Vertical Smoker Research

I have spent the better part of the day researching vertical smokers. I have looked at the FEC100,Spicewines,Backwoods and the Stumps. I can see a certian advantage of the verts over the stickburners. Better temp control, no babysitting, fuel consumption, and easier to transport. Just call me oldfashioned but the asthetics of the offset makes you feel like your getting your moneys worth. Some of us don't mind the babysitting or using more fuel. To me the verts takes the challenge of producing quality BBQ through sweat and tears,long hours and the feeling that you have accomplished something. To me this is what BBQ is about , knowing that your whole cook depends on a team effort to control heat ,tenderness and tatse of the product you are producing. With the verts it puts the I in team in other words you dont need a team. Being new to the scene it seems to me that this started as a team sport and thats the way I want to cook it. Don't get me wrong I see nothing wrong with using the verts and I would love to cook on all above mentioned but not at first. I feel I should earn my stripes in the BBQ world and the only way to do this is to stick with the way I love to cook. So my first shall be an offset and maybe later when I get the experience that I want and need I can make room for a vertical smoker. Alan