Pit Boss Navigator 850 vs Camp Chef Woodwind Pro 24

The short version

These are two of the pellet grills we recommend for someone who wants to smoke low and slow andsear hot, without buying a second grill — and they land while making very different trade-offs to get there. The Pit Boss Navigator 850 is the value play: more grate, a bigger hopper, WiFi and Bluetooth, and a Flame Broiler lever that opens the firepot for open-flame searing. The Camp Chef Woodwind Pro 24is the enthusiast’s pick, and the pricier one: a polished Gen 2 PID controller, a Slide and Grill direct-flame door, a Smoke Box that burns wood chunks, and the best ash-management system in pellet grilling. Both make great barbecue; the decision is about which conveniences you value and how much you will pay for them.

Searing: Flame Broiler vs Slide and Grill

Both solve the pellet grill’s biggest weakness — that most top out near 500°F, which roasts a steak but won’t crust one — and they do it in similar ways. The Pit Boss Flame Broileris a sliding plate you pull to expose the firepot, opening direct open flame for searing up to roughly 1,000°F. The Camp Chef Slide and Grilldoor does the same thing on a smaller scale: it pulls back the diffuser to expose direct flame through a hatch, for direct-flame grilling up to 650°F. Both give you a genuine sear that a plain pellet grill can’t; the Pit Boss simply opens onto more flame, so it hits the higher number. Either one is a real answer to “can you sear on a pellet grill.”

Capacity and hopper

The Pit Boss wins on both numbers. It offers 932 sq in of cooking area to the Camp Chef’s 811, and a 30 lb hopper to the Camp Chef’s 22 lb. That bigger hopper is the more meaningful gap: it’s the difference between filling up once for an overnight brisket and topping off partway through. If you cook big or cook long and unattended, the Navigator’s extra grate and fuel capacity are a real edge for the money.

Controller and temperature

The Camp Chef’s Gen 2 PID controller has the edge on polish and steadiness. Both grills run PID-style control and both include WiFi, so both hold a low-and-slow line far better than the cheap on/off controllers of years past — but Camp Chef’s controller and app are generally regarded as the more refined and consistent of the two. Pit Boss’s controller and app are perfectly usable and have improved, but they can feel a step behind, and Pit Boss build tolerances vary a little more unit to unit. If rock-steady temperature and a tidy app matter most, Camp Chef leads.

Cleanup

This is Camp Chef’s signature win. Its patented ash-cleanout cup lets you pull a lever and dump the firepot ash into a cup in seconds — no shop-vac, no reaching into the barrel — and it’s genuinely the best ash-management system in the category. Ash is the chore that quietly decides how often you fire a pellet grill up, so if you cook frequently, that lever is worth real money. The Pit Boss uses a more conventional cleanout that works but takes more effort.

Navigator 850 vs Woodwind Pro 24 at a glance

Which should you buy?

Buy the Pit Boss Navigator 850if you want the most grill for the money — more cooking area, a bigger hopper for long unattended cooks, and a Flame Broiler sear — and you’re comfortable with an app that’s functional rather than the slickest. It’s our value pick in the best pellet grills roundup. Buy the Camp Chef Woodwind Pro 24if you cook often, want the steadiest temperatures and the most refined controller, and would pay meaningfully more to never fight ash again. Both sear, both smoke well, and both include WiFi — you’re really choosing between Pit Boss value and Camp Chef polish-and-cleanup. If you’re also cross-shopping the big-name option, our Traeger vs Pit Boss comparison covers that, and if you’re still deciding whether a pellet grill is right at all, read is a pellet grill worth it.