Had a Blackstone but hated the location of the grease trap, the lousy lid that I paid extra for (and just knocks the grease trap off all the time) and the 36" size was just too large for a household of 2 people. So I took a chance on this since it was so cheap. I really like it. Obviously my love for this thing is conditional on the fact that it was 1/3 the price of the BS, but it does what it's suppose to do and in some cases it's better than the BS. Assembly took me about a half hour and was very easy. No major scuffs, only some dust that required a wet towel. The 28" top is plenty large for us, and I really love the location of the grease traps and cups. I plan on making some metal plugs to put in the holes so I don't accidentally lose food down the traps. The griddle surface is a bit thinner than the BS (or at least the side walls are) which will probably mean it will gain/lose heat faster, which is a pro and a con. The underside of the cooktop has square metal tubing welded to it to prevent warping. The knobs are trash, but once again..cheapest 28" griddle by a mile, and you can replace knobs, so no big deal. Pic 3 shows a bit of a snowflake/butterfly patter on the grill surface. This was right when I fired it up for the first time, so gives a good idea where the heat will be located when both grills are on. The brown discoloration in the other pic shows the griddle after about 15 minutes on high heat. The back sides of the griddle have holes so you could install a lid of you know what you're doing. The wheels are the rollerblade style and work just fine on my cobblestone patio. I know the whole thing is made to collapse down, but this isn't a portable griddle by any stretch. If you're looking for something you can move around, there are smaller and lighter options that make more sense in my opinion. there's a match-light chain on the back in case the ignitor gives out. The holding mechanism for the propane tank isn't as nice as the Blackstone, but it works and how often do you have to mess with that? Once a year? So one other major issue I had with my BS is that the inner 4-6" of the side tables were unusable because the heat sliding out from under the sides of the cooktop was too hot. That is not an issue here for whatever reason. I threw a paper towel in one of the drip cups and set it near the inner edge of the table and it wasn't even really warm to the touch after about 5-10 minutes. With the BS, just a couple minutes in that location would melt plastic and maybe cause a fire. It IS shorter than the BS by a few inches, which is noticeable. I'm 6'4, so a bit of a con for me, but probably the perfect height for anyone under 6', especially when you have to reach to the back of the cooktop. I'm removing the legs this summer and making it a sort of built-in for the outdoor kitchen, so the height for me is only a temporary problem. Overall, at the price this is going at currently, feels like a no-brainer for anyone watching their pennies. Yes, the BS is probably an overall nicer grill, but it's worse in key areas and costs a lot more. Snag this while it's still in stock. If you don't like it you could probably sell it for at least as much as you paid.