The Napoleon PRO22 Kettle Charcoal Grill is for Canadian backyard cooks who want more even heat across long, low-and-slow cooks than a standard kettle can deliver — its convex heat diffuser tackles the center hotspot that traditional kettles struggle with, and AmazingRibs.com awarded it a Gold Medal in direct comparison with Weber. The hinged grate and lifetime bowl-and-lid warranty put it on par with Weber's Premium trim feature-for-feature, and Napoleon itself is a Barrie, Ontario-based company. That heat-management edge comes at a real cost, though: at roughly $489 CAD on Amazon.ca, it runs about $210 CAD above Weber's comparably-equipped Premium kettle for a chrome-plated rod grate instead of cast iron.
Pros
- Convex heat diffuser reduces the center hotspot common to kettle grills
- Hinged grate for mid-cook charcoal refueling
- Durable porcelain-enameled bowl and lid with lifetime warranty
- Hood-mounted heat indicator built in
- AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal rating
Cons
- Priced well above Weber's comparably-equipped Original Kettle Premium
- Chrome-plated steel rod grate rather than cast iron
- Basic ash catcher lacks Weber's One-Touch lever convenience
Overview
At around $489 CAD, the Napoleon PRO22 Kettle Charcoal Grill sits well above Weber’s 22-inch kettles on price — a gap wide enough that it’s worth understanding exactly what the extra money buys before choosing between them. Sold on Amazon.ca, it’s the leg-mounted (no-cart) version of Napoleon’s charcoal kettle line, built around the same porcelain-enameled 22.5-inch bowl and lid format that’s defined this style of grill for decades.
The core pitch is heat management: Napoleon builds a convex heat diffuser into the bowl, a feature Weber’s kettles skip entirely, aimed at spreading heat more evenly across the grate and taming the center hotspot that direct-fire kettles are known for. AmazingRibs.com tested Napoleon’s kettle line directly against Weber and came away calling it a genuine alternative rather than a budget knockoff — notable praise in a category Weber has dominated for generations, and worth noting Napoleon is itself a Barrie, Ontario-based company, giving Canadian backyard cooks a domestic option worth a look alongside the more familiar Weber import.
Key Specifications
| Price (CAD) | approx. $489 CAD |
| Cooking Area | 365 sq in (about 13 burgers per cook) |
| Construction | Porcelain-enameled steel bowl and lid, 22.5-inch diameter |
| Fuel Type | Charcoal briquettes or lump charcoal |
| Grate | Hinged, chrome-plated steel rod cooking grate |
| Heat Management | Built-in convex heat diffuser |
| Extras | Hood-mounted heat indicator, removable ash catcher |
| Warranty | Lifetime on bowl/lid, 2-year on rod grate and hardware |
Napoleon PRO22 Kettle Charcoal Grill Heat Control & Airflow Management
The convex heat diffuser is the grill’s signature engineering choice, and it’s the reason Napoleon markets this line as more than a Weber clone. AmazingRibs.com’s testers noted the diffuser does what Napoleon claims: it spreads heat more evenly across the cooking surface and moderates the intense hotspot that sits directly above the coals in a standard kettle bowl, which matters most on longer cooks where uneven heat can dry out one side of a brisket while the other stays underdone.
AmazingRibs.com awarded the grill a Gold Medal rating and summed up its position bluntly: it’s hard to beat a Weber kettle, but Napoleon holds its own against formidable competition. That’s a meaningful result in a category where Weber’s name is close to generic for the format — Napoleon isn’t winning outright, but it isn’t losing badly either.
Cooking Grate Design & Charcoal Access
The PRO22 uses a hinged, chrome-plated steel rod cooking grate rather than the cast-iron grids found on some of Napoleon’s higher-trim cart models — worth knowing since Napoleon’s PRO series spans several grate materials depending on configuration. The hinge splits the grate so fresh charcoal can be added mid-cook without lifting food off the grill, the same convenience Weber reserves for its pricier Premium trim rather than its base Original Kettle.
A removable ash catcher underneath handles post-cook cleanup, and a hood-mounted heat indicator on the lid gives a rough read on internal temperature without lifting the lid and losing heat. It’s a simpler gauge than a digital probe thermometer, and anyone doing serious low-and-slow cooks should still budget for one separately — the same caveat that applies to Weber’s built-in lid thermometers.
Build Quality & Durability
The 22.5-inch bowl and lid are porcelain-enameled steel, the same base material Weber uses across its entire kettle line, and it resists rust and peeling better than painted steel over years of outdoor storage. Napoleon backs the bowl and lid with a lifetime warranty against rust-through, with shorter coverage tiers on other components — two years on the rod cooking grate and charcoal grate, longer on plastic handles and other hardware.
That tiered warranty structure is standard for the category rather than a Napoleon-specific weak point — Weber’s own kettles carry a similar 10-year limit on the bowl and lid rather than true lifetime coverage on every part. Where Napoleon’s build differs in practice is the price it’s asking for a comparable feature set: chrome-plated rod grates and a basic ash catcher are the same tier of hardware Weber includes on its cheaper Original Kettle line, not its Premium trim.
How Does It Stack Up Against the Competition?
Charcoal kettle grills span a wide price range, from budget base models to premium trims and kamado-style cookers.
| Feature | Napoleon PRO22 Kettle | Weber Original Kettle Premium | Weber Original Kettle (Standard) | Char-Griller AKORN Jr. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price (CAD) | approx. $489 CAD | ~$279 CAD | ~$199 CAD | ~$290 CAD |
| Cooking Area | 365 sq in | 363 sq in | 363 sq in | 155 sq in |
| Built-In Heat Indicator | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Hinged Grate | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Heat Diffuser | Yes (convex diffuser) | No | No | Double-wall insulation |
| TTP Review | This review ↑ | Read our review → | Read our review → | Read our review → |
Prices change frequently — always verify current pricing before purchasing.
Is the Napoleon PRO22 Kettle Charcoal Grill Worth It?
The Napoleon PRO22 Kettle Charcoal Grill earns its AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal fairly — the convex heat diffuser is a genuine engineering advantage over Weber’s kettle line, and the hinged grate plus lifetime bowl-and-lid warranty put it on equal footing with Weber’s Premium trim feature-for-feature. Anyone specifically chasing more even heat distribution on longer cooks has a real reason to pick this over a Weber.
The trade-off is price: at roughly $210 CAD more than Weber’s Premium kettle for a chrome-plated rod grate rather than cast iron, and a basic ash catcher rather than Weber’s One-Touch lever system, the Napoleon asks a real premium for one specific advantage. Buyers who don’t especially care about heat-diffuser performance will get more grill for less money from Weber’s Original Kettle Premium instead.
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