Kirk said:
Mostly true. Throw in some cold wind and rain though and the type of cooker can be a real big deal.
True...but it already IS a big deal. Insulated cookers have an advantage in adverse conditions...we already "deal" with single skin cookers, insulated cookers, wood, charcoal, pellets, gravity feed, auger feed, rotisserie, etc., etc., etc.
The source of heat, at this juncture, is pretty limited in its impact.
Also, the current feeling is - things won't change much, if any, for most of the contests.
Two-plus years ago I thought it mattered...now, I'm not so sure. Now, for "tradition", yeah, it's an issue, but in the big scope of things it won't change a lot -- we'd see more Southern Pride and Old Hickory type cookers - maybe - we might see more homebuilt or "Lazy-Q" (tm) type cookers...but I don't see that any of this would hurt or "kill" competition bbq. Heck, competition is what's driving this whole issue...
We've beat to death the issue of ANY temperature controls...but, more and more Brethren are moving to FEC100's and the use of Gurus and other control elements...I think the issue is similar. All gas or electric gives is control -- and sleep -- not necessarily more than say, a FEC100. And, it throws another variable into the mix -- the need for power and gas...teams would have to be "up" on their requirements and what to do if the widget fails -- same with augers, jammed gravity feed...or wet wood, forgot the charcoal, etc.
Now, all that being said -- let's just cool our jets a bit and see how this all plays out...ranting in our forum, while good for frustration relief, may be getting the importance of this issue weighing in WAY out of proportion to the number of us that is would affect.
Just my opinion...your mileage will probably vary!!:-D