I really don’t know why other brands don’t have this feature. I love my performer for the gas assist lighting and the table. I also use the gas assist light the chimney for my Smokey mountain cooker.
I love my gas assist performer. Depending on what I'm cooking i"ll either just pile up the charcoal, use the baskets or chimney then burn the gas for 5 minutes then let coals burn another 10-15 minutes till ready.
I don’t use paper to light my chimney. The flame from the gas works awesome. Let’s trip for 5-10 minutes then shut the gas off and let the chimney do it’s thing. I’m grilling in 15-20 minutes.....I figure about the same as a gas grill time wise, but better flavor!
I use it every time I fire up the performer. Fill the 2 baskets place them over the tube, light it up and wait 15 minutes. Simple, perfect, reliable.
Ed