Go to youtube, search ManCaveMeals. He has reviews of the Akorn and also the Kamado Joe.
I bought a KJ based on MCM's video reviews. I love! I had no experience with Kamado grilling until I bought one.
Well said.
His excellent videos were the catalyst to me jumping into the kamado cooking deal.
I'm so glad I did.
I've been grilling with various gassers and simple charcoal grills for decades. No expert, but I could turn our decent burgers and steaks. Once I bought my Chargriller offset, my world opened up significantly....chicken, ribs and even butts were doable with some work and careful pit monitoring.
I was a bit unsure about jumping in and spending big bucks on a BGE or Primo......MCM video reviews of the Akorn and my past great experiences with Chargriller support had my confidence high on the Akorn.
I've been using it for almost a year now and have been very impressed with it. It's not a $1,500 BGE set-up......but then again, it's not a big blow to your wallet either.
It was well worth the $350 for me to experiment with kamado cooking. The Akorn, cover and their Smoking Stone have served me well.
I've had a few leaks that show up around the seals occasionally that can be aggravating, but not show-stoppers.
The lightweight portability of the Akorn make it a fairly easy affair to roll it and lay it in the bed of my pickup and drive over to friends homes. Nothing like having your pit wherever you are.
This Akorn has proven it's worth to me and my family loves the vastly improved level of food I've been putting on the table for them using it.
My wife has given me the green light to go big if I want to. I see an XL BGE in my near future. I'm very confident that it's the style of cooking that will see me through for decades more.
Good luck.