Solo Stove Bonfire Review — A New and Improved Bonfire Experience

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A Fire Pit For Those Who Love Bonfires, But Hate the Smoke

My Solo Stove bonfire review will give you the lowdown on this unique fire pit — and what makes it so different than other fire pits.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably considering purchasing it, but we all know that it’s a pretty big investment.

Whenever my husband and I make a big purchase, we spend a LOT of time researching and comparing products.

(Which is pretty easy to do in today’s digital age.)

We compare ratings and factor in the number of people who have rated and reviewed a product.

After all, if something has five stars, but only one or two people have rated it, that doesn’t tell us much.

On the other hand, if hundreds of people have reviewed that product and it has four stars, it might be worth looking into.

So when Dan mentioned that he wanted to purchase the Solo Stove Bonfire Fire Pit, it piqued my interest. As of January 2020, this unique fire pit has 4.5 stars and 916 customer reviews on Amazon.

 

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What’s So Special About the Solo Stove Bonfire Fire Pit?

The Solo Stove company was born in 2010. They started out with just one cooking stove and slowly built their brand by “focusing on the customer and building simple, high quality products”.

Over the years, they have grown into a larger, reputable business.

The Solo Stove is best known for its unique design that maximizes airflow and the burning process for a more complete burn with little to no smoke.

Here’s the lowdown on this fire pit. It is:

 

  • portable
  • log friendly
  • low smoke
  • durable
  • stainless steel

 

This means no more dodging smoke (and smelly clothes) and half-burnt logs.

 

 

 

Click here to read the Amazon reviews

 

 

That Sounds Too Good To Be True. Is It?!

As long as you use the fire pit according to the instructions, then no — it truly will work as intended.

According to the instructions on the box (see below), you need to flip the ring over so the angled edges point upward.

And be sure not to overfill the bonfire. The stack of logs should stay below the secondary burn air vents.

This is where we went wrong one of the nights we used our Solo Stove fire pit.

We had a bunch of random pieces of wood that needed to be burned, some of which were a little longer and didn’t stay below those vents. So we did end up having a little smoke and smelliness.

However, if you use smaller pieces of firewood, you will indeed find that your bonfire produces little to no smoke.

 

graphic solo stove bonfire fire pit instructions

 

Here are the tech specs:

Height: 14 inches
Width: 19.5 inches
Weight: 20 lbs
Materials: Stainless steel
Fuel: Firewood Logs

 

Comparing and Contrasting to Other Fire Pits

Is this fire pit actually better than other, cheaper models? In our opinion, yes it is. This fire pit is of considerably higher quality.

We had previously owned a cheaper fire pit, which worked as you would expect a portable fire pit to work. It got us through a few summers worth of bonfires.

Keep in mind that we really didn’t have a whole lot of bonfires.

It worked well enough, but it eventually got pretty rusty. By the time we moved house, it was in rough enough shape that we decided against taking it along.

The Solo Stove Bonfire Fire Pit is made of stainless steel, and is supposed to be more durable than other materials.

You will notice that after the first burn, it will no longer look nice and shiny and brand new. That is to be expected when you burn wood inside it at such high temperatures; however, it does not affect the quality at all.

This fire pit is portable; just dump out the ashes and clean it out, then put it inside the carrying case that comes with it.

 

photo of solo stove bonfire fire pit carrying case

 

To be honest, I have never envisioned myself taking a fire pit along on road trips, but you never know…we may just do that someday since it is so portable (I’ll update this post if that ever happens!).

And yes, it does cost a little more than your standard portable fire pit.

However, you are paying for a higher quality product that will give you a higher quality experience for a much longer period of time (as long as you properly care for it).

 

Who is the Solo Stove Bonfire Fire Pit Intended For?

So, how can you determine whether this fire pit is worth investing in?

This might be the fire pit for you if:

 

  • you enjoy spending quality time outdoors with your family
  • you enjoy spending time outdoors with your friends
  • you enjoy bonfires, but hate all the smoke that accompanies them

 

When I was a kid, I loved sitting around the bonfire late at night, roasting marshmallows and visiting with my family and friends.

But it seemed like as soon as I sat down, the smoke would find me, and we would embark on a game of musical chairs in an attempt to avoid it.

Over the past few years, I have actually detested bonfires, simply because I couldn’t stand inhaling the smoke and smelling it on hair and clothes the next morning.

So when Dan suggested purchasing this fire pit, I was all for it.

I will admit that, because we did end up using longer pieces of wood, there was some smoke that first night, and I could smell it on my jacket afterward.

However, it wasn’t overwhelming at all, and it actually smelled kind of nice.

 

 

Pricing and Purchasing Information

The Solo Stove Bonfire Fire Pit definitely isn’t an impulse purchase. However, it’s an investment in a future with lots of smokeless bonfires!

We ordered ours through Amazon with our rewards card. When you order your fire pit through Amazon, you will get FREE shipping.

Click here to check the price on Amazon.

That said, if you can afford the initial investment, it is absolutely worth every penny that you pay for it. We hope to get many years’ worth of bonfires out of ours!

 

Bonfire Extras

Want to make your bonfire evenings extra special? Add a few of these things to your Amazon cart before you check out with your new fire pit.

 

1. Color changing pine cones

2. Firewood tote

3. Campfire stools

4. Lanterns

5. String lights

6. Telescoping skewers

 

Enjoy your new bonfire pit!

 

(Not ready to invest in a Solo Stove yet? No worries! If you’re still with me, here are some more articles you might be interested in reading.)

 

Read More:

Pros & Cons of the Solo Stove Bonfire — and Is It REALLY Smokeless?

How to Host the Perfect Bonfire Party This Summer (or Any Time)

Custom Fire Pit Ideas With Seating for Your Outdoor Living Space

 

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29 Comments

  1. We were at a friends house a few weeks ago and they had one of these. It was perfect for our group of six – gave off plenty of heat and no real smoke.

  2. We were at a friends house a few weeks ago and they had one of these. It was perfect for our group of six – gave off plenty of heat and no real smoke.

  3. This is great. My fiance and I are full-time RVers who are currently campground hopping. We briefly joked yesterday how we should get a portable fire pit for the times our campsites don’t have one. Perfect!

  4. This is such a great idea!!! We would love to have this in our backyard. Our kids are always wanting bonfires, but I don’t like that they can get out of control. This is a great solution!

  5. That’s so cool! I’m always bummed that I have a tiny patio and not a yard conducive to a bonfire. Such is condo living, I guess. Also, thanks for that transparency about the pricing. Always interesting to see what companies do to promote a “sale”

  6. That’s so cool! I’m always bummed that I have a tiny patio and not a yard conducive to a bonfire. Such is condo living, I guess. Also, thanks for that transparency about the pricing. Always interesting to see what companies do to promote a “sale”

    1. Although I think it’s a great product, it’s certainly not cheap…and it takes a lot to fool me into thinking I’m getting a great deal!

  7. This looks like so much fun. I love fire pits but the smoke is what gets me. I wish I had the space in NYC to have something like this.

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