If there is one thing about us you should know, it’s that when we buy products, we will spend hours, if not days, reading reviews, watching videos, and learning about the alternatives before finally making a purchase decision, this is especially true if we’re recommending these same products to 10ways users. There is a lot of hype about these Solostoves, and with the fairly high price tag, it’s clearly a controversial discussion between some, however, we’ve actually owned a Solostove since 2016, however, this was their original format, which was a small backpacker campstove designed for heating up water with sticks etc, it’s part of our Emergency Bags and therefore we knew this product would be decent but would it really live up to all the hype? Here is our full review:
The Burn / What is Smokeless?
It definitely burns well, in fact, you could argue a little too well with this larger Bonfire version and if you’re not careful you will be going through logs very quickly, for a more economical burn you should consider the smaller Ranger version which is smaller and therefore won’t take as much wood, either way good quality seasoned logs are likely worth the cost.
The Solostove works by preheating the air that enters the secondary burn process, this then burns off the majority of the smoke, so your eyes and clothes don’t get anywhere near as smokey. It should be noted, though, that whilst it’s classed as smokeless, this is only really true at optimal burn. Once the fire dies down or at the start of the fire, it will smoke, generally far less than a traditional fire, but it’s definitely not smokeless during either side of the burn process.
Why is smokeless good?
- Smoke in your eyes sucks, especially if you find yourself constantly downwind of the fire across the evening
- Clothes stink of smoke, this is especially noticeable when camping
- It’s better for the environment as more fumes are burnt off
Does it burn all the logs?
It certainly does a good job of burning all the wood down so you’re left with little ash at the end.
Build Quality
There is no denying the build quality here, you expect it at this price point and we found nothing to complain about here, it reminds us of the Ninja brand of AirFryers, and this is clearly backed up with the lifetime warranty (against manufacturing defects), the included (at time of posting) carry/storage bag is also well made and should last a lifetime.
The vast majority of the Solostove is made from Stainless Steel, this double walled design ensures it’s not only strong but should last a lifetime.
Removing the ash
The removable ash tray makes this a fairly easy job, just lift and throw the cooled ash into a bin etc, we did find a few pieces had dropped below the ash tray but it was hardly an issue.
Do I need the stand?
Probably, it means you can put the Bonfire on decking, grass or similar without concern.
Do I need the lid?
£80 for a lid is crazy but if you can get it on a deal we would say it’s worth it purely for the fact it keeps it watertight and creates a small table out of the firepit.
What about setup?
Easy, the instructions on the box confirm everything, and it’s rather self-explanatory with the only exception being the edge/rim insert you have to flip.
Is it really portable?
Of course, there are two smaller versions which are obviously easier to move, however, we didn’t have any problems moving the Bonfire 2.0 with the stand on our own, it’s certainly not the lightest fire pit out there at 10.6kg but it’s fine, we fill up the fire pit when it’s not in use with other camping accessories.
Is it worth the money?
The answer to this will drastically depend on you and your use cases, if you’re going to use it in the garden alongside camping or similar and you like to host etc, then we would argue it probably will be worth it, if it’s only going to be used once or twice a year for camping then it won’t be worth the money and a cheaper alternative likely will do a good enough job.
Where should I check prices?
What are the alternatives?
- An old drum from a washing machine, this is often recommended and whilst this is definitely a good budget option the lack of an outer skin will lose the main benefit of the Solostove an additional burn of the smoke to create a fair smokeless environment, we also would be slightly anxious about what else is being burnt off at least for the first few burns.
- OnlyFire 50cm – A copy of the SoloStove
- Just a normal fire pit, it will cost you a fraction of this at likely £5-£25, of course it won’t be smokeless or look as fancy but for many this is more than enough
