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Yes you are missing probably everything..
This information below is compiled from emails from Komodo's owner/designer and the KK site/forum.
First of all they are not $2K they are much more like $3260 and while expensive they are a much better value than the other ceramics on the market if you look at what you get standard. They are absolutely in class of their own. It's not fair to compare them to the others as they cost more to produce than any of the other ceramics sell for.
A dense glazed material by definition is not insulating.. It will hold and reflect more heat than a metal cooker which looses heat like a sieve looses water. Komodo is the only ceramic type cooker to use actual insulation.. two layers of insulation to be exact. If you look at a comparison between a BGE and Komodo done years ago before KKs had two insulations you will see a dramatic performance difference.
Quoting a review on the charcoal review site "The Naked Whiz" ...
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/productreviews/komodokamado/kk.htm
Inside this review of the 23" OTB model, TNW measured the surface temps on the dome of the KK vs. a large Egg. Big difference:
Quote:
At 400 degrees, the temperature of the dome on the Egg varied from 180 degrees at the lower edge of the dome to 245 degrees at the top of the dome near the upper vent. The Komodo Kamado varied from 110 degrees at the base of the dome to 160 degrees at the top near the upper vent. While the dome of the Egg was scorching hot to the touch, you could leave your hand anywhere on the Komodo Kamado's dome for at least a few seconds. Clearly the Komodo Kamado is keeping more heat inside the cooker.
A recent post on the KK forum shows photos of a Gen 2.2 bowl of charcoal lasting 85 hours at 235º. This speaks for it's self.
The cooker uses the same design used in all high temperature containment situations i.e. blast furnaces, nuclear facilities etc. A dense, durable refractory hot face backed by a lightweight layer of actual insulation.
Kamado of CA with their cement Kamados had a problem because the body would slowly shrink as they dried tearing away from the static thin-set and grout. They also have problems because when the body inevitably expanded and contracted from heat the tiles and thin-set and grout would not move at the same pace.
Komodo Kamado's refractory materials are designed to release vapor thru micro polypropylene fibers in the refractory material which give the moisture/vapor a way to easily get out. The tiles are then attached with a high tech NASA spinoff industrial insulation which is elastomeric, meaning it moves and flexes with the body when heated. It also has nano ceramic spheres that additionally reflect heat back into the body.
One of the biggest contributers to the cost of the Komodo is the CNC laser cut and folded, brushed 304 stainless components. This is the finest quality method of stainless fabrication available. KK's components are produced by a German owned subsidiary of Trumpf Germany. They don't cook any better or last any longer than other stainless parts but are the best quality money can buy. Komodos also come standard with 3 levels of 3/8" 304 stainless grills. The Gen II's 304 stainless weighs 50lbs.
Most other ceramics use low cost powder painted carbon steel for all their components including their grills.