I’ve been looking at these for a while. Are they really almost smokeless? Do you recommend? Any cheaper alternatives? Any coupon codes? What accessories?

I have the bonfire and it is every damn bit as good as advertised. Takes a bit to get going so use a good amount of twigs and kindling. But once it’s going it has very low amount of smoke and you just dump logs in. It burns awesome with secondary flames coming out the inside holes at the top. Never needed to stoke the fire at all and practically nothing left in it but ash once the fire burns out.

They used to do Black Friday deals. I am not on Facebook anymore but they would post deals there a lot. The bigger Yukon wasn’t out when I got mine. I’d love that but the only criticism I see is it burns a ton of wood.

I actually just ordered the new stainless cover they came out with about a month ago. It’s shipping to me now. I have had mine about 3 years out in the weather with no ill affects other than discoloration of the steel from hot burning.

Thanks. Does it put out a good bit of heat or is it more for the ambience? I like to hang out on the patio as far into the winter as possible.

We’ve had the big one for a year or so, love it. Like frayedends said, once it gets going it’s basically smokeless. Ours pumps out quite a bit of heat as long as you’re within 3-4 feet. We have the vinyl cover for it, I like the idea of a lid though might have to check that out. You do, I think, need smaller logs vs. a regular fireplace.

I generally use it in summer for ambiance. It does put out good heat but the heat is concentrated near the center of the pit so you do need to be close to it. I have seen posts on a solo stove owner’s group on Facebook saying there isn’t enough heat for winter. The Facebook folks build all sorts of heat deflectors to hang over it. I’d guess it’s not enough heat if it’s ice cold out.

IIRC, there was a more economical version on Amazon Prime that was built more sturdily and got higher customer ratings. Can't find it, now. Maybe not made anymore.

We've had a Bonfire for a year now and LOVE it. Easy to start and, with decent load of seasoned wood, will put out more than enough heat to keep you warm in the upper 40s-50s. For AL/MS environment it's perfect, anxious to finally get some weather suitable.

Oh - like me others are probably skeptical of the claims of it self-ingesting almost all the smoke. It really does, far better than I'd have imagined. It's nothing like sitting around a campfire where no matter where you go, there comes the smoke!

For accessories, their bundle with the storage bag and the ring to set underneath is a good deal, and will keep it from overheating painted concrete, wood, etc. I got one of their weatherproof covers, it works but is SUPER snug and can't go on until cooled down.

They now have a stainless lid, albeit backordered, that should keep water out and can go on while still warm. Waiting on ours to deliver. I'd pick that over the cover and just improvise until that ships.

And of course, you'll want some sort of poker to be able to fiddle around with the burning wood!

2 thumbs up.

eta - to light ours I use either the weed burner if in a hurry, or usually 2 or 3 of these little squares or similar.
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I have the bonfire model and it's great. Worth every penny.

love ours...

My neighbor got a Breeo last year and after sitting around his a few times it's on my list of toys to get. As long as you don't build the wood up past the rim of the pit virtually smokeless. His has a 5" wide stainless steel rim around it. We cooked burgers on it one night and he can lay a sear on a steak like you've never seen. Awesome pit!

Get the optional screen for the top if you use near a home or other fire dangers.

quote:

Originally posted by lastmanstanding:
My neighbor got a Breeo last year and after sitting around his a few times it's on my list of toys to get. As long as you don't build the wood up past the rim of the pit virtually smokeless. His has a 5" wide stainless steel rim around it. We cooked burgers on it one night and he can lay a sear on a steak like you've never seen. Awesome pit!

When ensigmatic posted about another brand, Breeo was the one I was trying to think of. I have no experience with them but on the Facebook page I mentioned people also like the Breeo. There are many posts of Breeo vs Solostove. Sort of like Sig/Glock threads.

I have the bonfire and love it. They are marked down 30% right now.

Bonfire user here as well. Very nice, sturdy unit. Smokeless for the most part as long as the burning logs don't exceed the height of the unit. As stated above it takes a little to get to the roaring stage, but once it does, it just devours seasoned wood. Throws off lots of heat as the all metal construction radiates it outwards, unlike decorative stove fire pits who's stone absorbs the heat, and radiates nothing outwards. The heat only coming from the flames above the rim of the stone. I also like it because it's portable, so when I want it, I place it where I like, unlike a more permanent fixture that you have to work around. While they are expensive, the stainless appears to be quality and of pretty heavy gauge, not like the junk you get in BBQ's these days.

As I understand it they downsized the largest model from 30" to 27" to better accommodate shipping (lower freight charges).

My understanding was the 30” models kept getting dented during shipping. A few folks posted they got deals on dented 30” models when they made the switch.

I have the original 30" "Yukon" model. I love it. It has to be damn near full of wood to get going and be smokeless. It is big and eats a lot of wood. Not a problem for me, but be aware.