You’re probably looking at the Z Grills Cruiser 200A because you want a portable pellet smoker that is easy to use, does not cost as much as the big-name options, and still gives you real wood-smoked food.
We’ve cooked on the Cruiser 200A a lot, both smoking and grilling. And, while it is not a big smoker and it is not packed with extras, it has become one of those small pellet grills that makes a lot more sense in real life than it does just looking at the specs.
In this review, I’ll walk through what the Z Grills Cruiser 200A is actually like to cook on, how much food fits, how it handles temperature, what annoys me about it, and whether it is better as a camping smoker, a small home pellet grill, or both.
Note – The Z Grills Cruiser 200A that we trialled and photographed for this review is the celsius version for the overseas market. This means that the display panel has been changed out to show the temperature in celsius only and also says ‘Grilled’ instead of ‘Z Grills’.
All the other components are exactly the same as you will get in the US.
The temperature scale displayed in no way affects the performance of the unit.
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Table of Contents
Quick Verdict
The Z Grills Cruiser 200A is a small, simple, portable pellet smoker that cooks better than its size and price suggest.
It does not have WiFi. It does not come with a meat probe. And, because the cooking grate sits fairly close to the heat deflector, you do need to flip meat partway through longer cooks if you want the most even result.
But, as a compact wood pellet smoker for ribs, pork butt, burgers, sausages, steaks, fish, butterflied chicken, and smaller family cooks, it works really well.
The temperature control has been very steady in our use. The 8 pound hopper is plenty for most low and slow cooks on a smoker this size. And, the briefcase-style body with proper side handles is much easier to move than a lot of folding-leg “portable” pellet grills.
Buy this if:
- You want a portable pellet smoker that is genuinely easy to move
- You usually cook for 1–4 people
- You want real wood pellet flavor without managing charcoal or vents
- You like the idea of using it at home as well as away
- You do not need WiFi or a large cooking area
- You want a smaller smoker that does not waste pellets heating a huge chamber
Skip This if:
- You need to cook for a crowd
- You want strong charcoal-style smoke flavor
- You want open-flame grilling or a proper steakhouse sear
- You do not have access to power or a portable power setup
- You want WiFi built in
- You do not want to buy or use a separate meat thermometer
At a Glance
Strengths
- Easy to use for smoking and grilling.
- Strong briefcase-style body.
- Side handles make it much easier to lift and move.
- Good temperature control in real cooks.
- 202 square inches is useful for a portable smoker.
- 8 pound hopper is enough for most cooks on a smoker this size.
- Efficient for small weeknight cooks at home.
- Simple cleanup if you foil the heat deflector.
Weaknesses
- No WiFi.
- Meat probe is not included.
- 40 pounds is portable, but still heavier than some people expect.
- No open-flame grilling.
- Meat sits close to the heat deflector, so flipping matters.
- Hopper is not easy to empty if you want to change pellets.
Best use case
The Cruiser 200A is best for people who want a small pellet smoker for camping, RV use, weekends away, or simple at-home cooks for a couple or small family.
It is not a replacement for a full-size pellet grill if you regularly cook briskets, multiple pork shoulders, or food for a crowd.
What the Z Grills Cruiser 200A Is Actually Like to Cook On
The main thing I like about the Z Grills Cruiser 200A is that it feels simple.
You fill the hopper, open the lid, set it to smoke for startup, wait until the fire is going properly, choose your cooking temperature, let it come up to heat, and put the food on.
There is not much to think about, which is exactly what I want from a portable pellet smoker.
Once it is running, the Cruiser settles into a steady cooking rhythm. The rear vents pull smoke across the cooking chamber nicely, and we’ve had good smoke rings and a noticeable wood-smoked flavor from it.
It is not as smoky as cooking on charcoal or a stick burner. That is normal for pellet smokers. But, for an easy tabletop unit, the smoke flavor is definitely there.
We’ve used it for ribs, pork shoulder, burgers, sausages, steak, and butterflied chicken. It is one of those smokers where I expected to smoke on it more than grill on it, but because it is small and quick to use, we actually ended up grilling on it a lot too.
If I only want to cook a few burgers, steaks, sausages, or a butterflied chicken, I do not always want to fire up a full-sized pellet grill. The Cruiser makes those smaller cooks feel worthwhile.
Smoking on the Z Grills Cruiser 200A
Smoking is where the Cruiser makes the most sense.
It is easy to run, the hopper lasts well, and the smaller cooking chamber means you are not wasting pellets heating a large barbecue for one rack of ribs or a small pork butt.
The 202 square inch cooking area is obviously not huge. But, it is more usable than it sounds.
Z Grills says it fits 6 burgers, 1 rack of ribs, or 1 butterflied chicken. That is accurate, with room around the food. We’ve also fitted more by choosing the right cuts and arranging everything properly.
There is about 6 inches of height inside the cooking chamber, so taller cuts like pork butt fit without hitting the lid. You could also do a smaller brisket or half brisket, as long as you’re realistic about the space.
For 2–4 people, the Cruiser is enough. For a family meal, it can still work depending on what you’re cooking. But, it is not a smoker for loading up with multiple large cuts.
The 8 pound hopper is a good size for this smoker. I have not needed to refill it mid-smoke or mid-grill. At lower smoking temperatures, it should give you well over 8 hours of cooking time, and most things you cook on a portable pellet smoker are not going to need more than that anyway.
Grilling on the Z Grills Cruiser 200A
The Cruiser can grill, but you need to understand what kind of grilling it does.
At its highest setting, it gets to about 450°F. That is hot enough for burgers, sausages, fish, steaks, and chicken. But, it is still indirect heat.
The heat deflector stays in place, so you are not cooking over an open flame. It is more like grilling in a very hot wood-fired oven.
That means you should not expect a hard, open-flame sear like you’d get from charcoal or gas. You can get decent color and some sear marks, but it is not the same as cooking directly over fire.
In saying that, I was surprised by how much we used it for grilling.
Because the cooking area is small, it does not feel wasteful to heat it up just for a few burgers or a couple of steaks. And, because it runs with the lid down, the heat around the food is fairly even.
Just like with smoking, flipping helps. You are still cooking fairly close to the heat source, even though it is underneath the deflector, so I would not leave meat untouched for the whole cook.
Use a meat thermometer too. It is easy to overdo smaller cuts on a compact pellet grill because everything is happening close to the firepot.
Performance Breakdown
Temperature Control
Temperature control has been one of the best things about the Cruiser 200A.
Z Grills says the updated digital controller keeps the heat within about 15°F of your target temperature. In our use, it has usually been better than that.
When smoking and grilling, the Cruiser generally stayed within about 10°F of the target. And, it did that across a lot of cooks and different weather conditions.
That matters because on a small smoker, big temperature swings would dry food out very quickly. But, the Cruiser has been steady enough that I do not feel like I have to babysit it.
There is not much cooking space for big hot and cool zones to develop either. The heat across the grate has been fairly even, as long as you remember that the food is still close to the heat deflector.
Smoke Flavor
The Cruiser gives you a good, clean pellet smoke flavor.
You can get a nice smoke ring, and food comes off with that real wood-fired taste. It is not heavy smoke. If you want a stronger charcoal flavor, you will probably prefer something like a Pit Barrel Cooker or a Weber Smokey Mountain.
But, for easy pellet smoking, the flavor is good.
If you’re deciding between pellet and charcoal for flavor and effort, this is where the trade-off matters. A pellet smoker like the Cruiser is much easier to run, but charcoal will usually give you a stronger smoke profile. You can read more about our favorite portable charcoal smokers in our portable smoker round-up.
Capacity
The Cruiser has 202 square inches of cooking space.
That sounds small because it is small. But, for a portable pellet smoker, it is actually useful.
You can fit:
- 6 burgers.
- 1 rack of ribs.
- 1 butterflied chicken.
- A pork butt.
- A small or half brisket.
- Sausages or steaks for a small family.
- A rack of ribs plus another smaller cut if arranged well.
The height inside the lid helps a lot. A lot of compact grills feel cramped not just because of the grate size, but because the lid is too low. The Cruiser gives you enough height for thicker cuts.
Where it does run out is width.
If you want to cook full packer briskets, multiple racks of ribs, or several pork shoulders, this is not the right smoker. You’ll want a full-sized pellet smoker instead.
Pellet Hopper and Fuel Use
The 8 pound pellet hopper is well matched to the size of the Cruiser.
On a full-sized pellet grill, 8 pounds would feel small. On this, it works.
Because you are only heating a small cooking chamber, the Cruiser does not burn through pellets unnecessarily when smoking. At lower temperatures, I’d expect well over 8 hours from a full hopper, and I have not needed to refill it during a normal cook.
Grilling uses more pellets per hour because the smoker has to maintain a higher temperature. But, grilling cooks are shorter, so it still has not been an issue.
The only annoying thing is that the hopper is not easy to empty.
If you want to change pellet flavors, there is no proper dump door. You either burn through what is in there or awkwardly tip the unit. For me, that is not a big problem because I do not change pellet flavors constantly. But, it is worth knowing before you buy.
Build Quality and Portability
The Cruiser is made from powder-coated steel with porcelain-coated steel grates. The body feels strong, sturdy, and much better than I expected for the price.
The briefcase-style design is one of my favorite things about it.
A lot of “portable” pellet smokers use folding legs. Those can work, but they also make the grill bulkier and often less stable. The Cruiser is just a solid tabletop unit with latches and side handles.
The side handles make a real difference. It is still 40 pounds, so it is not feather-light. But, the handles make it easy enough to pick up and move without feeling awkward.
The lid latches keep everything shut during transport, and the boxy body feels like it can handle being moved around.
You do need somewhere to put it. A sturdy table, bench, tailgate, or outdoor cooking station is ideal. I would not put it on the ground if you have kids running around.
Using the Cruiser at Home
Even though the Cruiser is sold as a portable pellet smoker, I think it makes just as much sense as a small at-home pellet grill.
If you are cooking for one, two, or a smaller family, you do not always need a full-size barbecue. Sometimes you just want to smoke a rack of ribs, grill a few burgers, or cook a butterflied chicken without firing up a much larger pellet smoker.
This is where the Cruiser works really well.
It is small enough to move into the garage or store undercover when you are not using it. But, it is still big enough to cook real meals, not just novelty camping food.
For families who want to smoke huge briskets or meal prep a lot of meat, it will feel too small. But, for regular weeknight cooking or smaller weekend smokes, it is more useful than I expected.
Powering the Z Grills Cruiser 200A
Like every pellet smoker, the Cruiser needs electricity.
It uses power for the igniter, auger, and fan. At home, you can plug it into a standard outlet or use an extension cord. In an RV setup, the same thing will probably work fine.
If you want to use it somewhere more remote, you will need a battery and inverter or a portable power station. Read more about three portable power setups that will work with this and other portable pellet grills.
The Cruiser uses more power during startup, then much less once the fire is burning. So, running it for hours from a small power setup is realistic.
This is important because it is portable, but it is not powerless. If you want a smoker you can take anywhere with no electrical setup at all, charcoal will be the better choice.
Meat Thermometer Use
The Cruiser has a port for a wired meat probe, but the probe is not included.
That is one of the things I do not love. It is not a huge expense to add one, but it would be nice if it came in the box.
We tested the Cruiser with a Z Grills probe plugged into the controller, and it read within a few degrees of our MEATER thermometer. So, the port works fine if you want a cheap wired option.
But, most of the time we use a wireless thermometer instead.
With the Cruiser being so compact, I really do recommend using some sort of thermometer. It makes it much easier to avoid overcooking meat, especially when grilling smaller cuts close to the heat deflector.
A wireless option is easier because you do not have to thread a probe wire through the rear vent, and you do not have to clean a messy wire afterwards.
You can read more about the one we use in our MEATER review.
Cleaning
Cleaning the Cruiser is very similar to cleaning a full-sized pellet smoker, just smaller.
After cooking, scrape the grate while it is still warm. Once everything is completely cold, you can remove the grate and heat deflector to clean out the firepot.
Because the firepot is small, I clean it out more often than I would on a larger pellet smoker. Every 2–3 smokes is a good rhythm for me.
A small shop vac makes this much easier. Just make sure the ash is completely cold before vacuuming it. If you are using the Cruiser for RV or camping use, a smaller portable vacuum would make more sense than a full-size shop vac.
The other cleaning job is the heat deflector and drip bucket.
The Cruiser’s heat deflector sends drippings out the back and into the grease bucket. That system works fine, but the heat deflector will get dirty.
The easiest fix is to wrap the heat deflector in foil.
You still need to replace the foil every few cooks, but it is so much faster than scraping baked-on grease from the deflector. I would definitely do this from the start.
What to Expect From the Z Grills Cruiser 200A
The Cruiser 200A is easy to use, but it is still a small pellet smoker with a few real limitations.
- Expect steady temperatures without much babysitting.
- Expect lighter pellet smoke, not heavy charcoal smoke.
- Expect to flip meat during longer cooks for the most even result.
- Expect enough room for smaller family meals, not large BBQ sessions.
- Expect decent grilling, but not open-flame searing.
- Expect the hopper to last well for most normal cooks.
- Expect to use more pellets when grilling at high heat.
- Expect to need electricity, even when using it away from home.
- Expect to buy or use a separate meat thermometer.
- Expect cleanup to be easy if you foil the heat deflector and vacuum the firepot regularly.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- The briefcase-style body is sturdy and easy to move.
- The side handles are much better than trying to lift a portable smoker awkwardly from underneath.
- The lid latches keep everything closed during transport.
- Temperature control has been very steady in our use.
- The smoke flavor is good for an easy pellet smoker.
- The 8 pound hopper is enough for most cooks on a smoker this size.
- It is efficient for small cooks because you are not heating a large pellet grill.
- It works well for both portable use and small at-home cooks.
- The cooking chamber has enough height for thicker cuts like pork butt.
- Cleanup is simple if you foil the heat deflector.
Cons
- It does not come with a meat probe.
- There is no WiFi.
- It is still 40 pounds, so it is portable but not lightweight.
- The hopper is not easy to empty.
- You need electricity or a portable power setup.
- The heat is indirect, so it will not sear like an open flame.
- Food sits close to the heat deflector, so flipping matters.
- The cooking area is too small for large briskets or cooking for a crowd.
Who This Is For (and Not For)
Who the Z Grills Cruiser is Best for:
- People who want a small, easy pellet smoker for camping, RV use, or tailgating
- Couples, individuals, or smaller families who do not need a large pellet grill
- Anyone who wants to smoke ribs, pork butt, chicken, burgers, sausages, fish, and smaller cuts without managing charcoal
- People who want a compact smoker they can also use at home for weeknight cooks
- Buyers who like the idea of pellet smoking but do not need WiFi or fancy features
Who should skip the Z Grills Cruiser:
- People who regularly cook for a crowd
- Anyone wanting strong charcoal or stick-burner style smoke
- People who want direct flame grilling
- Anyone who does not want to deal with electricity
- People who want a full-size pellet grill
- Buyers who want WiFi and app control built in
Alternatives to Consider
The Cruiser 200A is one of my favorite portable pellet smokers because it is simple, sturdy, and reasonably priced. But, it is not the only option worth considering.
Traeger Ranger
The Traeger Ranger is the closest alternative to the Cruiser. It has the same briefcase-style design and feels like the more premium option.
It costs more, has a smaller cooking area, but includes extras the Cruiser does not, like a griddle and meat probe.
Choose the Ranger if: you want the Traeger name and included accessories.
Green Mountain Grills Trek
The Green Mountain Grills Trek is the better choice if WiFi matters to you.
It is not quite as compact as the Cruiser, but it gives you app control and more flexible power options for camping or RV use.
Choose the Trek if: you want WiFi and remote temperature control.
Charcoal Alternatives
A tabletop pellet smoker might not be the right choice if your priority is stronger smoke flavor or cooking without electricity.
In that case, something like the Pit Barrel Cooker or Weber Smokey Mountain may make more sense. They take more effort than the Cruiser, but they give you a stronger charcoal-smoked flavor and do not need a power source.
Read our best portable smokers guide for more info on our favorites.
FAQs
Does the Z Grills Cruiser 200A have WiFi?
No, the Z Grills Cruiser 200A does not have WiFi.
You can still use a wireless meat thermometer like the MEATER to monitor your cook from inside or nearby. But, you will need to go to the smoker to turn it on, shut it down, or change the temperature.
Can you grill on the Z Grills Cruiser 200A?
Yes, you can grill on the Cruiser 200A.
It reaches about 450°F, which is hot enough for burgers, sausages, chicken, fish, and steaks. But, it uses indirect heat because the heat deflector stays in place.
So, it grills more like a hot wood-fired oven than an open flame barbecue. It works well, but it will not give you the same sear as charcoal or gas.
How much food fits on the Z Grills Cruiser 200A?
The Cruiser has 202 square inches of cooking space.
In real use, that means about 6 burgers, 1 rack of ribs, 1 butterflied chicken, a pork butt, or smaller cuts for 2–4 people.
You can fit more than you might expect if you choose the right cuts and arrange the food carefully. But, it is still a small smoker, not a full-sized grill.
Do you have to use Z Grills pellets?
No, you do not have to use Z Grills pellets in the Cruiser 200A.
Any good quality cooking wood pellets should work. Just make sure they are dry and stored properly. Wet pellets can swell, break down, and cause auger problems in any pellet smoker.
Can you use the Z Grills Cruiser 200A at home?
Yes, and I actually think that is one of its best uses.
Even though it is sold as a portable smoker, the Cruiser is really handy at home when you only want to cook a smaller amount of food.
It is much more efficient than heating a full-sized pellet grill for a rack of ribs, a few burgers, steaks, sausages, or one butterflied chicken.
Is the Z Grills Cruiser better than the Traeger Ranger?
It depends what matters more to you.
The Traeger Ranger feels like the more premium option and includes extras like a griddle and meat probe. But, the Z Grills Cruiser gives you more cooking space, weighs a little less, and usually costs less.
If you want the Traeger name and included accessories, the Ranger makes sense.
If you want a practical portable pellet smoker that cooks well without paying more than you need to, I’d choose the Cruiser.
Final Verdict
The Z Grills Cruiser 200A is not trying to be a full-sized pellet grill. And, that is exactly why it works.
It is small, sturdy, easy to move, and simple to cook on. The temperature control has been steady in our use, the smoke flavor is good for a pellet smoker, and the cooking area is enough for realistic smaller cooks.
You do need to accept the limitations. It needs power. It does not have WiFi. It does not come with a meat probe. And, because the food sits close to the heat deflector, flipping during longer cooks is worth doing.
But, if you want a portable pellet smoker that is genuinely useful at home as well as away, the Z Grills Cruiser 200A is one of the better small pellet smokers I’ve used.
It is best for individuals, couples, smaller families, RV use, camping, and anyone who wants easy wood pellet cooking without buying a large barbecue.
If you want to cook for a crowd, buy something bigger.
But, if a smaller cooking space suits how you actually cook, the Cruiser makes a lot of sense.
Kate Brown is the founder of Burning Brisket, where she shares hands-on smoker reviews, barbecue gear guides, and practical tips for backyard BBQ. She has cooked extensively on charcoal, pellet, electric, and kamado smokers, using real-world experience to help beginners choose the right equipment and make better barbecue at home. Her focus is honest, straightforward advice that makes smoking and grilling easier without unnecessary complexity.
