Buying the hard cover is an excellent purchase. When I bought my blackstone griddle it did not come with the hard cover. I was very surprised at the price of the hard cover I was expecting it to be much higher.
If you own the griddle you MUST buy this hard cover. It will save you hours of cleaning. We just clean one time after cooking, cover it and it's ready to go the next time we cook.
It was the best purchase I made after buying the griddle. It was very easy to put together. We hang the griddle cover on the back to use for a windbreaker shield for the burners.