I just assembled and used this smoker this past weekend. Took me about 45 minutes to assemble with the easy to follow instructions. I thought that the assembly was actually pretty organized and the parts fit well. Mine was packaged very well with no scratches or dents. I really like this smoker as the size is right for my family and can easily be moved around. How it cooks is up to you, but I can say that it can hold a lower temp pretty constant as long as you keep it supplied with water. I did buy a meat thermometer to better fine tune my cooking. I don't recommend many items but I really would like this brand/unit to stick around as it is much better than some of the other units in this price range.