ActiveOutdoorsSolo Stove Bonfire 2.0 review: a portable pit for brilliant burnsExpensive it may be, but can you put a price on an evening around the fire?When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)T3 VerdictThe Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 is unique. It looks different to everything else in its field, it works differently, and it packs away perfectly. It’s not going to work miracles, and accessorising it out means emptying your bank account, but it’s an incredibly satisfying way to get a fire going.Reasons to buy+Fully portable and easy to pack away+Unique looks suit modern gardens+Burns off smoke when the fire’s roaring…Reasons to avoid-…but can be smoky when things are cooler-Rather expensive, even it its base configuration-Appearance won’t suit every gardenWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
ActiveOutdoorsSolo Stove Bonfire 2.0 review: a portable pit for brilliant burnsExpensive it may be, but can you put a price on an evening around the fire?When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)T3 VerdictThe Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 is unique. It looks different to everything else in its field, it works differently, and it packs away perfectly. It’s not going to work miracles, and accessorising it out means emptying your bank account, but it’s an incredibly satisfying way to get a fire going.Reasons to buy+Fully portable and easy to pack away+Unique looks suit modern gardens+Burns off smoke when the fire’s roaring…Reasons to avoid-…but can be smoky when things are cooler-Rather expensive, even it its base configuration-Appearance won’t suit every gardenWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Expensive it may be, but can you put a price on an evening around the fire?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)T3 VerdictThe Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 is unique. It looks different to everything else in its field, it works differently, and it packs away perfectly. It’s not going to work miracles, and accessorising it out means emptying your bank account, but it’s an incredibly satisfying way to get a fire going.Reasons to buy+Fully portable and easy to pack away+Unique looks suit modern gardens+Burns off smoke when the fire’s roaring…Reasons to avoid-…but can be smoky when things are cooler-Rather expensive, even it its base configuration-Appearance won’t suit every garden
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
T3 VerdictThe Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 is unique. It looks different to everything else in its field, it works differently, and it packs away perfectly. It’s not going to work miracles, and accessorising it out means emptying your bank account, but it’s an incredibly satisfying way to get a fire going.Reasons to buy+Fully portable and easy to pack away+Unique looks suit modern gardens+Burns off smoke when the fire’s roaring…Reasons to avoid-…but can be smoky when things are cooler-Rather expensive, even it its base configuration-Appearance won’t suit every garden
T3 VerdictThe Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 is unique. It looks different to everything else in its field, it works differently, and it packs away perfectly. It’s not going to work miracles, and accessorising it out means emptying your bank account, but it’s an incredibly satisfying way to get a fire going.
T3 Verdict
The Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 is unique. It looks different to everything else in its field, it works differently, and it packs away perfectly. It’s not going to work miracles, and accessorising it out means emptying your bank account, but it’s an incredibly satisfying way to get a fire going.
Reasons to buy+Fully portable and easy to pack away+Unique looks suit modern gardens+Burns off smoke when the fire’s roaring…Reasons to avoid-…but can be smoky when things are cooler-Rather expensive, even it its base configuration-Appearance won’t suit every garden
Reasons to buy+Fully portable and easy to pack away+Unique looks suit modern gardens+Burns off smoke when the fire’s roaring…
Fully portable and easy to pack away
Unique looks suit modern gardens
Burns off smoke when the fire’s roaring…
Reasons to avoid-…but can be smoky when things are cooler-Rather expensive, even it its base configuration-Appearance won’t suit every garden
…but can be smoky when things are cooler
Rather expensive, even it its base configuration
Appearance won’t suit every garden
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
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But not all fire pits are created equal. The vast majority demand that you create a permanent space for them to sit, or at least threaten to dislodge a few vertebrae if you deign to move them. Most also enjoy rusting, and while they’ll claim it’s a natural patina I’m really not so sure about that.
Solo Stove’s idea is something quite different. The company has been built on the concept of portable stainless steel fire pits. They’ll develop a patina, sure, but it shouldn’t be a fuzzy orange one that threatens to turn them to flakes in a couple of years. So, let’s check out the second edition of the Bonfire and see what’s up.
Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 review: Unboxing and setup
It’s not especially hard to free the Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 from its box. It doesn’t weigh an awful lot, though it’s tightly packed in the bottom layer of polystyrene, so it’s either a job for two people or a task for one determined individual employing a little creative footwork and a few well-placed swears. Ahem.
Inside the main shell of the Bonfire 2.0, you’ll find several other components. First, an edge ring, designed to sit on the top of the pit and direct airflow. It comes inverted to shave a centimetre or two from the Bonfire’s height, but the instructions are clear enough to install it the other way up when you’re actually running a fire.
Next in the package is the fire grate, a slightly convex disc upon which you put your wood for burning, and (new for the 2.0 version of the Bonfire) a removable ash pan to sit beneath it. There’s absolutely no complex assembly to do, or really anything I’d term ‘assembly’ at all. Just place the items where they’re supposed to go and you’re ready.
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 review: design and features
The Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 has two key gimmicks. I’ve already revealed the first of these: it’s lightweight and portable, and it’s fair to say that Solo Stove has succeeded on that front. Made of a double skin of stainless steel, rather than the big hunks of rusty iron that certain others employ, this isn’t a chore to lift or to disassemble, though I did admit defeat and ask for help when it came to inserting it into the included waterproof bag.
The key here are those holes around the outside base and inside top edge. As the fire heats up, the holes allow the Bonfire to pull clean, cool air in from the outside, drag it through the double-skinned outer walls, and eject it above the flames. This effectively creates the opportunity for secondary combustion, in theory burning off the smoke. Note the careful language I’m using there, because it’ll be important later on.
It’s worth talking about the way the Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 looks, because it’s going to be divisive. Rustic charm this ain’t: it’s a very industrial design. I quite like it, particularly once the steel starts to discolour into rainbow hues after a few good fires. At the same time, I have to admit that there’s something of a hobos-huddled-around-an-oil-can vibe to the whole thing, which may not set the kind of mood you want it to if you have a more traditional-looking garden.
Image1of3(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
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(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 review: performance
Here’s where I come back to that low-smoke burning gimmick with a mixture of good and bad news.
First the good: when the Bonfire is blazing, it really works. You can basically see the afterburner kicking in, with an extra lick of flame just at the point where it leaves the main body of the Bonfire, and little to no smoke output at all. But when the fire isn’t quite hot enough, this either can’t pull quite enough convection or doesn’t have enough heat to kick off the process. That means that while this is far more polite than many fire pits, it has periods which are smoky enough that I wouldn’t really recommend it for super-urban environments unless you’re feeling particularly antisocial.
And this is a very social fire pit. It’s a delight to be around, because it keeps your face free of smoke and throws off a bucket load of heat. My family and I found it great for toasting marshmallows entirely too quickly, and with a little jerry-rigging of a suitably-sized grill grate (or an investment in one of Solo Stove’s first-party offerings) you could probably cook a sausage or two on your embers.
Clean up is easier than it would have been on the previous generation of the Bonfire thanks to the included ash pan. Don’t think, though, that this entirely solves the ‘hold the whole thing upside down and shake it to clean it’ problem. There’s a lip around the ash pan that will catch little charcoal nuggets and plenty of ash, and a void below it that may host a little water or debris if you’re unlucky. While it’s easy enough to remove the bulk from the edges – you can generally sweep it in to the pan when cleaning up – you’ll still need to invert the main part of the Bonfire now and then, particularly if you’re putting it away in the bag.
Image1of2(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
Image1of2(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
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(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
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(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 review: Price and availability
You can still get the 1.0 version of the Bonfire, without an ash pan or a stand, for around £200. While you can burn up a storm in it, it’ll be a pain to clean and you’ll scorch your lawn.
I’m reviewing the base model of the Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0, which comes in at just over £300 and can be found onAmazon, third party sellers, or directly fromSolo Stove. If I had a big complaint about anything, it would be the price: this feels precision-made, and more special than other fire pits, but that’s a significant price – and it only goes up once you factor in accessories.
Invest (a significant amount) more and Solo Stove has a laundry list of extras to choose from, including a lid for rain proofing, a heat deflector to further improve its gather-round credentials, a shield to prevent the escape of any embers and your choice of a griddle-top or grill-top. I’m happy with the basic set, honestly, but if you’re thinking of making this a more permanent addition to your garden then there’s plenty of scope to expand.
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
(Image credit: Alex Cox / T3)
Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 review: Verdict
I thoroughly enjoyed having the Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 on my lawn, and the included stand meant that the lawn didn’t seem to mind at all. It doesn’t do magic, but it does effectively remove the bulk of the smoke from your burn – that, and its fairly unique looks, mean this is a fire pit that’s very unlike the majority of its competition. If you want something which can live in your shed through the winter and which doesn’t demand a significant weight training regiment to set up, this is absolutely the best fire pit going. Even if you don’t think you need a fire pit, the Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 is one serious convincer.
Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0: Price Comparison
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