Pit Boss Sportsman 850 review: I've tested nearly a dozen smokers and this is the first one I've used with a lever for searing meat

Business Insider

18 hours ago

In keeping with the familiar, time-tested design of wood-pellet smokers, the Pit Boss Sportsman 850 is pretty traditional — it's even got a classic venting pipe and a hanging bucket to catch grease drips. But despite the traditional design, it has one unique feature: a pull lever, which will expose your food to direct heat and flames. It's a moderately priced grill, retailing for $749, that should have plenty of cooking space to feed a room full of people.
Over the last several years, I've tested nearly a dozen of the best BBQ smokers and best pellet grills, including the new Traeger Woodridge Elite, and the Sportsman 850 stacks up well in its raw performance. The heat is consistent, and there are a decent number of features. My biggest concern, however, is that compared to other products, it's just not that polished, which means it doesn't offer the best experience for newcomers and casual backyard smokers.
Assembly
The grill comes in a sizable box, weighing around 140 pounds. I assembled it where the box was delivered and then rolled it into the backyard. The actual work of attaching the Sportsman 850's four legs, wheels, a handle, and a few other pieces is manageable, but a few steps require a second person. For instance, I simply couldn't screw two of the legs in while holding them in place. The grill does need to be laid down on the ground and picked back up, which isn't as hard as it sounds, but is definitely easier with another set of hands.
During assembly, I noticed some rough internal welding seams. They don't seem to impact the heat retention, but they were noticeable. My biggest concern is that after a few weeks in mild Southern California weather I found rust on parts of the exterior. If you buy this grill, immediately buy a cover along with it.
Features and specs
At the heart of the Sportsman 850 is the sizable 849 square inches of cooking space and a 21-pound pellet hopper. Pit Boss optimized this grill for storage. On the right is a fixed food shelf with utensil hooks and up front is another shelf to hold food or tools. The front shelf can't be removed, but it does fold down for slimmer storage. Between the legs of the grill is a wide shelf to hold pellet bags or other odds and ends.
The normal operating temperatures range from 180 to 500 degrees — that's typical for a smoker where low and slow cooking is the goal. What makes the Sportsman 850 different is that it can also get scorching hot. With the Flame Broiler lever pulled open, the grill can reach 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit for searing and direct heat.
Pit Boss lists a 'rapid igniter' as one of the features, claiming to help you reach cooking temperatures twice as fast; I'm just not sure what it's being compared to. From a cold start, the Sportsman took 10 minutes and 30 seconds to reach 225 degrees. I did the same test with a Traeger Timberline, and that smoker only took 8 minutes and 59 seconds to reach the same temperature.
The grill features two probe ports, allowing you to monitor the internal temperatures of multiple cuts simultaneously. Only one probe comes with the grill, however, so a second one must be purchased separately.
WiFi connectivity
Having a remote connection to a smoker is nearly essential in 2025. I know people who would prefer the more manual process of smoking meat, but for the majority of us, the convenience of checking ambient and probe temperature away from the house is magical.
The Sportsman 850 supports wireless connectivity via WiFi or Bluetooth, depending on how close you are to the grill. I understand the necessity of having two types of connection, but I found that it led to a slower response time: the mobile app needed to determine its best path every time I opened it, leading to annoying delays at crucial cooking times.
At a basic level, the app is fine. You can easily see and change the temperature, set a timer, and see connected probe temps. There are integrated recipes and the ability to save them as your favorites. There are even how-to videos buried in the app if you want that info. However, the mobile app needs polish. One example of this was its notifications: When I turned on the grill and set it to my desired temperature using the grill's onboard controller, it didn't send an app notification when it reached its goal. A small detail, but in comparison, Traeger's app is a lot more reliable with the same task. (Read more in our guide to the best Traeger grills.)
In theory, the app graphs ambient and probe temperatures, but this feature never worked for me over several weeks and more than half a dozen uses. The app's cooking history log was also unreliable, sometimes listing multiple cooks with 0:00 times or listing the wrong duration of time when it did recognize one.
Smoking performance is great but not perfect
The Sportsman 850 performed well and proved reliable for smoking meat and other kinds of food. Though I'm not convinced the rapid igniter makes much of a difference, the Sportsman did reach target temperatures quickly and in line with recipe estimates.
The most important aspect of the smoker is its temperature retention. My periodic temperature checks with an infrared thermometer indicate that the grill keeps a consistent temperature, only fluctuating briefly a few times, usually on the hotter side by 5 to 10 degrees. This is normal behavior for a smoker. Similarly, using the mobile app to check its reported temperature indicated the same results.
I smoked several racks of ribs, a small turkey breast, steaks, and experimented with boneless country-style ribs and fresh ears of corn. Cooking the meat I was familiar with came out as expected and nearly identical to other smokers. I was equally as satisfied with the new recipes I looked up online and tried.
The Pit Boss mobile app has a decent number of recipes to get you started if you need them. I liked how the recipe directions have a checkbox next to each step so you can easily keep track of where you are in the process.
I found the hopper's 21-pound capacity sufficient, but its tall and narrow design, along with a non-removable security grate at the top, made it hard to push the pellets down if they didn't always filter in smoothly during a smoking session.
While the Flame Broiler lever is a neat addition, I'm unsure about its general need. I used it on steaks to give them a sear and it worked well. But after spending time with the lever, my concern isn't around its functionality, but how much it's needed. Beyond searing steak, I didn't find many situations where I'd want to engage it for extra heat.
Be aware, too, that when there is a lot of grease or food remnants they can catch fire when the Flame Broiler is engaged. I noticed the dirty grates causing sparking and embers when exposed to the fire, which was only several inches away.
Cons to consider
As I tested the 850, the digital controller stood out as a weak spot. Its biggest problem is that it's positioned low, so you need to bend down to see it well. There are also some confusing markings, like dots between each temperature digit.
I also have concerns about the construction and long-term durability. After a few weeks and only two, nonconsecutive days of light rain, I spotted rust on the handle, shelf hooks, and top hinges. The grill does not come with a cover, so this will be an immediate problem without spending some extra money.
Sportsman 850 vs Navigator 850
The Sportsman 850 isn't the only Pit Boss grill to consider in this price range. The Navigator 850 should probably be on your radar as well. Compared to the Sportsman 850, the Navigator 850 drops the smoke vent, adds a larger hopper (30-pound) and a bigger hopper window, shifts the shelf hooks to the front, and makes some changes to the digital controller. For example, the Navigator's controller has a color display for easier number distinction and has a flame intensity indicator.
I'm not quite sure why Pit Boss didn't stick with its usual naming convention of the model number reflecting the cooking area, but the Navigator 850 is bigger than the Sportsman 850, offering 932 square inches for your food. One of the most interesting design changes in the Navigator is its grease catch is underneath the grill, out of sight. These are small changes, that make the Navigator worthy of consideration, especially considering it costs just $50 more than the Sportsman.
Should you buy the Pit Boss Sportsman 850?
The Pit Boss Sportsman 850 is an overall solid smoker grill. Its standout feature, the Flame Broiler lever, gives it some unique versatility. I'm not sure if that alone is enough to sway people to it over the competition. I didn't find myself drawn to it or constantly using it — certainly not enough to consider it among the best grills you can buy.
As intriguing as the Sportsman 850 is because of its consistent temperature control, it just falls short of the polish that the new Traeger Woodridge grill has for around the same price. Even the Pit Boss Navigator 850 seems like a better-designed and more modern grill for only $50 more. If you can find a deal on the Sportsman 850, then it could be a worthy buy.