With regards to cooking area, its actually the cheaper option, the Austin XL, which provides the larger overall cooking area and the main grate with an advantage of 159 square inches over the Competition Series 850. The pellet hopper on the Austin XL is also larger, holding 30 lbs on the Austin XL and only 21 lbs on the Competition Series 850.

Really, there is only one advantage of the Competition Series 850 over the Austin XL, and its that it comes with WiFi connectivity and can therefore use the Pit Boss SmokeIT App.

Is that worth it to you for the lower overall cooking area and smaller hopper for an additional $50? Well, that's something you'd have to decide for yourself. You can compare these two pellet grills in more detail through the link to our database below.

How does the Pit Boss Austin XL Onyx Edition compare against the Pit Boss Competition Series 850?

When any pellet grill/smoker is producing a lot of smoke, you should be prepared for the temperature to swing more, that's just the way it goes.

However, if you want the most smoke, you should be looking for a pellet grill/smoker with a dedicated smoke box. This can be loaded with pellets, wood chips, chunks, or charcoal.

With our database (link below), you can pre-filter for models with the Smoke Box feature. Examples include the Camp Chef Woodwind Pro 36 and the Members Mark 36" pellet smoker.

Which pellet smokers produce the best smoke?

But what about the other Traeger models? Well, all the components can be sourced from Traeger and other third-party sellers. So keeping any Traeger model going for 10 years or more should be possible.

As Traeger's are made from carbon steel through, keeping rust at bay is something you would want to focus on as well as keeping the grill in a dry/ventilated environment when not in use ideally.

With the reduced pricing of the Timberline 1300, the Timberline XL is literally double the price!

While I do think the Timberline XL is an improved design, I don't think its worth double the price, but there we go.

Now, how long will Traeger continue to sell the older Timberline models for I'm not sure. They're still selling first-generation Pro Series models, while the second-generation models have been on the market for nearly 5 years.

Is the Traeger Timberline 1300 being discontinued?

However, even when comparing pellet grills against other pellet grills with our database (link below), you will notice that for pellet grills of similar size/features, Traeger pellet grills do demand a higher price point.

What's the reason for the higher price point of Traeger products? Well, as the first brand and the most well known brand in the game, they have developed a loyal following of customers who are willing to pay the higher price point.