The three Greatest Fireplace Pits of 2025, Examined & Reviewed

Considered one of my first evaluations for Severe Eats was for the Solo Range Bonfire. Earlier than that, constructing a hearth scared me, however I dug down deep, placed on a courageous face, and constructed a hearth worthy of the Beacons of Gondor (fellow LOTR nerds will get it). A few years and lots of fires later, I can get one going sooner than you may say “burn, child, burn.”

So, I just lately jumped on the likelihood to check a full lineup of fireside pits. There are two common kinds: barrel-shaped, smokeless hearth pits just like the Solo Range, and extra conventional, shallow, bowl-shaped ones. I examined each, turning my yard right into a (contained) inferno to seek out the most effective pits for stress-free with associates or cooking up sizzling canine.

The Winners, at a Look

Smokeless hearth pits burn clear and sizzling for a very long time, and the Solo Range is without doubt one of the finest. It’s extremely straightforward to arrange and ignites shortly. For those who’re nervous about beginning a hearth like I as soon as was, this hearth pit gives you the arrogance to do it repeatedly. Paired with the grill hub, it’s straightforward to prepare dinner on, too. The hefty forged iron grill grate bought depraved sizzling and produced deep char marks on sizzling canine and quick ribs.

Organising the Breeo was so simple as slotting within the grill grate. Constructing a hearth was additionally straightforward and quick: Simply add some hearth starter and logs, and lightweight it up. The grill grate could be lowered or raised to fine-tune the temperature, which is right for meals that must be shortly seared, like Korean-style galbi ribs.

If a hoop of rocks is inadequate to your campfire setup, take into account this moveable hearth pit from Breeo. It has a carrying bag, a built-in deal with, and is comparatively light-weight at 31 kilos. Plus, it has extendable legs that maintain it elevated from the bottom, so you may set it up wherever. The compact measurement concentrated the warmth, cooking meals quick and leading to a deep sear.

The Checks

• Setup Check: I timed how lengthy it took to assemble every hearth pit. I famous if the method was straightforward or exacting. 
• Fireplace Lighting Check: I constructed a hearth in every hearth pit, timing how lengthy it took to catch and burn steadily.
• Sizzling Canine Check: After getting the hearth constructed and letting it burn right into a mattress of sizzling embers, I cooked a few sizzling canine over every hearth pit. I famous how lengthy it took and if the new canine bought sear.
• Meal Check (Winners Solely): I used my favourite hearth pits to prepare dinner a easy meal of galbi ribs, charred bok choy, and grilled pineapple. 
• Cleansing and Storage Checks: After letting the hearth pits cool, I swept out the ash and moved them into my storage, evaluating how straightforward it was to do each.

What We Realized

The Greatest Fireplace Pits Had been Straightforward to Set Up

A hearth pit isn’t a gasoline grill, so it must be straightforward to place collectively. However the conventional, bowl-shaped hearth pits had me shut to ripping my hair out as I chased down {hardware} and looked for a screwdriver. It took me upward of an hour to assemble the Pit Boss—there was an annoying help ring that needed to be put collectively in simply the proper order, or else it wouldn’t connect to the legs. 

Alternatively, smokeless hearth pits, just like the Breeo ones and the Solo Range Bonfire, have been blissfully straightforward to arrange: I might kind of unbox them and lightweight a hearth. It took a couple of minutes to fit within the grill grate on the Breeo fashions, however I didn’t want screws or a screwdriver to do it. These hearth pits let me spend much less time assembling and extra time having fun with the heat of the hearth. 

Stainless Metal, Smokeless Fireplace Pits Had been Straightforward to Gentle and Use

Straightforward lighting was one other win for smokeless hearth pits. Each the Breeo pits and Solo Range took round eight minutes to get a constant hearth going. Shallow, conventional hearth pits have been extra finicky. And if it’s breezy, overlook it. The wind picked up after I tried to begin a hearth within the Bali hearth pit, and the wooden wouldn’t ignite. That is possible because of the shallow, open bowl development—whilst you need airflow to get a hearth going, it’s powerful to get the spark to catch when the newborn flame retains getting extinguished by a gust of wind. The smokeless hearth pits have been completely totally different: They have been barrel-shaped, insulated, and had vents on the backside, permitting air to convect up by means of the partitions to gas the hearth whereas nonetheless defending the budding flame. 

How Do Smokeless Fireplace Pits Work?

Whereas conventional hearth pits are shallow metallic tubs, smokeless hearth pits are extra advanced. They’re double-walled with vents on the backside and prime that direct airflow and assist construct warmth. Solo Range explains that the first burn is when the logs catch hearth, and a secondary burn happens throughout the double partitions when the smoke particulates burn off. Per the Solo Range web site: “As your flames improve in temperature, so do your hearth pit’s partitions. In flip, the temperature of the air pulled from the decrease vent holes additionally will increase, and as we all know, sizzling air rises. As quickly because the air is superheated, it strikes to the highest and shortly shoots out of the hearth pit’s higher vent holes. That is the place the secondary burn happens: the ultra-hot air hits the flame’s smoke, and makes use of it as gas, burning it up and contributing to the warmth of your flame.” This development meant that the fires bought and stayed sizzling, not like the broader hearth pits, which struggled to construct a roaring hearth.

Gear You Must Use a Fireplace Pit

First, you’ll desire a protected spot to mild it up. Ideally, a stone patio or a couple of blocks of concrete. Positive, you may simply place a pit on the grass, however each Breeo and Solo Range warn that it’ll possible injury your garden. Decks are dangerous (hearth and wooden combine a bit too nicely), so I’d keep away from them. 

To get the hearth going, seize a couple of items of fireside starter, kiln-dried firewood, and an igniter—this can be a nice excuse to interrupt out your kitchen torch! You may get the hearth going with a lighter, however torches are sooner and more practical. I wish to construct a small pyramid with three items of starter, then layer the firewood like a hashtag or pile it in a pyramid. Then, mild it up. 

It’s a good suggestion to have a poker or some hearth tongs to maneuver issues round and break up embers, too. I’d additionally maintain a stack of firewood close by in case it’s essential to bolster the warmth, in addition to a pair of heatproof grill gloves to maintain your fingers cool when including a log. Lastly, an ash scoop (or a shovel) is useful for cleansing up the hearth pit as soon as it’s utterly cooled. 

If You Wish to Cook dinner on a Fireplace Pit, Get a Smokeless One

When it got here to getting a sizzling mattress of embers for cooking, the smokeless hearth pits gained out. I examined the Solo Range and the Barebones Cowboy hearth pit aspect by aspect, and the Solo Range blew the Barebones away when it comes to velocity, warmth, and effectivity. It took about an hour to get the Solo Range to ignite, kind a sizzling mattress of coals, and prepare dinner some sizzling canine. The Barebones, in the meantime, took practically an hour and a half simply to burn all the way down to a sizzling mattress of coals. Then, I needed to look forward to the grill grate to heat up earlier than I might sear the new canine, which cooked very slowly as a result of the coals weren’t that sizzling. I’d’ve been hungry and barely aggravated if this had been my dinner plan. 

The Standards: What to Search for in a Fireplace Pit

One of the best hearth pits have been straightforward to assemble. I didn’t wish to spend my time tightening screws—I needed to get a hearth going. They need to even be nicely ventilated and capable of get a gradual hearth burning shortly. In my assessments, smokeless hearth pits carried out the most effective. They’re straightforward to arrange, ignite quickly, and construct a gradual, intense warmth. Whereas they aren’t utterly smokeless—there will likely be a couple of wisps right here and there—you’ll spend much less time inhaling smoke than you’d with a basin-shaped hearth pit.

Our Favourite Fireplace Pits

What we appreciated: The Solo Range is extremely straightforward to arrange and use. It took me lower than two minutes to assemble it, should you can name inserting an ash pan and base plate within it “meeting.” Constructing a hearth was painless, and it took three minutes to catch and begin burning. 

The important thing to the Solo Range’s success lies in its double partitions and air flow, which create a sizzling burn with minimal smoke. The hearth will final hours, and it’s tremendous straightforward to have a tendency: Simply transfer some logs round, add a couple of when the flames get low, and your hearth will final the night time. It’s additionally sturdy: I’ve had a Solo Range Bonfire for a couple of years, and it’s nonetheless in nice form, even after rain publicity. 

For those who’re into live-fire cooking, the grill hub makes it straightforward: Simply set it on prime of the range, let it preheat for 10 to fifteen minutes, and it’s able to go. Sizzling canine cooked up plump and taut with deep char marks. The galbi quick ribs cooked on the Solo Range have been additionally by far the most effective I made, due to the forged iron grill grate, which seared char marks on the meat. 

What we didn’t like: Though I believe the worth of the hearth pit is cheap, if you wish to prepare dinner on it, the grill hub is dear.

Key Specs

• Weight: 23.3 kilos
• Sizes: 15 (Ranger), 19.5 (Bonfire), 27 (Yukon), and 30 inches (Canyon)
• Inside opening diameter: 17.5 inches
• Outer diameter: 19.5 inches
• Supplies: Chrome steel
• Guarantee: Lifetime

What we appreciated: Just like the Solo Range, the Breeo is straightforward to arrange and has twin partitions that create lots of warmth sans lots of smoke. It took lower than 10 minutes to construct a crackling hearth that lasted hours with feeding. The legs on the underside made it really feel protected to arrange on grass, although I’d nonetheless suggest inserting it on some bricks or different heatproof materials. The huge opening made it straightforward so as to add logs, too. 

The Breeo was additionally nice for cooking. The grill grate could be moved up and down, and its diamond sample is huge sufficient to let warmth by means of however slender sufficient to forestall meals from falling into the flames. 

What we didn’t like: It’s costly and 24 kilos heavier than the Solo Range Bonfire. Seize a pair of grill gloves when adjusting the grate—the metallic deal with will get sizzling. 

Key Specs

• Weight: 47 kilos (19-inch hearth pit)
• Sizes: 19, 24, and 30 inches
• Inside opening diameter: 17 inches
• Outer diameter: 22 inches
• Supplies: Chrome steel
• Guarantee: 5 years

What we appreciated: Bought as a transportable hearth pit, this 31-pound, compact providing was straightforward to pack up and transfer, due to a deal with on the aspect. It has legs that slide out, so you may set it up anyplace, and the bundle contains a carrying case. Like its larger sibling, the Breeo Y-Collection ignited shortly and burned sizzling—two necessities of hearth pit. Although petite, it nonetheless threw off sufficient warmth to maintain me heat on a cool spring night. 

And, like the opposite smokeless hearth pits, it was nice for cooking. A thick unfold of embers glowed after about 50 minutes, which was fairly quick. Sizzling canine and galbi ribs bought glistening, darkish brown grill marks, and bok choy was properly charred. The grill grate is giant sufficient to grill sufficient meals for 2 to 3 folks. 

What we didn’t like: This smaller hearth pit bundle is dearer than the usual Breeo bundle, which is puzzling. One of many legs on my mannequin arrived dented, and I needed to hit it with a hammer to get it to increase. Whereas it’s moveable, it’s heavier than the Solo Range.

Key Specs

• Weight: 31 kilos
• Sizes: 21 inches 
• Inside opening diameter: 15 inches
• Outer diameter: 21 inches
• Supplies: Chrome steel
• Guarantee: 5 years

The Competitors

• Pit Boss Cowboy Fireplace Pit: This hearth pit took over an hour—and a bajillion screws—to assemble. The bowl-style pit wasn’t as fast to mild or warmth up because the smokeless choices and burned slowly, releasing a continuing trickle of smoke. It’s additionally foolish massive. 
• Barebones Cowboy Fireplace Pit 23-Inch: This hearth pit was straightforward to assemble, so it had that going for it. Like the opposite bowl-shaped hearth pits, it took a very long time to get a hearth going, and it burned slowly. It was troublesome to regulate the grill grate mid-cook; the deal with needed to be unscrewed to slip the grill grate down, which led to a couple sizzling canine making a break for the flames. It additionally took about an hour and a half to lastly burn right into a handful of sizzling embers for cooking—far too lengthy.  
• BALI OUTDOORS Fireplace Pit: Like the opposite bowl-style hearth pits, this was one gradual to ignite and burn. It took 45 minutes to assemble, solely to provide middling outcomes. 

FAQs

What are you able to prepare dinner on a hearth pit?

You may prepare dinner a great deal of meals on a hearth pit in case you have the proper instruments, together with a grill grate and a few sturdy forged iron or carbon metal pans. I’d suggest beginning with one thing easy, like sizzling canine, to get a really feel for the method. When you’ve gotten the hold of it, discover cooking kebabs, galbi ribs, and even nachos or brownies. 

How do you clear a hearth pit?

As soon as the ashes are utterly cool, use an ash shovel to scoop them out right into a bucket. That’s it! 

What’s the easiest way to retailer a hearth pit?

Whilst you can depart a hearth pit exterior, uncovered and uncovered to the weather, it might rust, so placing a canopy or tarp on it when it’s not in use is a good suggestion. Not solely will it stop rust, however it’ll additionally maintain particles from gathering inside. Simply ensure it’s utterly cooled earlier than you cowl it. 

Why We’re the Specialists 

• Grace Kelly is a senior editor at Severe Eats, the place she’s been reviewing kitchen gear for 3 years. 
• Considered one of her first evaluations for the location was of the Solo Range Bonfire. 
• For this assessment, Grace examined six hearth pits by assembling, lighting a hearth, and cooking on them.