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Oct 14, 2023

The 9 Best Smokeless Fire Pits of 2023

Set the mood and make it easy with only a little smoke. We independently

Set the mood and make it easy with only a little smoke.

We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more.

Courtesy of Merchant / Photo Illustration by Marcus Millan for Food & Wine

Through no fault of its own, a fire pit will become the social gathering point of your outside area. As we’re clearly not descended from moths, it's likely thousands of years of encoding telling us that fire represents safety from predators, warmth, and a place for cooking and communing. And for eons, that warmth and communal safety came with a complimentary bath of smoke.

New designs in fire pits, however, play on largely forgotten human knowledge: superheating air from the fire and burning the suspended particles in the smoke minimizes the smoke that leaves the pit. Many cultures, including the Indigenous people of the American plains, have used this principle, among other ends, to avoid sending a black cloud into the sky that indicated their location. As you’re probably suspecting, smokeless fire pits are not actually smokeless, but the idea is that the particles and accompanying odors are considerably less. Read on to see our thoughts on the best smokeless fire pits below.

Amazon

There's essentially no assembly necessary, and the new removable ash pan makes cleanup easy.

It burns a lot of wood when fully lit, and some handles would make this easier to move.

The Yukon features solid stainless steel construction with 360° airflow, creating an almost smokeless burn. It burns hot and clean once fully lit, although it presents a slight learning curve to reach that point. Once fully lit and burning smokelessly, the Yukon requires a lot of fuel to burn because of the high temperatures. It has almost complete combustion and yields nearly nothing but ash to clean after burning. The 2.0 improvements over the original model include an ash pan and baseplate that make cleanup significantly more manageable. The only real drawbacks are that an included cover would be nice, and, as with other round fire pits, some handles would be helpful for moving the 42-pound appliance.

Price at time of publish: $460

Amazon

It's inexpensive and well-built.

It's small, so not it's effective for large groups, and it struggles to burn large pieces of wood.

This 15-inch fire pit is equally suitable for an outdoor space or to pack and take with you to the park, beach, or camping. At the same price point as traditional pits, the InnoStage gets you into the dual-walled design that draws air from the bottom for a nearly smokeless experience. It comes with built-in handles for easy ash disposal or for carrying. The two-tier structure allows for easy assembly and cleanup, and it also comes with a convenient carrying bag for portability. To add convenience, the InnoStage can burn wood or pellets.

Price at time of publish: $95

Amazon

It's highly efficient, emits very little smoke, and comes fully assembled.

What you see is what you get; all accessories require a separate purchase for this heavy pit.

The Breeo combines efficiency with rugged good looks. The burn chamber, which sits on a stainless steel frame, is made of blue corten steel, which forms a natural patina from the heat it generates with use. The elevated pit allows air flow from the bottom, where the fire heats it, and then directs it up the double-walled sides before exiting for secondary combustion, yielding low smoke and fuller combustion of your wood.

The dual-steel construction adds weight, for sure, but also strength and durability – consider the build that of a stylish tank. Looking at the downsides, it carries a high price tag and comes with zero accessories, so if you’d like a cover or a cooking setup, you’ll have to purchase it separately.

Price at time of publish: $599

Amazon

This fire pit is lightweight and substantially built.

It requires pellets or smaller pieces of wood to operate as a smokeless pit and can be accidentally overloaded, making it smokey.

There are multiple good choices for a smokeless portable fire pit. We chose the Ridge for its simple design, longevity, and ease of carrying. The two-piece design consists of a firebox and an ash collector, which nest when packed and sit on top of each other for use. Recommendations call for pellets for optimal performance, but small wood pieces up to 10 inches long will fit in the firebox.

The Ridge's design will burn to temperatures up to 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit to create a "smokeless" pit, and the body is constructed of heavy-duty steel and coated with high-grade, heat-resistant paint. The grate contains extra welds to facilitate flexing that occurs at such temperatures. The Ridge comes with a storage and carrying bag, and an optional swing-away grill is available, should you wish to cook on it. It's also available with licensed team logos if that appeals to you.

Price at time of publish: $80

Amazon

It's small and light enough to be portable yet provides a good-sized fire for camping.

Some users find the edges on the rim and lid sharp.

How do you differentiate between a portable fire pit and one that's good for camping? Easily portable is one thing, but the size of the fire of a portable model may not be big enough to satisfy some when camping. With that in mind, we sought out something that was easy to pack and stow in a trunk or compartment that would provide a sizable fire without being inconveniently heavy.

The Bonfire fits the bill on both of these fronts. Its slightly larger size translates to a bigger fire for cooking or just sitting around, and at 25 pounds, it's not too difficult to maneuver. Built out of stainless steel with double-wall and bottom construction, it provides a low-smoke fire that burns wood efficiently, with clean ash and few charred chunks to clean out. It also comes with a lid to protect the firebox from the elements.

Price at time of publish: $200

Amazon

It's stylish and provides some of the best radiant heat of the models we’ve reviewed.

It's heavy, expensive, and could benefit from an included spark shield.

If you’ve got a larger outdoor space and are looking for something less industrial-looking to fit your patio motif, the Tiki is a solid choice. The inner stainless steel design is similar to many of the models reviewed here, creating a secondary burn, which then sits inside of a powder-coated steel exterior with elevated legs, softening the look of the entire unit. It's designed for a high-flame fire but provides a significant amount of radiant heat from the sides. With the enhanced airflow of the dual-burn, your fuel has more combustion, leaving fewer unburned pieces, which fall to the slide-out ash collector in the bottom of the unit for easy cleanup. If we had to find fault with the Tiki, it would be its weight and higher price point.

Price at time of publish: $395

Amazon

It can burn wood or charcoal and has a decent-sized cooking grill.

It's a bit too clumsy to be portable, and adding fuel could be easier.

This medium-sized smokeless fire pit comes with a 19-inch grill, large enough for a medium-sized group of people for steaks, seafood, veggies, and the like. Unlike some models that offer an aftermarket, universal add-on, this grill is specifically designed to work with the pit. The enhanced airflow design creates a dual burn for mostly smokeless fires and can burn charcoal for cooking or wood for a blazing fire. The manufacturer considers this a portable model, and it comes with a carrying bag, but it's a tad clumsy at 32 pounds with no carrying handles. When the fire is burning, adding more fuel is slightly difficult, so we knock a few points off of an otherwise well-performing pit.

Price at time of publish: $100

Biolite

The fan works well to enable complete combustion and reduce smoke, and the mesh body allows you to see the fire from all sides.

The fan is noisy at full speed and only runs on batteries; an option to plug it into a household current to run would be an improvement.

The BioLite takes a smokeless fire pit in a different direction than others reviewed here. Where most models provide a dual burn to minimize smoke, the FirePit+ utilizes a fan to accomplish this goal. The fan regulates the fire's heat intensity for better combustion, resulting in a cleaner burn. The fan runs off a rechargeable battery, and offers optional bluetooth app connectivity to regulate the fan speed and monitor battery life. The fan also has manual controls, so you’re not chained to your phone to regulate the speed.

Fan aside, the body of the fire pit is constructed of steel mesh, allowing airflow and viewing of the fire from all sides, while radiating heat outwards. The legs fold for portability and there's also an included grill grate for hibachi-style cooking. An upgraded heat-resistant finish helps prolong the life of the unit.

Price at time of publish: $300

Solo Stove

It's easy to use, compact, lightweight, and efficient.

Despite the stand, it should be used on a heat-resistant surface and adding wood while the stove is burning can be clumsy.

"Totes adorbs," is how a friend described this miniature fire pit, pulling it out of its bag at a party when the temperature hovered just above freezing. With a 6-inch height and equal diameter, it's cute, but does it work? Essentially, the Mesa is a very scaled-down version of Solo Stove's other offerings. It sits on a stand which enables 360° airflow for efficient, near-smokeless burning. It's capable of burning wood out of the box or pellets with a supplied adapter, although the wood needs to be cut or broken into 5-inch pieces for safe and efficient combustion. It throws a little more heat than one would expect from a five-inch stove, so you’re not going to warm a crowd with it. But it's a nice, warming touch for a small group gathered around a table or as a patio accent. The stand and ring fit inside the main stove when packing it into the included carry bag, and weighing in at 1.4 pounds, it's the most portable Solo Stove offering on the market.

Price at time of publish: $105

The Solo Stove Yukon 2.0 has significant improvements that make it the best performer of the bunch, as its airflow design and clean, almost-complete combustion outweigh our nit-picky drawbacks.

For this piece, we consulted Marcus Latner of the Valencia Hotel Group. His company recognizes people's natural attraction to fire pits and utilizes both gas and wood pits of various sizes to create gathering and seating areas for guests at their properties. After gathering his input on what qualities to look for in a fire pit, we then scoured the market for the best options that matched his criteria. After combing the market for volumes of online reviews for these products, we weighed them against several factors, including value, ease of use, consistency, and quality of construction.

Before you buy a fire pit, decide where you’re going to put it. Manufacturers and insurance companies strongly recommend 10 to 25 feet of clearance from buildings, trees, and accessory buildings, like sheds. Errant sparks or flames can easily travel to these.

The surface you place the fire pit on is equally important. A solid base on a non-flammable surface is important for safety. Sand, gravel, rocks, or concrete blocks are all good surfaces. Specialty fire mats are good, but be cautious of them on wooden decks, as they trap water underneath and can rot your deck out. Be aware of grass or uneven surfaces, as they can result in your fire being exactly where you don't want it. It's also imperative to not place your fire pit under a roof.

Some of these models are quite heavy, bulky, and clumsy to move. Others are specifically designed for portability. If you plan on moving your pit frequently, consider one built for that purpose and buy a suitably-sized one for your purposes.

Pay attention to the accessories included with your fire pit and how they are constructed. The largest problem encountered is ash removal. Some of these pits have removable ash pans or can disassemble to make cleanup easy. Others don't and require more effort, and possibly a shovel or shop vac to remove accumulated ash after burning. We can't stress ash removal enough, as it traps moisture from rain or ambient humidity and contributes to rust in the bottom of your pit.

Lids are a very good accessory to seek, too. Unless you intend to move your pit in and out of cover, rain will accumulate in the chamber, leading to both rust and making fire starting problematic. As many of the fire pits reviewed here are over 20 pounds, dumping a large metal object filled with water is cumbersome, at best.

No. They definitely produce far less smoke by design, which reduces odors and staining, but a truly smokeless wood fire isn't possible outside of a laboratory.

Smokeless fire pits reduce the smoke by burning the particulate matter that comprises smoke by superheating the air that carries it. How that is accomplished varies. Some models feed air up the sides to heat it; others rely on airflow from the bottom; still others utilize fans to get the job done.

That depends on the design and construction. Some of the pits reviewed here have insulation in their dual-wall design, which functions like a thermos, sending the heat directly up, rather than out. So, if you’re close to the pit, you’ll receive the benefit of that upward heat.

A dual-flow pit that is not heavily insulated will be your best bet for radiant heat around the fire pit.

Greg Baker is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, and food writer with four decades of experience in the food industry. His written work appears in Food & Wine, Food Republic, and other publications.