For high-temp grilling, when I'm lighting all my coal before cooking, I use briquettes. When I'm slow smoking, I want nothing to do with briquettes, I use lump. Briquettes contain coal dust and all kinds of other nasty crap, and the smoke coming off of them is acrid and smells and tastes like s**t. Until briquettes are fully lit and ashed over, you get the acrid, nasty flavor from them. Lump is pure wood, and has no nasty flavor when burning, it smells and tastes like wood. About 3# of lump will give me 10-12 hours of cooking time in my Akorn when partially lit.