So I bought this after using a 36\" Blackstone and doing some shopping around. Nothing about any of these griddles is proprietary. It all comes down to quality and if you are going to get Chinese quality you might as well pay a Chinese quality price. This unit is nearly identical to ones that sell for $300+ or even $500+ at Lowe's, HD, and online as Razor or Blue Rhino. For $218 I figured it was worth it. Even the Blackstones I've used have had tops warp so I fully expect this one to warp eventually. Top warpping is more of a function of agfressive heat up and cool down cycles than thickness anyways. It's reinforced with angle iron underneath and is very heavy top on a cheap flimsy stand. It's not more portable than a regular patio grill. Folding it up and rolling it anywhere is wishful thinking. You'd need two people to get it into the back of a truck. The hardware and directions that comes with it is basically build your own adventure. If you aren't handy this is not something you want to assemble. I used stainless fender washers everywhere to reinforce and balance out cheap construction and mismatched supplied hardware. If you think you can assemble this because you built an IKEA shelf once, think again. The directions and pictures are terribly printed and borderline non-existent. I riveted in some magnetic knife mounts to the folding covers to hold spatulas underneath when they flip out as shelves. I've added a blue rhino razor cover and I'm looking for a silicone cover to protect the seasoning I'm building. This won't be confused with a Weber anytime soon and honestly is poorer quality than the last char-broil grill I bought. Overall I'd buy again and recommend to a friend thats handy and frugal. For $200 it can cook like a Blackstone with a better drip tray, smaller footprint, and better integrated cover.
Shannon Nicholson 
