Stickburner vs. pellet smoker. I've done many cooks on both, so I'll offer my take.
Both have their benefits, but a lot of it will come down to how much work and effort you want to put into your cooks. Stickburner=babysitting. Pellet=set & forget. If you want to make it an experience and feel more of a part of the cooking process and have time to dedicate to that, then go with the stickburner. There is a sick, twisted part of me that actually enjoys getting up at 4 AM to prep the pit, split wood with an ax, start a fire, watch it burn down to a bed of coals, then add wood and stabilize the pit temp all while keeping the fire clean and the smoke blue. And then checking on it periodically, or spending the whole day outside tending the pit. It is very peaceful, relaxing, and most of all fun. It's great to watch the world wake up while a brisket is smoking, and play with a fire all day. I also derive the greatest cooking pleasure while stickburning because I was a part of that process all day. And without my constant intervention of adding wood, adjusting vents, etc, that food would have been ruined. It gives you a real feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment (well, it does to me anyway). This also means braving the weather no matter what it is; hot and humid with no breeze, cold/windy and snowing, or perfect days, I've stickburned in them all. I miss owning a stickbuner and I plan to buy one sometime in the next few years. The resulting food is flavor wise and texture wise amazing if the fire is kept clean. Plus, fuel is very easy to come by, trees.
Now, pellets. Pellets do remove you more from the overall process. All you have to worry about with pellet pits is the food. You turn on the smoker, make sure the pellet hopper is full, set your temp, and it does the rest. You will want to cook around 225* in a pellet pit, because if you cook hot and fast you will lose a lot of your smoke flavor with some pellet pits, and you run the risk of overcooking the bottom side of the meat with some pellet pits too. But the beauty part is, set it to 225*, throw that brisket on at midnight, and let it cook until it's ready for dinner the next day. All you have to worry about is keeping pellets in the hopper, and checking the food. It's really great to get sleep, avoid cooking in the extreme elements, and have time to do other things during the day. I still have two young children, so the thing I disliked the most about stickburning was that I lost a lot of time with them those days I cooked because I couldn't focus on just being Dad, I had to be part-time Dad, part-time pit minder. I also couldn't run errands if something needed to get done while stickburning. With the pellet pit, the day is yours. The food quality is excellent, juicy, good smoke flavor with no bitterness, and it looks amazing. Plus if the day is nice, you can still spend it outside by the smoker.
Just with anything, you need to find the type of cooker and brand that is right for you. Pick the smoker that you will enjoy using the most. If time with the family is paramount, think hard about pellet pits. If you have time to kill and are deciding between BBQ and whittling, get a stickburner.
Peeps mentioned my Yoder. I had the YS640 and currently have the YS1500. I chose Yoder for the build quality, controller, and positive reviews about smoke flavor, among several other reasons. I have cooked on two other brands of pellet smokers, and the Yoder does give more smoke flavor than many other brands. My friends that own Traegers comment on how good the smoke flavor is when they have my food, and I don't use a cold smoke generator to supplement the smoke from my pit. Plus, we go in on bulk pellet buys to save a ton of money on pellets, so they are using the same pellets as me as well.
I ultimately wanted and got the YS1500 because it is as close to a hybrid of a pellet pit and stickburner as there is. It is more or less their Kingman stickburner with a pellet hopper instead of a wood firebox. It is very unique compared to most pellet pits. However there are also insulated pellet pits too that a lot of people like. It's all a matter of what works best for you and what you budget is.
I hope my rambling helps you out a little. This has been my experience with these two types of pits.
