A warm fire in the backyard on a cold evening is something that’s as enjoyable as it gets. solo stove If you feel the smoke from the fire ruins the experience, or if neighbors live nearby and want to enjoy the cool breeze, you might consider a smokeless fire pit.

This will eliminate most of the smoke and ash from your fire. Three months of testing six fire pits were spent in Hawaii and California. We ultimately chose two fire pits as our top picks. The Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 is best for those with small backyards and the Tiki Fire Pit is better for those who have larger yards and enjoy the patio-inspired look of the Tiki model.

We chose two favorite designs, but they worked almost all equally well in our testing. They have two walls (similar to an insulated thermos bottle) and use the difference in temperature between the walls to create additional airflow through the firepit walls.

This extra oxygen causes secondary combustion, which is the formation of molecules that can create smoke. Fire pits are distinguished by their appearance, ease of cleaning, and availability of accessories. It is up to you to choose the fire pit that suits your needs.

These fire pits are light and portable, easy to use on a patio and for cooking, as well as sturdy and affordable. They can also be used for many years.

The research

Since 2006, I have been working for Wirecutter in various capacities. I write about everything from backpacks and luggage to road-trip gear to tents for car camping. I live on the North Shore Oahu in Hawaii and spend most of my time working on our camp gear and beach gear guides.

A half ton of charcoal was tested for a Wirecutter guide years ago. I compared the cooking temperatures and burn rates. For a long, I’ve been playing with fire at Wirecutter.

These models are ideal for those who have a small outdoor space and want a fire pit that produces less smoke.

While most of our picks can be moved by one to two people, you will need to have a dedicated brick or concrete patio space that is away from your house and any other flammable objects like sheds or trellises.

With a bit more practice and patience, one pick can replace an outdoor grill.

Our pick: Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0

• It may have the simple form and stainless-steel finish that you desire, or it might look more like a dryer drum. The Bonfire 2.0’s light weight makes it easy to drag it out and hide it away once it cools down.
• This is what you need if: A lightweight fire pit that can be moved easily from storage (e.g., under a cover or garage) to a patio.
• It’s simple, lightweight, and great for camping: The Solo Stove Bonfire2.0 is half the weight of other choices. The Bonfire is small enough to be hidden behind patio furniture and in the garage. The Bonfire, like all other fire pits, is easy to load wood into and light.
• However, because the Bonfire has a smaller diameter, it requires you to carefully stack standard-sized logs to fit. Does it really smoke? It is not. However, none of the pits that we tested were. The Bonfire consumes a lot of extra smoke once it starts to burn.
• Our rudimentary estimates show that the fire pit reduces smoke by 70% to 80%, depending on how much you use. We compared the Bonfire to an open firewood fire by using them both, and they were the same wood. Unexpectedly, the afterburn effect of smoke reduction seems to have the effect of directing the heat from the fire directly into the air.
• This reduces the amount of radiant heat that you would expect to feel sitting next to a regular firepit. The Bonfire’s thinner gauge metal seems to radiate and hold less heat than the heavier models.
• The stove’s metal sides are extremely hot. Solo Stove offers a range of sizes, including the Ranger 2.0 which measures 15 inches in diameter, and the Yukon 2.0 which measures 27 inches in diameter. We have not tested this accessory yet.
• The Bonfire, Ranger, and Yukon 2.0 models (available August 2022) include a removable ashpan and grate as well as a stand that allows for increased wind flow and heat separation from the ground or floor.
• The one flaw in the earlier models was that you had to flip the stove to get rid of the ash. This new design makes it much easier to clean the unit and rinse off the firewood.
• All smokeless fire pits leave very little ash to regular fires. The new models are $20 more expensive than the older versions.
• One of our test subjects lives in Southern California, which is prone to fire hazards. Because flying embers can be dangerous, Solo Stove Bonfire Shield was also tested.
• This stainless-steel 2-piece spark screen sits on top of the fire pit’s rim. The Bonfire size (medium) costs around $160. It’s sturdy and well-made.
• She found that it was perfect for her spark screen. The lid can be removed to add wood or to make the fire more efficient.
•  It’s an excellent accessory if you live in high-fire risk areas or want to minimize any sparks or pops from sitting near the fire. It can be stored upside-down in the fire pit when it is not in use.
• There are some flaws, but they don’t make it a dealbreaker: Because the Solo Bonfire’s single-piece body has no ash collection, cleaning the pit can be a little difficult if you don’t have access to a hose or a place to collect the runoff.
•  Solo Stove models should not be left out in the rain without a cover. The rain can mix with the ash, forming corrosive substances. Solo Stove offers two types of covers: a cloth cover and a metal one. However, a lid made from a 20-gallon trash container will work just as well.

Weight: 23.3 pounds

Pit opening: 17.5 inches

Height: 14 inches

Material: Grade 304 stainless steel

Limited lifetime warranty

The Tiki is a more natural-looking fire pit that doesn’t have the same industrial appearance as other smokeless models. Although the ashtray may be a bit fragile, it is easy to clean and remove.

This is the one for you if A classic, clean-looking fire pit that blends in with your patio. It has a wide, sturdy rim and is strong.

It’s amazing! This model almost feels like someone put thicker skin around a Solo Stove Bonfire. The Tiki Fire Pit is a pit that you will want to keep in place after you have set it up. However, its classic patio design doesn’t make it stand out as much as our other choices.

Tiki’s ash-collection plate is easy to remove, making it very simple to clean the pit after each use. Because of their “burning”, smokeless fire pits produce fine, easy-to-clean, ash. However, unlike the Tiki, most pits we tested required turning over and dumping to clean.

Tiki also offers starter bags and fuel made from wood-pellet packets. They are easy to use but not necessary to light a fire. Tiki also includes a cover that can be used to cover the entire fire pit when not in use.

Tiki offers a stainless steel spark screen kit called the Tiki Patio Fire Pit Screen and poker. It is used for its fire pit. The tester, who lives in Southern California, is in an area with high fire risk.

This means that sparks and embers must be contained. She tested the kit alongside the Solo Stove screen. The Tiki screen includes a poker-style tool, which you can use to remove it from heat and rearrange logs.

There’s also a bottle opener at the handle. Although the screen makes the stove’s opening smaller, she was able to reach in and tend to the fire.

It’s also convenient to remove the lid and hang it from the rim while adding more logs.

Flaws, but not a dealbreaker: The only problem we have found so far with the Tiki is its inability to radiate heat on cool nights.

Weight: 45 pounds

Pit opening: 17.5 inches

Height: 18.75 inches

Material: Stainless and powder-coated steel

Warranty: Two-year limited

• The Bree is an excellent standalone firepit, but it also has many accessories that allow you to customize it for any cook who enjoys cooking over an open fire.
• This is what you need if: A fire pit that can replace your existing grill or smoke pit with accessories.
• It’s amazing: None of the firepits we tested can replace a grill or cooker like the Breeo X Series 24.
• This is especially true when the Breeo X Series 24 comes with optional accessories like a SearPlate rim (which costs $120), a post-and-grill plate (which can be driven into the ground to make an open fire), or a kettle hook to hold a cast iron pot.
• Once you make the commitment, there are very few things that you can’t cook with the Bree. It does require a commitment in both price and time.
•  Open-fire cooking may not be for everyone. It’s not as convenient or easy as using a charcoal or gas grill, but some people love the challenge and the woody flavors.
• The SearPlate is the most straightforward option. Once the pit has been heated up, it can be used as an iron pan or hot griddle for cooking red meat and large vegetables. A Wirecutter staffer used the smaller Breeo for just over one year.
• It comes in three sizes. “I love my Breeo,” Annam Swanson, Wirecutter’s assistant said. We were looking for a simple fire pit to enjoy backyard parties with our friends. Two features were important to us.
• We needed a low-smoke design that wouldn’t bother our neighbors and doesn’t smoke up our house when we open our back door. And, we wanted the option of cooking or grilling, as we love to eat when we entertain.
• We have completely replaced our old, smoky, difficult-to-clean charcoal grill with the portable searing rim accessory and grill rack accessory.
• There are two options for the Breeo: Corten steel (pictured), which I think looks great and stainless steel, which costs $170 more (more like the Solo Stove Bonfire). The X Series 24 is the largest size.

The smallest Breeo measures 19 inches by the largest at 30 inches. (Bree also sells spark screens for its fire pits. We plan to test the screen for the X Series 24 very soon.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: If you treat your fire pit like a cooking pit, it’ll end up looking like a grill–grease-stained and blackened by char. You may want to buy good grease-cutting soap as well as several boxes of steel wool, even if this is not an issue.

SearPlate: Weight: 74 Pounds

Pit opening: 23.5 inches

Height: 14.75 inches

Material: Corten steel or stainless steel

Limited lifetime warranty; Breeo will also replace any fire pit that is rusty or burned through within five years of purchase

There aren’t many smokeless firepit options that have been well-reviewed. We assembled a list with seven potential candidates (one, the Hi Flame Portable Wood Burning Fire Pit wasn’t available during our testing phase), and tested them in deserts throughout Southern California and North Shore Oahu, Hawaii. Five of six models that we tested made it to the final cut.

Why? The initial thought was that there could be a performance difference between smokeless fire pit designs. Secondary combustion is responsible for the greatest amount of smoke.

After several months of testing, however, we found that the pits performed almost identically.

Your choice of wood, the amount of wood you use, the weather conditions, and how much wood you burn at once will have a greater impact on how well your pit performs than the pit design.

The decision to purchase a firepit is ultimately up to you, your taste, and your budget.

Your choice of wood, the amount of wet wood, and wind conditions will have a greater impact on how well your pit performs than the design of the pit itself.

Consider size and weight when looking for a firepit. You should first assess the area you have outside and ensure it is not too close to your home.

These pits should be placed on a concrete slab, bricks, or sand. Although smokeless fire pits can reduce the number of sparks and embers, they still provide open fire.

While a larger fire pit can hold more people, smaller fire pits are more portable and easy to transport. However, we discovered that the larger a fire pit, the more heat it radiates.

This is because of the smokeless effect of these designs, which seems to push the fire’s natural heat upwards, away from those gathered around it.

Biolite FirePit+ – Unlike other smokeless firepit designs that use heat transfer and airflow through double-wall designs to produce secondary combustion, Biolite FirePit+ uses an electrical fan to force air into the wood pile.

The fire pit is extremely lightweight and it works very well. However, the device as a whole feels poorly built, of weak materials–especially the mesh grill enclosure, which is made of thin pressed metal that, in our experience, has been prone to rust and brittle spots after exposure to high heat

After only a few use, we already noticed some wear to our test unit. We don’t believe this pit is worth the price at the moment.

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