While other companies have tried to break down the door and knock Lynx off their perch or have tried to regroup to reclaim dominance they once wielded in the outdoor kitchen / pro grill space, Lynx continued to consistently motor on, defending their championship belt at every turn. Each year, they would innovate with new product (Smart Grills, Asados, smokers, pizza ovens) and tweak older produce so as to always improve.
In 2013 Lynx decided it was time to open the line to more price conscious wallets, a strategy Mercedes employed when they created the 190E in the late 80’s and more recently the C-class. Strategically it makes sense – let more folks drink from the Lynx cup of love, get them into the brand and you very well may have a customer for life. So with that in mind, the Lynx Sedona line was born.
So aside from the MASSIVE price difference between Sedona and the venerable Lynx Professional series (we’ll get to that in a sec) what are the main differences?
Instead of just buying a Lynx grill head or purchasing one on a cart, the Sedona line offers the ability to buy 2 different island packages featuring a 30″ or 36″ grill, 24″ refrigerator, storage doors/drawers and a side burner….or you can opt to purchase the traditional way and buy the 30″ or 36″ alone or with a cart.
I’m of the belief that most folks are NOT going to opt for the island package so let’s look at the Sedona grills that are available:
42″ Lynx Sedona Grill – L700PSR
(cart is the L700CART)
36″ Lynx Sedona Grill – L600PSR
(cart is the L600CART)
30″ Lynx Sedona Grill – L500PSR
(cart is the L500CART)
(In addition Lynx is the first grill company to offer ADA compliant grills)
So let’s break down the two grills head to head and compare/contrast the feature set then I will provide more color in the closing…
Lynx Professional 42″ L42PSR-2
The Lynx Professional 42″ offers 3 ceramic burners that rock out at 75K BTU’s. It also offers 1200 sq inches of cooking surface.
The rotisserie has a 3 speed motor with heavy duty action and cooks with a rear infrared burner. The handle (similar to the Alfresco grill) allows for fluid rotation when you open/close it which will alleviate strain on your wrist.
The 42″ Sedona by Lynx – L700PSR
The 42″ Sedona can bring it, but the features definitely pale compared to the Professional version. Cooking surface goes from 1200 sq inches down to 1049. You lose the brass burners in Sedona and since there is no mention of the burner output on Sedona I will assume it’s a significant drop from the Lynx Professional’s 75K Btu’s across it’s 3 ceramic burners. Sedona also doesn’t offer the fluid rotation handle (that’s a great feature folks, trust me, carpal tunnel sufferers will appreciate it). I also believe the stainless gauge that Lynx is using on Sedona grills is a larger gauge meaning it’s not as thick as what is found on the Professional series.
So what would I do?
I am a serious griller (I actually use my grill year round in the Northeast, nothing like grilled lobster in December!) so for my purposes I would opt for the Professional series knowing that:
A) It’s overall build is better
B) It has more grilling area
C) It has the fluid rotation handle
D) It has hotter burners
However, the Sedona is a perfectly sound choice for the masses. Why?
A) The price spread
B) You are still getting the Lynx name and warranty
C) You are still receiving a variable powered Sear zone. That’s important b/c it will allow you to cook more delicate things like seafood on the sear.
So the verdict is – if you are hardcore, go with the pro. Otherwise, you’re Sedona bound!