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Lifelong memories are made while chilling with friends around a fire. As you grill hot dogs and enjoy a drink, you share stories and talk about the deeper things. The best fire pits provide a low-fuss gathering place to enjoy late nights, in your backyard and on the go.
We tested 10 units to find the best fire pits, evaluating their ease of lighting, smokelessness, and clean-up. The Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 Fire Pit is our top pick because it produces the most satisfying fire with minimal smoke and is easy to clean. Our budget pick, the Hampton Bay Piedmont Steel Fire Pit, is $100 cheaper and comes with a grill grate, but it produces significantly more smoke and is more of a hassle to clean.
The Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 is the best fire pit we’ve tested because its design facilitates blazing fires with minimal smoke. Plus, it’s available in seven colors.
For the best head-to-head comparison, my 10-year-old and I set up the top fire pits in a circle and tested them under identical conditions. Once the fires had burned for half an hour, my kid and I shared a clear favorite: the Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0.
It’s literally easy enough for a kid to use. BB built and lit the fire, and within five minutes, the logs were ablaze, and the fire was roaring. At its hottest, the Bonfire 2.0 was a little too hot to get close to, but it also sent heat the second furthest of any model I tested. It warmed me from 8 feet away, making it ideal for larger gatherings.
While advertised as “smokeless,” the Bonfire 2.0 clearly allows smoke to escape, as did any wood-burning model we tested. However, the Solo Stove seemed to do a better job dissipating the smoke than any other full-size wood-burning pit we tested. Standing in the smoke’s path, I didn’t get the eye-burning pain typical of classic campfires.
The Bonfire 2.0 was the clear favorite in our testing, producing a roaring fire quickly with minimal smoke.
Molly Allen/Business Insider
Assembly was quick and easy. I needed the instructions, but they were clear. I like that the pit comes with a carrying case, and it only weighs 23 pounds, making it light enough to store, but it may be a little bulky for traveling. Despite its relatively light weight, the Bonfire 2.0 feels heavy-duty and didn’t show any wear and tear after testing.
It has an attractive appearance. I tested the basic, no-frills Stainless Steel version, but it’s also available in Mulberry, Deep Olive, Bronze Metallic, and three other colors.
Lastly, cleanup was a breeze thanks to the removable base plate and ash pan. You just wait for it to cool down, lift out the plate and pan, and safely dispose of the debris.
The Hampton Bay Piedmont Steel Fire Pit is the best budget fire pit we’ve tested. Its open construction allows for excellent airflow, making starting and maintaining the fire a breeze.
We initially set a $100 limit in our search for the best budget fire pit, but we had difficulty finding full-size options from reputable brands. So, we upped our limit to $200 and are happy with the performance of the $149 Hampton Bay Piedmont Steel Fire Pit. Hampton Bay is exclusive to Home Depot and encompasses a range of affordable patio furniture, including fire pits and heaters. The Piedmont is their top seller.
The assembly took half an hour, including putting on the legs, heat plate, and outside ring. It was a pain, but at least the instructions were clear. The materials weren’t the cheapest I’ve dealt with, but they weren’t exactly durable. In fact, the fasteners started rusting within a week of setup.
The Hampton Bay Piedmont was a suitable fire pit for my co-tester’s marshmallow toasting.
James Brains/Business Insider
With its airflow-promoting design, the Hampton Bay Piedmont is ideal for building a powerful fire. My kid started a raging fire in five minutes with only a firestarter cube and four logs. On a hot day, I could still feel the heat from 7 feet away, which was among the best. I also like that the pit comes with a lid, grill, and poker.
However, there were a couple of glaring negatives. The Piedmont doesn’t appear to have any smoke-reducing properties. When the wind blows your way, the smoke is uncomfortable, and you’ll likely get covered with ash too. Also, you’ll either need to flip the pit or use a shovel to get the ash out. Still, for $150, this is an outstanding fire pit.
The Tiki Brand Customizable Propane Fire Pit gives your patio a chic feel with just the turn of a knob. It’s the best propane fire pit we’ve tested because of its user-friendliness and array of accessories.
Wood-burning units get all the attention when discussing fire pits, but propane models have their place. Of all the fire pits I tested, the Tiki Brand Customizable Propane Fire Pit is the one I liked the most. In our tests, it was the only truly smokeless fire pit because it doesn’t burn wood.
I like how easy it is to use. You just turn on the propane tank, press the ignition button, turn the gas knob, and you have a flame. When you’re done, unlike wood-burning pits, you don’t have to wait for wood to burn down or douse it with water. You just turn the gas off, and the fire is out. Also, there was no clean-up and no ash to deal with.
The Tiki Brand propane fire pit is great for short sessions around the fire, providing a hassle-free, smokeless experience.
James Brains/Business Insider
The Tiki Brand propane pit is the most labor-intensive to set up, taking an hour and including a long list of steps to assemble it from the ground up. Yet, the finished pit seems durable. It hasn’t shown any signs of wear or tear. I like that it comes with decorative lava rocks and a metal cover.
I wish the propane fire pit put off more heat. I could maybe feel it from about 3 feet away, which was among the weakest I tested. However, you can purchase a heater attachment for better heat disbursement. I didn’t test it, but Tiki Brands claims it provides a 6-foot heat radius. The brand also offers a table attachment to turn the pit into a patio table.
When it comes to portability, the Snow Peak Pack & Carry Fireplace is our go-to option. This model is lightweight and collapse down for ease of transport, while offering excellent durability and performance wherever you take it.
If you’re looking for a fire pit to take on road trips or to just use outside the backyard, the Snow Peak Pack & Carry Fireplace is the best portable fire pit you can buy. From the Japanese outdoor brand known for making clever, well-built camping products, the Pack & Carry Fireplace can collapse and fold flat, making it extremely easy to carry to any outdoor setting.
Since it weighs just 11.9 pounds and comes with its own carrying case, there really isn’t any excuse to leave it behind.
Once you reach your destination, the fireplace expands in a matter of seconds, with wide, rounded-off legs securely holding it in place even when resting on uneven terrain. A series of small holes in the fire pit’s frame help to facilitate airflow, while its bucket-like receptacle can hold moderate-sized pieces of wood.
Yet the Pack & Carry Fireplace is well-engineered and very durable. Made from high-quality stainless steel, this model is designed to withstand the elements and be transported regularly. However, because it’s made of rugged metal, it takes a bit of time to cool.
The fireplace doesn’t have a lot of features or frills, although Snow Peak makes a number of accessories that extend its use even further. The company offers an array of cooking utensils for instance, and a grill top allows owners to cook over the fire. — Kraig Becker, Business Insider Reviews contributor
Technology and design come together in the BioLite FirePit+, a fire pit that excels at grilling and is equipped with an onboard battery, an airflow design that keeps smoke at a minimum, and foldable legs for easy portability.
Several Business Insider Reviews folks have tested and loved the BioLite FirePit+. Its integrated fan makes starting a fire effortless, and it features a grill grate for cooking meats and vegetables. The fan uses a rechargeable battery and USB output for charging your devices.
Even without the fan, the BioLite FirePit+ was easy to start with just a firestarter cube and wood logs. Within five minutes, the fire was blazing, putting off significant heat in a 6-foot radius, and it was a little too hot for comfort up close to it.
The BioLite FirePit+ is a Business Insider Reviews favorite because it produces relatively little smoke and is perfect for grilling.
Owen Burke/Business Insider
The FirePit+ isn’t completely smokeless, but it only emitted a little more smoke than our top pick. The smoke wasn’t uncomfortable, even when it blows right at you.
I’ve used the FirePit+ for years, mostly for grilling small amounts of food over charcoal. I found the setup was easy. The only assembly is screwing the handles onto the main body, which only took a few minutes. I like how lightweight and easy-to-use it is. Clean-up is a snap, thanks to a sliding door in the bottom. You just slide it out and empty the ash.
The Solo Stove Mesa is the best small fire pit we tested. It lights quickly and produces a surprising amount of heat. Plus, it’s available in 10 colors.
The Solo Stove Mesa is basically like a petite version of our top pick, the Bonfire. It has the same hassle-free setup, is made of stainless steel, and is available in 10 colors, including Water, Mulberry, and Deep Olive.
The Solo Stove Mesa burned hot for such a compact fire pit.
James Brains/Business Insider
Since it’s so small, the Mesa burns wood pellets instead of logs, which won’t fit. Using pellets and a firestarter cube, it took about five minutes to get the fire going. I was surprised by the roaring fire produced by this compact powerhouse. The blaze produced minimal smoke and no discomfort as it headed in my direction.
Another surprise was how much heat the Mesa put off. I could feel it warming me from four feet away. This is the best tabletop fire pit I tested, provided your table isn’t heat-sensitive. While any table will likely be OK, you should only use it on non-flammable surfaces for safety reasons.
Cleaning the Mesa is easy. Once cool, you flip it and empty it in a safe receptacle.
The Mesa comes with a carrying bag, a stand, and a lifetime warranty. It’s also available in an XL version that’s only slightly larger and more expensive, but it holds almost four times as many wood pellets, so it burns longer.
Durable, versatile, and beautiful, the Breeo X Series 24 is an outstanding fire pit that serves as a hub for outdoor entertainment, can help you cook dinner, and looks like a piece of art simultaneously.
The Breeo X Series 24 was previously our top overall pick, but after testing more fire pits, we decided to rank it as the best heavy-duty fire pit because of its thick steel construction and lifetime warranty.
First, let’s look at the positives. The Breeo X24 was incredibly easy to assemble. There weren’t any directions, but I didn’t need any. It comes assembled, and I had it ready to go in five minutes. The pit is made of rugged steel, which makes it hefty. Plus, it’s backed by a lifetime warranty.
As it spends time in the elements, the Breeo X Series 24 develops an attractive patina, a process that takes about a year.
James Brains/Business Insider
The Breeo fire pit started rusting immediately, but that’s by design. The Corten Steel version develops an attractive weathered patina over time (about a year.) If a rusty fire pit sounds unappealing, the X Series pits are also available in corrosion-resistant stainless steel. In addition to the X24, the line features the X19, X30, and X42, with the number corresponding to the bowl’s interior diameter. For example, the X24 has a 24-inch-wide bowl.
It has a unique construction with airflow coming from the bottom of the pit, and holes around the rim to divert the smoke. In practice, though, I was unimpressed with its fire burning. It took longer than the other pits to get started, and it seemed to produce more smoke while emitting less heat. I retested it because I was surprised by this performance. It did a little better the second time but wasn’t nearly as good as our top pick.
Clean-up is also a hassle. To remove the ash, you must use a vacuum or a shovel, which Breeo sells separately. The X vents make shoveling difficult.
Still, if you want a durable fire pit, the Breeo X Series 24 is the one to get.
What to look for in a fire pit
Fire pits come in all sorts of sizes and styles.
James Brains/Business Insider
You want to choose a fire pit based on how you plan to use it. Do you want it to stay in your backyard or go camping with you? Do you want the traditional campfire experience, or would prefer to skip the hassle of wood? Here are the main factors you should consider:
Size: Larger fire pits are fun because you can build bigger fires and provide heat for more people. But, if you’re only going to entertain a few people at a time and want a more intimate experience, smaller fire pits are ideal. They have the added benefit of not burning as long, so you can call it a night earlier if you want. Of course, you can always build a smaller fire in a larger pit.
Fuel type: Wood-burning fire pits are the most popular because they give you the wholesome campfire experience. The downside is that you have to keep buying wood, cleaning up the ash, and being extra careful that the fire is out before you can leave the pit unsupervised. Propane is generally less exciting but lights quicker and is easy to put out quickly. It’s also less of a hassle to clean.
Design: The best fire pits balance airflow with limiting smoke. Based on my testing, the more open the design, the better the airflow, but there also tends to be more smoke. Pits that limit smoke tend to have an opening smaller than the bowl’s diameter and holes near the inner rim that can take in and dissipate the smoke. Our top pick, the Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0, is a perfect example of this.
Portability: Portability isn’t a concern if your fire pit will live in your backyard. In fact, if your yard is easily accessible to passersby like mine is, a heavier, harder-to-steal pit is a plus. However, if you want a unit to take camping, bring along to get-togethers, or store when not in use, look for one that’s lightweight and comes with a carrying case.
Accessories: If you want to cook on your fire pit, look for models with compatible grills. While most models are designed to withstand the elements, a cover can ensure your pit is dry when you want to have a fire. Other helpful accessories to consider are fire pokers, ash shovels, and lids.
How we test fire pits
My co-tester preps a fire pit for testing according to our exacting specifications.
James Brains/Business Insider
I’ve tested home and kitchen products professionally for six years. For this guide, I tested 10 backyard fire pits to find the best. When assessing a fire pit, the main factors to consider are the ease of starting a fire, how much smoke it produces, the heating radius, and the ease of cleaning. Here are the main characteristics we look for and how we test them:
Fire quality: Kids love playing with fire, so it’s important to teach them how to do it safely. I enlisted the help of my 10-year-old to build and evaluate fires in each of the pits. The table sums up what we were looking for.
Cleaning: After a few fires, ash builds up, impacting airflow and performance. We cleaned each fire pit and evaluated how difficult it was. Fire pits with removable ash pans were easier, while models that required you to dump, shovel, or vacuum ashes were a little less user-friendly.
Durability: I left the pits in humid, rainy Michigan summer weather and examined each unit for wear and tear, including rust and discoloration. For the most part, the pits haven’t deteriorated, but I’ll continue to evaluate them for future updates to this guide.
Setup: You only really assemble your fire pit once, so this was a minor factor we considered, but you want the setup to go smoothly. I timed how long it took me to set up the fire pits and noted if there were any difficult or confusing steps.
Fire pit FAQs
I like propane fire pits, like the one shown here, because they’re easy to clean, use, and extinguish.
James Brains/Business Insider
How do you clean a fire pit?
It’s important to wait until your fire pit is completely cooled before attempting to clean any part of it. Ideally, you’d clean it on a day when you haven’t used it at all.
Cleaning the pit is a straightforward process. We recommend wearing protective gloves. First, unhook propane tanks, unplug cords, and then remove all ash, burned wood, and debris from the inside. You can then use some dishwashing soap (the grease-cutting kind tends to work best) and a warm cloth or scrub brush to scrub inside the pit.
How do you put out a fire in a fire pit?
If you’re using a fire pit that burns actual wood, you’ll want to make sure you effectively extinguish the blaze before leaving it. To do so, douse the flame with water and stir the ashes with a poker or stick. You should see the coals start to cool off. Pour more water over them if they’re still lit (and the pit still feels warm). Don’t leave the pit until it’s entirely cooled off.
Many propane fire pits require you to turn off the propane (or turn off the pit via a built-in switch), and they’ll completely turn off. Check the owner’s manual for proper operation, as some may differ from others.
You’ll always want to have some sort of emergency extinguisher nearby should any fire get out of control, too. This could be anything from a bucket of water set somewhere close, a nearby hose turned on and ready to use, or even a fire extinguisher. If a fire becomes unruly, call 911 immediately.
Which fire pits give off the most heat?
Based on my testing, wood-burning fire pits give off the most heat. Additionally, the larger the fire, the more heat it will put off. So, consider bigger fire pits since they can accommodate larger fires.
What is the best type of fire pit to buy?
It depends on your situation. Wood-burning fire pits are popular because they give you the campfire experience and put off a good amount of heat. But propane fire pits are easy to start and put out and have minimal cleaning.
Smokeless fire pits are in vogue, but they aren’t completely smokeless. Still, they have vent holes and a ring around the rim that help dissipate the thick smoke clouds that can make sitting around a fire uncomfortable. Propane fire pits don’t burn wood and thus have almost no smoke. If smoke is a big concern, consider a propane pit.
