Best Smokeless Fire Pits for Camp and Backyard: Portable Picks Compared

Best value smokeless fire pit

Sportsman's Warehouse: $149.99, in stock, free ship-to-home · Size: 19.5 x 14.5 in · Weight: 21.8 lb · Owner reviews: none yet

This is the smokeless fire pit most people should look at first, for one reason: it's the same size and shape as the best-known 19.5-inch smokeless pit for about half the money. Sportsman's lists it at $149.99 with free shipping.

Sportsman's describes it as a low-smoke stainless steel fire pit with a removable grate for clean-up and a carry bag included. The listing photo shows the familiar double-wall design, with a ring of vent holes around the base and another under the rim. That's the layout smokeless-pit makers say pulls air in low and feeds heated air back into the top of the fire to burn off smoke. Sportsman's doesn't publish its own explanation of the airflow, so treat "smokeless" as the seller's claim, not a guarantee.

The honest catch: this listing has no owner reviews yet. Its bigger 27-inch sibling (#3) has three five-star reviews, and one owner wrote that it's "just as good as the solo stove." That's one person's opinion, not a test, but it's the best owner signal this line has so far.

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Most proven smokeless fire pit

Solo Stove list price: $299.99 with stand on solostove.com (Amazon prices vary) · Size: 19.5 x 14.3 in · Weight: 23.3 lb + 1.7 lb stand · Owner rating: 4.9 from 39,678 reviews on Solo Stove's site

When people search "solo fire pit," this is what they mean. Solo Stove calls the Bonfire its most popular fire pit, and it has the biggest owner record in the whole category: 39,678 reviews averaging 4.9 stars, with 37,578 of them five stars and 64 one star.

The bundle is the 19.5-inch stainless Bonfire plus a stand, which Solo Stove says you need on a wood deck. Ash falls through a removable base plate into an ash pan, so you dump the pan once it's cold instead of tipping the pit. A nylon carry case comes with it.

Solo Stove is honest about smoke: it says a little startup smoke is normal and clears once the fire gets going, and that dry, kiln-dried hardwood like oak or maple gives the cleanest "secondary burn." Owners agree. One says it's "really SMOKELESS" and transformed his outdoor area; another says her clothes and hair don't smell like smoke. Solo Stove's own review summary notes that some owners find the minimal smoke unnecessary. If you want a smaller one for camping, the Solo Stove Ranger 15" + Stand lists at $229.99 with 4.9 stars from 4,919 reviews.

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Best big smokeless pit for the backyard

Sportsman's Warehouse: $199.99, in stock, free ship-to-home · Size: 27 x 16 in · Weight: 31.9 lb · Owner rating: 5.0 from 3 at Sportsman's

If you have a family or a group around the fire most weekends, go bigger. The Ridgeline 27-inch is the widest pit in this guide, and at $199.99 it works out to about $7.41 per inch of width, cheaper per inch than the 19.5-inch model.

Same design as #1 (stainless, low-smoke double-wall layout, removable grate, carry bag) at 31.9 pounds. Solo Stove's 27-inch Yukon with stand lists at $499.99.

Three owners rate it five stars. One calls it "perfect for a large group" and likes that it comes apart; another says the family has used it every night for a week. The one complaint was shipping: an owner's unit arrived with a small dent, and Sportsman's offered a credit.

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Best propane fire pit for burn bans

Sportsman's Warehouse: $149.99, in stock, free ship-to-home · Output: 54,000 BTU · Size: 18.5 x 14.6 in · Owner rating: 4.8 from 57 at Sportsman's

"Fire pit propane" is the second-biggest search in this category, and this is the propane pit with the best owner record at Sportsman's: 57 reviews averaging 4.8 stars. Wood smoke can't bother anyone because there isn't any.

Bond lists 54,000 BTU, an electric igniter, adjustable flame and a locking lid with a carry handle, so you can pack it up as one piece. It comes with pumice stones, a 10-foot hose with regulator and a seat that holds a standard 20-pound propane tank (sold separately). Bond says you get up to 15 hours of fire from a 20-pound tank.

Owners mostly buy it for fire restrictions: several mention burn bans in Colorado and Arizona, and one used it in hunting camp during a campfire ban. Whether propane is allowed during a ban depends on the rule, so check first. Owners say it's warm in 40-degree weather. The complaints: one igniter quit on the second use, another is "a little finicky," and two owners say it burns a lot of propane. One 4-star owner's advice: don't expect the heat of a big wood campfire.

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Lightest full-size camp fire pit

Sportsman's Warehouse: $249.99, in stock, free ship-to-home (delivery by November 23) · Weight: 8 lb · Folded: 31 x 7 x 7 in · Owner reviews: none yet

The Gaze isn't a steel can. It's a stainless mesh basket on folding aluminum-and-steel legs, and that's why it weighs only 8 pounds while holding up to 135 pounds of wood, per ALPS Mountaineering. It folds to 31 x 7 x 7 inches and goes in a carry bag with no assembly.

ALPS says the mesh is rated to 2,500°F, lets in enough air for a clean burn with reduced smoke, and cools fast so you can pack it away at the end of the night. It comes with a heat-resistant ground sheet to catch embers that fall through the mesh. ALPS asks you not to use color-changing fire additives and to let the fire burn itself out, both to protect the mesh.

Two cautions: no owner reviews at Sportsman's yet, and the warranty is listed as both one-year limited and lifetime, so check with ALPS. No basket diameter is listed, so it isn't on the chart's width scale.

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Best smokeless pit with a stand and cover

TIKI list price: $249.00 on tikibrand.com (Amazon prices vary) · Size: 20 in diameter (TIKI), 25.5 in overall · Weight: 32 lb · Owner rating: 4.8 from 18 on TIKI's site

"TIKI smokeless fire pit" was one of the fastest-rising searches this month. The Social is TIKI's smallest smokeless model, and it's the one TIKI's own size chart calls its best value.

TIKI says it's built for four to six people with a 4-foot heat radius. It's 16-gauge stainless steel with a powder-coated finish, has built-in handles, and comes with a stand and a weather-resistant cover. A removable base handles ash, and a reversible dome insert lets you burn logs or TIKI's wood pellet packs, which TIKI says light instantly and burn about 30 minutes each.

TIKI lists a 20-inch diameter (a 17-inch fire bowl, 25.5 inches overall), and at 32 pounds it's the heaviest pit here. Reviews average 4.8 stars, but there are only 18.

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Best tabletop smokeless fire pit

Sportsman's Warehouse: $32.99, in stock, ships (free over $75) · Size: 7 x 8.25 in · Weight: 2.6 lb · Owner rating: 5.0 from 1

For s'mores on the patio table or a little flame at the campsite picnic table, the Ridgeline 7-inch is $32.99. It's a miniature of the 19.5 and 27: stainless steel with a black finish, vents around the base, a removable grate and a carry bag, at 2.64 pounds.

At 7 inches across, only small sticks or pieces of wood fit, so it's for ambiance and marshmallows, not heat. The one owner review says it's "perfect for small spaces, easy to clean, great for making s'mores." Set it on a non-flammable surface; the outside of any metal fire pit gets hot.

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Best cheap open fire pit

Sportsman's Warehouse: $99.97, in stock, free ship-to-home · Size: 26 x 26 x 16.7 in · Weight: 28 lb · Owner rating: 4.0 from 1

Not every fire pit needs to be smokeless. If you just want a real backyard fire for under $100, this square steel pit is $99.97 and 26 inches wide, so store-bought firewood fits easily, per Sportsman's.

It's powder-coated steel with mesh-lined walls to cut escaping sparks, a mesh screen lid and a poker. It's an open design, so expect normal campfire smoke.

The one owner review is useful: the screen lets in just enough air without over-feeding the fire, but the pit sits low and "killed our grass underneath." Put it on pavers, gravel or a fire-pit mat.

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