These Camp Chef pellet grills have a more cubic design where the inside space is split over two racks, giving that extra cooking surface area for you to place more stuff.

Inside Camp Chef Woodwind with lower rack removed

You could also remove half or the whole top rack if you require additional vertical space.

Grilling and Smoking Performance

Grilling has never been this easy.

The grilling performance of the Camp Chef Woodwind grills does not disappoint.

Grilling pork chops with your favourite rubs has never been easier.

Rather than buying separate meat probes for your steak, the Woodwind grills have a built-in meat thermometer which allows the grill to measure the internal temperature of the meat and adjust the pellets automatically to the desired temperature range.

Woodwind's meat probe

The Camp Chef Woodwind grills have a built-in meat probe that connects directly to the PID Controller system.

Woodwind's smoke diffusing tray

There's also a smoke diffusing tray over the burner to diffuse the smoke and evenly distribute the heat.

Cook steak the way you like it.

With the adjustable burner cover in the cooking chamber, you can change the way you cook your meat through indirect flame mode and direct flame mode by adjusting the slider rod on the left of the grill.

Camp Chef Woodwind's smart smoke technology allows you to control the smoke level inside the cooking chamber through the adjustable smoke settings in the PID Controller.

Camp Chef Woodwind PID Controller turned on

Changing and setting the temperature is easy through the integrated PID Controller.

Sidekick Attachment Review

Camp Chef Woodwind Sidekick  add-on

The Sidekick is an optional propane burner add-on that you can attach to the right side of the Woodwind pellet smoker and can go up to twice as hot as the pellet grill - up to 600°C!

A great addition to your BBQ toolkit.

The Camp Chef WIFI Woodwind pellet grills have a lot to offer and can pack quite the punch, but if you require the extra heat for your BBQ, then we highly suggest you take a look at getting the Sidekick attachment.

This is useful if you need to heat anything that would otherwise be impractical to do in the pellet smoker, such as heating a stockpot, frying things such as eggs and onions, or if you need the extra cooking surface to sear some steaks.

One downside to having the Sidekick, however, is you would have to sacrifice and detach the already included side shelf that you could otherwise use for placing your plates and other utensils.

Camp Chef Sidekick propane burner

The Sidekick propane burner can pack quite the punch - a great addition to your BBQ toolkit.

Camp Chef Sidekick drip pan

One neat feature of the Sidekick is that there is a drip pan at the front that collects the excess oil for easy cleaning.

Camp Chef Woodwind Review Summary

Here are a couple of things we liked about the Camp Chef Woodwind pellet grills:

  • Robust build quality that you can depend on.

  • The only pellet grills out there that are packed with lots of well-designed features that not a lot of pellet smokers have.

  • Plenty of cooking space with the versatile upper rack system.

  • Precise cooking by using the include meat probes and setting the temperature with the PID Controller.

  • Able to sear up to high temperatures - higher than the average pellet smokers out there!

  • Beginner-friendly smoking experience by adjusting the smoke setting.

  • Switching from indirect to direct flame cooking is made simple.

  • Easily clear out the ash inside the central fire pot using the ash cleanout system.

  • Ample pellet hopper capacity which you can quickly empty and change pellets using the slider rod.

  • Excess oil collection is made simple with the drip pan design.

  • Overall easy to clean.

a person open fire grilling with Camp Chef Woodwind

Open fire grilling with the Camp Chef Woodwind wood pellet grill is a breeze - thanks to the PID Controller!

Woodwind Sidekick Attachment in Tucker Barbecues HQ

Get the Sidekick attachment - it's worth it!

The Verdict

One of the best pellet smokers out there on the market.

Overall, we feel that the Camp Chef Woodwind pellet grill series are one of the best pellet smokers out there on the market.

The people at the Camp Chef brand have really thought through the design to make the cooking experience as seamless as possible.

Not only does it excel in making smoking your BBQ a set-and-forget experience, but it is also one heck of a capable grilling machine, not something a lot of pellet grills can do.

The optional Sidekick propane grill is something that we highly recommend getting to complement the already versatile Woodwind pellet grill.

All in all, if you can get past the price tag, the Camp Chef Woodwind WIFI series is a great way to add versatility to your outdoor cooking endeavors for beginners and BBQ veterans alike.

The PID Controller with temperature settings

The PID Controller and the convenience that the Camp Chef Woodwind pellet grill offers is really what highlights this wood pellet grill differently from other pellet grills.

Want free BBQ pellets and more?

Come and visit one of our 3 stores across Sydney at Mona ValeTaren Point and Silverwater HQ or check out our website tuckerbbq.com.au

We hope you enjoyed this Camp Chef Woodwind review.

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