Weber Summit Kamado E6 Review: They Got it Right This Time

Weber redesigned and relaunched the Summit Kamado E6 in 2021 and they got it right this time. The E6 Kamado is a beautiful grill and smoker with high capacity and incredible efficiency.

Equally important, the grill is now at a price point that makes it worth recommending.

Table of Contents

Key Features of the E6 Kamado

The key features you get with the Summit include:

Double Walled Steel Construction With Air Insulation
Dual Position Charcoal Grate and Heat Deflector
Precision Air Control From Modified Lower Vents and High Flow Top Vent
24 inch Stainless Steel Gourmet Barbecue Cooking Grate
Spring Assisted Lid with Stainless Steel Mesh Gasket

The big features that you are getting are

Dual Use Cooker: The E6 is a true kamado in that it works as an amazing “low and slow” smoker and it can be cranked up for serious high heat searing for steaks.
High Efficiency Fuel Usage: The previous version of this kamado could go 50 hours on a single load of charcoal (electronic assist). There is nothing about the new design that would change this efficiency.
Strong But Light Construction: The metal E6 is will not crack like sensitive ceramic Kamados and weighs about 40% less.
Massive Capacity: The E6 has a 24 inch diameter grate which is large enough for two full packer briskets at once.

On a purely subjective note, the E6 looks stylish, has great badging and is a handsome cooker that would look great on your deck.

What is New About the E6 Kamado?

Weber introduced their first kamado style grills in 2018 and while they were great additions to the Weber line they were severely mispriced.

The new E6 has an MSRP of $1,049 compared to $1,699 for the original. By shaving more than $600 off of the price Weber has made the E6 Kamado a much better bargain than a Big Green Egg.

The biggest difference between the new E6 and the older version is that the new model does not come with a propane assist charcoal lighting feature.

A smaller difference is that the heat deflector in the original Weber Kamado was hinged while the heat deflector in the new E6 is a solid, rigid disc.

If you do a search on Reddit or some of the other forums about this model you will probably see some comments about the wobbly cart the E6 is mounted upon. Weber became aware of the wobbly cart issue, sent repairs/upgrades to the original purchasers and fixed the problem on all remaining inventory.

Customer Reviews for the Summit E6

The E6 is a both expensive and relatively new which means that there are not a lot of customer reviews posted online yet. I grabbed all the reviews that I could find from the Weber, Home Depot and BBQGuys websites. As of July, 2021 there were 83 reviews and the combined results are plotted below.

Again, this is a limited data set but the 97% customer satisfaction rating is a strong indication that folks love this cooker. The biggest complaints were about mislabeled parts which made assembly confusing.

Summit E6 vs Summit S6

As far as performance and capacity as either a smoker or a grill there is zero difference between the E6 and the S6 yet the S6 costs over $700 more.

When you pay an extra $700 for the S6 you get a side table and a propane assist charcoal ignition system.

Please…save your money and don’t buy the Kamado S6.

If you want a side table and propane assist charcoal ignition system then buy a Weber Performer Deluxe for $459 and stick it by your E6. You can light your charcoal in a chimney on your Performer and transfer it to your E6.