Everdure Neo Buddy

This mighty BBQ ticks all the boxes for us whether we are camping or caravanning. Small and robust, it packs easily in the ute. It is so easy to clean and the cover provides the cleanliness for when we are away. Cooks up a mighty meal for 2 people. Unfortunately the handle on the lid broke when my load shifted from hitting a big bump on a 4WD track. Still works fine. Bought privately, still in the box, unused for $80, bargain of 2016.

I have been around for a fair while living in the bush and now caravanning around our great country, I have a Neo buddy and I use it daily for breakfast and dinner. It is by far the best I could have for my use.We have travel partners who are going to buy one and park up theit webber. Thanks for a great product that cooks well cleans easy and stores away well also.

Take this camping all the time.
Bought this awhile ago perfect for camping or BBQs for 4 people.
If your after a small Bqq this is the one
Keeps the heat in unlike the webber which is great for a roast or grilled fish
Easy to clean and very compact.

We got this product for about 6 months now, and have been enjoying using it! its perfect for the size of our alfresco, nice compact design, perfect to cook for 4 people. If you are after a small bbq for great value, this will surely tick all the boxes. absolutely love it!

Nice design, perfect for small families and occasional use.
Fairly good result of BBQ and roast.
Heat power varies between hot plate and grill plate, and not easy to clean afterwards.
Flames takes at least twice to light everytime in to start, safe to use afterall.
Easy to storage and move because comes with cover and portable folding legs in a set.

For a portable bbq this one has been quite good, not too heavy to cart around, have used it countless times since purchasing it at bunnings. Easy to clean and heats up quite quickly. The only downfall I would say is when there is a strong wind I find it doesn't stay hot even with the lid down. You have to make a wind shield to continue cooking with high heat. Light to moderate winds are fine, just strong constant winds are the issue. Also I purchased the box with the cover and stand for the bbq. Cover is very good quality and stand is good too, but wheels on the stand are just plastic, easy to destroy. Overall happy with the purchase

I've had my Neo Buddy for about 3 years. It's copped a flogging every summer and my hot plate hasn't worn. I love that it has handles on the sides, great for the tongs. Compact and easy to move around. Can throw it in the boot and take it anywhere. It does everything I need it to do and we've even done a couple of roasts in it

Didn't even get to use this BBQ which I bought online. Managed to light the BBQ on and after 20 seconds the inside of the gas connection where the temperature dial is stated producing large flames which didn't look right.
I suspect there is a leak and further use could be dangerous. There is no way to tighten the connection unless i dismantle the whole unit's body, which quite frankly I don't think is appropriate for a consumer to do so.

Pretty unhappy. I am going to demand a refund. Looks nice in design but whats the point when it's potentially going to burn your house down.

Do yourself a favour and don't bother.

It was OK for few months, became sticky as teflon coating on aluminium was wearing off. Nice design, compact size. Maintained and cleaned properly, never scratched or used harsh cleaning agents...Hot plate ended in the rubbish bin, now looking for cast iron plate of similar size...
Overall verdict: BAD! DON"T BUY this bbq, there are few better options on the market, avoid teflon coated aluminium plate, cast iron is the best. Stainless steel plates looks good until first use, hard to heat...
Manufacturer is aware of this, new models come with cast iron grill/plate!

1. Perect Size for the 2 of us no kids.
2. Very easy to clean
3. Heats quickly and holds it great for a roast for 2-3 people
4. Compact and can take camping. It is sturdy and looks good.

Dont be fooled by bad reviews. No it is not intended for a Family BBQ but for 2-4 people its just fine. I was a bit nervous after reading the bad reviews and had bought it but I love it. If you use it for what it is intended for its brilliant. Portable, Small Deck or Patio/Camping Bbq. Its great!!!

So slow. Holds no heat. Waste of time and money. It looks neat. Tidy with cover. Cannot see that it could possibly cook a roast. Sorry to say it's Rubbish. Stick to your indoor stove and oven. Bought it at Bunnings must see if we can return, it just clutters our courtyard

Had this BBQ for 4 years now. Its seen plenty or work and has been great. No problem with hot plate or anything. What I love is that the hotplate fits into my dishwasher and so it has been easy to clean. I would recommend this bbq to any one.

Summary: the hotplate sucks, but the rest is amazing!

Detailed review: After 9 months of ownership....

Cons (prob what you want to know most):
* Hotplate: cast aluminum hotplate with teflon coating with a 1" valley/gap in the middle and no surround/lip. When cooking, you'll find the hotplate slopes towards the middle and everything small edges it's way into the ~1" valley running across the middle of the hotplate, then required to be retrieved. Cubed potatoes are a nightmare. The teflon coating means you can't use ordinary metal tongs and slides, you have to use plastic or silicone which are much more difficult to use as they don't grip food as well. There is no lip/surround on the hotplate so you have to be very careful not to accidentally push/bump the food off the hotplate onto the BBQ surround. This is a frequently problem on what is a compact BBQ. Managing the overflowing food, picking food out of the valley is a problem which is compounded by the silicon/plastic utensils. Additionally, the teflon doesn't last long. Even if you are super careful you will see raw aluminum protruding in a matter of months and at this point the hotplate has arguably reached its end of life.
* Hotplate Replacement: There are no off-the-shelf solutions to overcome this problem. Now, I am trying to have a custom stainless plate made up as cheap as possible. But it's an expensive addition - almost as much as the BBQ itself. After this, it will be an excellent BBQ that will last a long long time and arguably be far superior to all competitors.
* Roasting: isn't much of an option as the lid/gap is so low and there are no accessories (like another much more popular BBQ which I won't name) that has an accessory which can increase the cooking height/gap between the burner and the lid (such that even a rotisserie can be used). This BBQ doesn't come with anything that would allow this to occur. It's a plain flat sheet BBQ and not even a grill but that's circumstantial and won't necessarily effect anyone.

Pros:
* Heat Control: high is high, low is low. Heats up quick or slow depending on what you want. Perfect! I like my steaks on high, my chicken on super low. I can't praise the heat control of this BBQ enough.
* Portability: it's lightweight and highly portable. I have found that when the hotplate is removed you can fit a 2kg gas bottle inside the BBQ. This makes for compact transportation. However, the gas bottle and the hotplate won't fit inside the BBQ at the same time so you may need to store the hotplate elsewhere - but its easier to pack the hotplate than the gas bottle IMHO. If you disagree, just leave the hotplate in the BBQ and pack the gas bottle elsewhere.
* Economical: After extensive use over 9 months the gas bottle still feels heavy.
* Cleaning: the BBQ structure appears to be entirely made of (powder coated) metal. Excluding the delicate teflon coated hotplate (and area under the hotplate) the rest is very easy to keep clean.
Build Quality: I can't fault it. It's light and solid.

Pro/Con (something in the middle):
* The "squared" design of this BBQ makes it easier to transport/pack than its round/egg shaped competitors.
* Replacing the flat plate with a grill might lead to a lot of mess inside the lower carcass. I'm not sure how competitors deal with this problem, but if this were done with this BBQ the fallout would land on the burner or the BBQ carcass itself. There is no real way to easily line the BBQ with aluminum foil and cleaning might be difficult if you wanted to grill with this BBQ
* No burner splatter guard: if you are going to grill, the fallout will land on the burner and will no doubt eventually glog your burner holes. This wont be a problem if you stick to a flat/solid hotplate configuration but is something to consider as this is the principle means of cooking for its competitor....

Well at last I have found the Neo buddy 12 one piece hotplate like my friends bbq! After purchasing the full grill model, disaster in my book as far as cleaning goes, base of bbq fills with fat and never gets to drip tray! However the one piece hotplate is a dream on the buddy 12, I purchased from BCF I think last one and was on special $140 , I nearly fell over, excellent bbq! I know it sounds bad but , I'm giving the grill model away to daughter but with cast half flat plate that was complimentary ! Don't understand everdure changing to grill plates at all, with the mess in the base of a portable BBQ, can't cook an egg hmmmm very strange! Top marks for the original Neo buddy 12

I bought this BBQ from a local store. On assembling the BBQ the plates didn't fit so contacted the store which was going to send me new plates. 4 weeks heard nothing so contacted Everdure direct and they had no order, back I return to store and got a new BBQ. When unpacking the BBQ the handle on the front is broken in half, so back on the phone contacted Everdure which sent out a new handle. Received handle in the mail which is also broken in two.

I would suggest getting some thing with better build quality and avoid this brand.

Works the same if not better than the Weberq. My buddy cooks like a dream. Best advice in cooking on it. Do not pull the meat straight out of the fridge and try to cook it. Leave it out for 15-20 minutes. Turn the buddy on and let it heat to about 350. Put meat on and enjoy. Really am impressed with this. It has changed how we eat dinner/ breakfast with no having to clean our kitchen afterwords. House smells great and cleaning the buddy is a dream. Also the grill is awesome, knowing that my meat won't get gas burn makes me feel alot safer about feeding the kids. Hot plate is sooooooo easy to clean with bbq wipes and some warm soapy water. 5 star for me and the family all the way.

OK, Before I purchased the Neo Buddy, I researched both the Neo Buddy and the Weber Baby Q and this is what I found. Neo Budy is well made (tick). Neo Buddy is Cheaper (tick), Neo Buddy is a little bigger than the Baby Q (tick). Neo Buddy has a good temperature gauge standard, Baby Q it's an accessory (tick). Neo Buddy has MUCH cheaper accessories such as cast iron grill & flat plate, trolly and cover (tick) and after cooking with a Weber Q at the in-laws, the Neo Buddy performs every bit a good as the Weber (tick). I originally saw Neo Buddy at Harvey Normans where they actually sell the Neo Buddy Grill with the cast iron grill plates x 2 and a cast iron flat plate x 1. I thought I was being clever and sourced it cheaper from Bunnings! When I got it home I found I had purchased the Neo Buddy (not grill) that has an aluminium non-stick plate. Neither stores made the distinction between Neo Buddy Gill and Neo Buddy. I used the BBQ and then realised I would prefer the cast iron plates. After contacting Everdure Customer Support, they informed me that there are accessories to change the Neo Buddy into the Neo Buddy Grill. Customer Support was amazing and they were able to help me out with the simple conversion. I have mine on a top floor balcony in units and have had no problems with wind blowing out the flame (as one person commented in these reviews). I am really pleased with my Neo Buddy Grill and the wonderful customer support I received for my upgrade. I bought the Neo Buddy trolly stand and a the 2 burner hooded barbeque cover from Bunnings ($18) fits nicely!
Enjoy

I find that the cooking time is way too slow with this. The griddle is aluminium so it does not retain heat, or heat up to a good bbq temperature. I find the food broils. I bought it for a courtyard bbq. The compact size is good, and the cleaning is simple, but after using it 3 times I threw it out. It may be good for nomads.
Compact size
Not enough heat

Since new our Neo Buddy's - yes we have tried two, have regularly failed to stay alight in anything but perfectly calm conditions. The slightest air movement will extinuish the burner and as there is no automatic gas cut-off, it then becomes a bomb in the making if not ventilated before being relit. We had problems from the start and BCF initially replace the regulator. This made no difference and Everdure eventually sent BCF a replacement burner and regulator. BCF, quite rightly would not assemble the parts as this should only be done by a gas fitter. Full marks to BCF who gave us a completely new Neo Buddy. It unfortunately does exactly the same thing. Great when it's working but you have to check every minute or so that it hasn't gone out.
Alan
Cooks beautifully when it stays lit
Goes out and no automatic gas shut off.

I bought my Buddy on special from Rays Outdoors. However, intially I found the temperature would not go over 220 degrees C, so contacted Everdure and they sent me a replacement regulator. Same problem, so I tried to return it to Rays Outdoors. Initially they baulked at either a replacement or refund, but when their legal obligations were pointed out to them, they agreed to replace it.
Their customer relations left a lot to be desired in my view but eventually they did come around.
The replacement works fine and the BBQ is now giving me great roasts. Although it takes longer than I would expect, overall it does an excellent job. It lights first time every time, and is extremely easy to clean. Overall a great BBQ and good value for the money. Recommended.
Lights first time. Cooks evenly and does great roasts.
Cooks a little slowly, but that much of an issue