Pit Boss Sportsman 850 Review 2025
In step with the familiar, time-tested invent of wood-pellet smokers, the Pit Boss Sportsman 850 is moderately dilapidated — it’s even bought a conventional venting pipe and a inserting bucket to win grease drips. But despite the dilapidated invent, it has one uncommon characteristic: a pull lever, which is ready to notify your meals to insist warmth and flames. It’s a rather priced grill, retailing for $749, that ought to maintain a ramification of cooking home to feed a room fat of other folks.
Over the closing several years, I’ve tested practically a dozen of essentially the most attention-grabbing BBQ smokers and most attention-grabbing pellet grills, collectively with the novel Traeger Woodridge Elite, and the Sportsman 850 stacks up neatly in its uncooked performance. The warmth is consistent, and there are a tight different of aspects. My largest agonize, nonetheless, is that once compared to a ramification of products, it’s unprejudiced now not that polished, which method it doesn’t provide essentially the most attention-grabbing expertise for inexperienced persons and casual yard smokers.
Pit Boss Sportsman 850 Wood Pellet Grill
The Pit Boss Sportsman 850 is a pellet grill providing 849 sq. inches of cooking home, versatile searing with a Flame Broiler lever, and neat connectivity by potential of WiFi and Bluetooth for a ways off monitoring. Whereas it excels in temperature consistency, its climate sturdiness and app expertise run away room for enchancment.
Assembly
The grill comes in a extensive field, weighing spherical 140 kilos. I assembled it the put the sphere used to be delivered and then rolled it into the yard. The proper work of attaching the Sportsman 850’s four legs, wheels, a address, and a few a ramification of objects is manageable, nonetheless a few steps require a 2d individual. As an instance, I merely couldn’t screw two of the legs in while holding them in set apart. The grill does ought to be laid down on the ground and picked support up, which isn’t as now not easy as it sounds, nonetheless is undoubtedly simpler with one more set apart of fingers.
For the length of assembly, I realized some rough inner welding seams. They don’t appear to electrify the warmth retention, nonetheless they maintain been noticeable. My largest agonize is that after a few weeks in mushy Southern California climate I chanced on rust on aspects of the beginning air. When you happen to aquire this grill, straight away aquire a camouflage along with it.
Aspects and specs
All assembled, the Sportsman 850 has a conventional smoker invent, total with a metallic grease bucket and a stovepipe. Tyler Hayes/Change Insider
On the coronary heart of the Sportsman 850 is the extensive 849 sq. inches of cooking home and a 21-pound pellet hopper. Pit Boss optimized this grill for storage. On the elegant is a mounted meals shelf with utensil hooks and up entrance is one more shelf to support meals or instruments. The entrance shelf can’t be removed, nonetheless it does fold down for slimmer storage. Between the legs of the grill is a extensive shelf to support pellet bags or a ramification of odds and ends.
The customary working temperatures vary from 180 to 500 levels — that’s extraordinary for a smoker the put low and uninteresting cooking is the unbiased. What makes the Sportsman 850 a ramification of is that it may perchance well probably additionally win hot hot. With the Flame Broiler lever pulled start, the grill can reach 1,000 levels Fahrenheit for searing and insist warmth.
Two of the aspects of the grill encompass a pellet hopper (left) and an mature-college grease entice (elegant). Tyler Hayes/Change Insider
Pit Boss lists a ‘fleet igniter’ as considered one of the most aspects, claiming to will allow you to reach cooking temperatures twice as fleet; I’m unprejudiced now not certain what it’s being when compared to. From a cool start, the Sportsman took 10 minutes and 30 seconds to reach 225 levels. I did the same take a look at with a Traeger Timberline, and that smoker most attention-grabbing took 8 minutes and 59 seconds to reach the same temperature.
The grill aspects two probe ports, permitting you to video display the inner temperatures of just a few cuts concurrently. Most effective one probe comes with the grill, nonetheless, so a 2d one wants to be bought one at a time.
WiFi connectivity
Having a a ways off connection to a smoker is practically crucial in 2025. I know those who would desire the more manual technique of smoking meat, nonetheless for the extensive majority of us, the comfort of checking ambient and probe temperature faraway from the dwelling is magical.
The Sportsman 850 supports wireless connectivity by potential of WiFi or Bluetooth, reckoning on how terminate you are to the grill. I realize the necessity of having two forms of connection, nonetheless I chanced on that it led to a slower response time: the cell app desired to resolve its most attention-grabbing route at any time after I opened it, main to tense delays at well-known cooking conditions.
Each time I opened the app, I needed to anticipate it to breeze thru several connectivity steps (left). When the app used to be functioning neatly, I will even survey the grill temperature and timers (elegant). Tyler Hayes/Change Insider
At a overall level, the app is k. You can well with out issues survey and trade the temperature, set apart a timer, and survey linked probe temps. There are integrated recipes and the skill to assign them as your favorites. There are even how-to movies buried in the app ought to you desire that recordsdata. Nonetheless, the cell app wants polish. One example of this used to be its notifications: When I turned on the grill and set apart it to my desired temperature using the grill’s onboard controller, it didn’t ship an app notification when it reached its unbiased. A slight ingredient, nonetheless when when compared, Traeger’s app is a ways more legit with the same task. (Learn more in our handbook to essentially the most attention-grabbing Traeger grills.)
In theory, the app graphs ambient and probe temperatures, nonetheless this characteristic by no method worked for me over several weeks and bigger than half a dozen uses. The app’s cooking historic past log used to be additionally unreliable, usually listing just a few cooks with 0:00 conditions or listing the grisly length of time when it did understand one.
Smoking performance is mountainous nonetheless now not most attention-grabbing
I tested the Sportsman 850 with many utterly different forms of foods, collectively with steak. Tyler Hayes/Change Insider
The Sportsman 850 performed neatly and proved legit for smoking meat and a ramification of forms of meals. Although I’m now not convinced the mercurial igniter makes great of a incompatibility, the Sportsman did reach aim temperatures fleet and basically based on recipe estimates.
The largest ingredient of the smoker is its temperature retention. My periodic temperature exams with an infrared thermometer demonstrate that the grill keeps a consistent temperature, most attention-grabbing fluctuating temporarily a few conditions, in most cases on the hotter facet by 5 to 10 levels. Here is customary habits for a smoker. Equally, using the cell app to examine its reported temperature indicated the same results.
I smoked several racks of ribs, a slight turkey breast, steaks, and experimented with boneless country-vogue ribs and new ears of corn. Cooking the meat I used to be accustomed to got right here out as expected and practically the same to a ramification of smokers. I used to be equally as gratified with the novel recipes I regarded up online and tried.
The Pit Boss cell app has a tight different of recipes to win you began in advise for you them. I beloved how the recipe instructions maintain a checkbox subsequent to every step so that that you can well perchance presumably with out issues maintain observe of the put you are in the system.
I chanced on the hopper’s 21-pound skill sufficient, nonetheless its tremendous and slim invent, along with a non-removable security grate on the cease, made it now not easy to push the pellets down in the event that they didn’t continuously filter in with out agonize actual thru a smoking session.
The signature characteristic of the Sportsman 850 is the Flame Broiler lever (shown left and below the grill grate), which exposes the broiler for more insist warmth. Tyler Hayes/Change Insider
Whereas the Flame Broiler lever is a clear addition, I’m in doubt about its overall need. I feeble it on steaks to give them a sear and it worked neatly. But after spending time with the lever, my agonize isn’t spherical its functionality, nonetheless how great it’s wanted. Past searing steak, I didn’t receive many eventualities the put I’d desire to maintain interplay it for further warmth.
Be conscious, too, that once there may perchance well be very a few grease or meals remnants they can win fire when the Flame Broiler is engaged. I realized the soiled grates causing sparking and embers when uncovered to the fire, which used to be most attention-grabbing several inches away.
Cons to construct in mind
Two of the tremendous cons of the smoker are its control panel (left), which is confusing and now not easy to survey, and its sturdiness (elegant) — I realized rusting after only some weeks of expend. Tyler Hayes/Change Insider
As I tested the 850, the digital controller stood out as a outdated put of dwelling. Its largest whine is that it’s positioned low, so you will need to bend all the vogue down to survey it neatly. There are additionally some confusing markings, delight in dots between every temperature digit.
I additionally maintain concerns in regards to the enchancment and prolonged-term sturdiness. After a few weeks and most attention-grabbing two, nonconsecutive days of sunshine rain, I spotted rust on the address, shelf hooks, and high hinges. The grill does now not reach with a camouflage, so this may perchance be an immediate whine with out spending some further money.
Sportsman 850 vs Navigator 850
The Sportsman 850 isn’t essentially the most attention-grabbing Pit Boss grill to construct in mind on this tag vary. The Navigator 850 ought to potentially be to your radar as neatly. When when compared with the Sportsman 850, the Navigator 850 drops the smoke vent, provides a a lot bigger hopper (30-pound) and a a lot bigger hopper window, shifts the shelf hooks to the entrance, and makes some changes to the digital controller. As an instance, the Navigator’s controller has a coloration notify for simpler number distinction and has a flame depth indicator.
I’m now not rather certain why Pit Boss didn’t follow its extraordinary naming convention of the mannequin number reflecting the cooking home, nonetheless the Navigator 850 is bigger than the Sportsman 850, providing 932 sq. inches to your meals. One among essentially the most attention-grabbing invent changes in the Navigator is its grease win is under the grill, out of peep. These are slight changes, that maintain the Navigator worthy of consideration, especially pondering it prices unprejudiced $50 bigger than the Sportsman.
Might perchance perchance quiet you hold the Pit Boss Sportsman 850?
Whereas the Sportsman 850 is a tight grill, I mediate there are better choices accessible for most individuals. Tyler Hayes/Change Insider
The Pit Boss Sportsman 850 is an overall real smoker grill. Its standout characteristic, the Flame Broiler lever, presents it some uncommon versatility. I’m now not certain if that alone is sufficient to sway individuals to it over the competitors. I didn’t receive myself drawn to it or consistently using it — below no conditions sufficient to construct in mind it amongst essentially the most attention-grabbing grills that that you can well perchance presumably aquire.
As nice looking as the Sportsman 850 is due to its consistent temperature control, it unprejudiced falls short of the polish that the novel Traeger Woodridge grill has for across the same tag. Even the Pit Boss Navigator 850 seems delight in a a lot bigger-designed and more current grill for most attention-grabbing $50 more. When you happen to’ll receive a deal on the Sportsman 850, then it in overall is a worthy aquire.
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