A buddy of mine showed up to a block party last summer with a cheap kettle he got off a clearance rack, and everybody there had the same look on their face when he pulled it out next to all the fancy smokers. Dude had been doing the same brisket on his $1200 rig for years and swore nothing else could touch it. Long story short, the kettle brisket got wiped out first and his sat there half gone by the end of the night. He was quiet the whole ride home, which is how I knew it stung. Some of these expensive setups are more about the guy standing next to them than the food coming off them. What did your buddy say when the plates came back empty on his side?