Outdoor Gourmet Grill Reviews

Outdoor Gourmet Grills: Large Grills, Competitive Pricing, Some Rust Issues

      As one of the nation’s largest sporting goods stores, Academy sells hundreds of great items.  From hunting and fishing to apparel, sports, and exercise equipment, Academy has it all.  They also have their very own brand of gas grills under the name Outdoor Gourmet.

      Academy originally started in Austin, Texas with only a few stores in the mid 1950’s.  Over the last half century Academy has grown to over a hundred stores nationwide and has experienced annual growth rates of close to twenty percent over the last ten years.  Over the years Academy has had great success with the “Sports and Outdoors” theme and a lineup of gas grills fits right into their business model.  That combined with the effort to compete with Wal-Mart and home improvement stores on outdoor items prompted them to import their own grills under the Outdoor Gourmet name.

      Outdoor Gourmet grills main focus is on relatively larger grills at smaller grill prices. Many of their grills are island style units with wide granite countertops and high power outputs. Prices for these grills are actually a little more competitive than similar models at home improvement stores. The base model starts at just 299 dollars with other models ranging as high as 699 dollars. For this price, size and heat output are more than comparable with price. Sizes range from 750 to 810 square inches of cooking area, with heat outputs starting at an impressive 70,000 BTU’s and going up to 80,000.

      As you can see, Outdoor Gourmet grills offer a lot for the price. They are large, powerful, and attractive grills at pretty competitive prices. They are packed with features including just about every burner and storage compartment you need. However, as usual with this type of grill, they do have a few shortcomings. Issues from flare-ups and internal rusting are the most common problems to be expected with these models. The burners, drip pan, and other internal parts have been reported to rust through within a few seasons. Fortunately though, replacement parts are easy to come by.

      If you’re dying to get a hold of one of these island grills, these may not be a bad choice as they’re similar to others on the market, but priced a little lower. On the other hand, if you’re just looking for a standard grill there are better models available. Either way you should keep Outdoor Gourmet’s quality issues in mind when making a decision.