That $48 ticket into Colorado Springs is the move, I do this all the time now. Flew into Burbank instead of LAX last spring and saved almost $150 plus the little airport was way less of a mess. The bus ride in was easy and I honestly got to my hotel faster than my cousin who flew direct.

Ran the same test on my offset last summer and got the same thing. Foil gets you through the stall faster but you pay for it in bark and the flat comes out mushy every time. I switched to butcher paper for the ones I do wrap and even that slows things down compared to leaving them naked, but the bark holds up way better. What you're seeing is real, foil traps all that steam and basically braises the meat, which is why the bottom turns to mush. On a pit that holds 250 steady you don't need the crutch, you just need patience and a good water pan. Guys pushing stick burners that swing 50 degrees both ways are the ones who really need to wrap, they're just fighting their own fire.