7 Months With the Napoleon Rogue 425 (Worth It?)

Napoleon Rogue 425 Black Edition — 7-Month Review

Main Features and Performance

• Three-burner propane grill rated at 42,000 BTU, with about 425 sq. in. of cooking space.
• Side shelves fold down, which may help when storage or deck space is limited. The reviewer rarely folds them down.
• The lid feels sturdy and retains heat well, including in cold weather.
• In the reviewer’s test, the grill reached about 450°F in four minutes. After it was switched off, the temperature reading returned to zero in roughly 5–6 minutes.
• Although the upper rack sits fairly close to the main cooking surface, the reviewer found it easy to reach food at the back and work around the rack.

Durability and User Experience

• Used several times a week through fall, winter, and spring in Southwestern Ontario, including temperatures around −20°C, rain, freezing rain, and snow.
• The reviewer often leaves the grill uncovered and does not clean the grates immediately after cooking. Despite this rough treatment, the grill showed no visible tarnishing, deterioration, or discoloration after seven months.
• The grates feel solid, do not flex much when scrubbed, and are easy to clean.
• The distinctive wavy grates can be awkward for sausages and other long foods, which do not sit as neatly as they might on parallel grates.

Drawbacks and Caveats

• Cooking is uneven: the front has a noticeably cooler strip, while the back-right corner gets hotter than the rest. The grill was also sitting on slightly uneven ground, which may affect heat distribution. The reviewer notes that every grill has hot spots.
• Moisture appeared inside the built-in thermometer after several consecutive rainy days. The reviewer says this is a common issue with grill thermometers, but contrasts it with a River Country thermometer that has stayed moisture-free on a Weber Smokey Mountain for seven years.
• The reviewer does not consider the short cooking-history period sufficient to make a definitive long-term durability judgment.

Verdict

The reviewer is very happy with the Rogue 425 after seven months of frequent use and exposure to harsh weather. Its sturdy grates, quick heat-up, heat retention, and apparent resistance to the elements are strong points. Uneven heat, the wavy grate design, and thermometer moisture are the main drawbacks. No numerical rating or score was given.

Speaker Perspectives

Only the reviewer speaks. The comparison is to the reviewer’s Weber Smokey Mountain and River Country thermometer, specifically regarding moisture resistance—not to another comparable gas grill.