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I purchased one back in December 2017. It arrived damaged in transit with a large dent in the side of the drum. Solo Stove customer service made good and sent me a replacement after I decided not to take their reduced price offer to buy the damaged unit. I opted for a replacement Bonfire. When the replacement arrived I contacted the CSR and requested a RMA #  and she said I should just keep it so I now have 2 

I've had at least a half dozen fires in the Bonfire and it performs as advertised. It's constructed of 304 SS and is essentially a wood gasification fire pit.

Once up to operating temperature there is very little visible smoke making it beyond the voracious flames licking into the air.  In 20*F temperatures it took ~15 minutes, and in mid 70sF it was smokeless in less than 5 minutes. The heat is intense because almost all of the wood smoke is combusted into long curling flames.

Specifications are:

  • Weight = 20 Lbs.
  • Material 304 stainless steel
  • 19.5" diameter
  • 14" high
  • duffel bag included with handles 

I'm taking one along and will use it even if there's a fire pit available. Fires are for viewing flames, smoke is for BBQ!

Solo Stove Bonfire 10 sec. video (link)

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Last edited by VigII
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bapsjp posted:

I wondered if they really worked.  Biggest problem with wood these days is that you’re not supposed to transport it and campground bundles are very expensive.  

Oh, they work and work very well! You'll have flames until the entire load is nothing but coals. Those last few logs will not sit there smoldering. The Bonfire isn't cheap but if you're handy one could fabricate something close.

Those problems with wood are real, mainly due to exotic insects. I used the price and transporting wood criteria in my decision to buy the Bonfire, plus using it in my own fire pit at home (I'll soon be a FreeLOAder participant). If I must buy firewood to enjoy part of the camping experience, I will. I wanted to see as much wood as possible making flames and adding a whiff of wood smoke to polish off the experience. I'm only a newbie at TT camping but I've been at it in some form or another since I was a child and still yearn for all of it! 

Last edited by VigII

I also have the Solo Stove Bonfire and it works beautifully.  Yes, a steel drum will work however it won’t burn nearly as nice as a fire in the Bonfire.  It really is a thing of beauty.  Yes, it’s somewhat expensive but in my opinion it’s worth it.  They also have sales where it’s marked down by $50. so anyone that’s interested should watch for them.  

Duckman posted:

...and in tight campgrounds your neighbors will appreiciate not having smoke drift into their trailer.  

@Duckman; Craig, you're bringing up an important component of wood fire etiquette. I wouldn't want to have my living space filled with unwanted smoke either. Here's a  timely article in a recent RV Travel Newsletter entitled "Majority of readers not fond of campfire smoke".  I'm not (yet?!) a fan of RV parks' often close quarters and would not think of having a smokey wood fire or one even in a Solo Bonfire fire pit. I'll probably be looking into a propane pit for those smokeless flame nights as the situation requires. More $tuff to buy!

Next addition to the Solo Bonfire we carry with us was a Good Directions 20" Small Spark Screen with Lifter.

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After taking these pictures, I pinched the screen a little at the hinge pins so it sat more securely on the Bonfire's edge.

The Bonfire pit is not prone to producing many sparks because it burns the wood so completely. I'm not convinced it will be carried on all trips but I have noticed some campgrounds require a spark screen on all fire pits.

I plan to double its practicality and use it as a lid once I cover it with HD aluminum foil. Could come in handy to use the Bonfire fired on smolder burn for a real meat smoker. I've slow cooked venison burgers this way and they tasted phenomenal!

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Great video. I finally unboxed mine. Very pleased with the way the product is built. Looking forward to testing it out very soon.

Big positive is, when on its side in the carry bag, it passes through the door of the camper and stores away nicely under the dinette for travel.

Might have someone weld a loop on it so I can lock it up when not at camp. Unfortunately there are too many dishonest people for me to feel comfortable leaving is out while we're on the water all day.

Rob

Nice example of how reviving an old thread can be a good thing. I had never heard of these until today and they look really great.

I am super tempted to buy one, but it seems like 9 times out of 10 there are fire restrictions in effect, certainly here in Arizona. I hate carting propane around for my thirsty gas firepit, but can’t justify taking another 20 lb accessory I can rarely use either.

Super jealous of that beautiful fire in the OP, though!

I heard good things about the solo stove but decided against a purchase due to cost and not see a real advantage to having one.  But it looks like you can get a nice fire using less wood.  Is that correct?  Considering the cost of fire wood at campgrounds (and even from locals selling in front of their homes), it may pay off pretty quick.  Do they use less wood than a traditional fire pit for the same campfire experience?  If so, how much less? 

It's the King of Combustion (I should register that as a trademark!) and once at operating temperature there's little smoke. Think about this, smoke = particulates. I sit around soooo many camp fires I see complete combustion as a health benefit! I'm not really joking about that either.

@TSR Campers posted:

Solo Stove keeps coming out with accessories.  I'm addicted.  Bonfire w stand, spark screen, now lid in December, now handle to pick it up in May.  What's next?  Doesn't matter, I'll buy it.

Ha! (i have three: 2 Bonfires and a Yukon for the yard!)

Nice example of how reviving an old thread can be a good thing. I had never heard of these until today and they look really great.

I am super tempted to buy one, but it seems like 9 times out of 10 there are fire restrictions in effect, certainly here in Arizona. I hate carting propane around for my thirsty gas firepit, but can’t justify taking another 20 lb accessory I can rarely use either.

Super jealous of that beautiful fire in the OP, though!

This is why I converted our travel Bonfire to dual fuel. We were in AZ and NM this winter so I added a propane ring to the Bonfire. To convert to propane I pop on the plate mounted double propane ring (a 12" and a 6") fed from under the plate. I drilled a hole thru the side of the Bonfire at the bottom and fed the metal tube out thru the hole. I feed it propane from a spare 20 lb bottle via a high pressure regulator. Used it all winter on our 2 month trip. It all fits in the original Bonfire carry bag.

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Last edited by VigII

They are indeed ceramic logs and I will follow up with pictures of my propane modifications to my Bonfire pit with their screen. Until I get the chance to take some pictures, here's the materials I used. It's straight forward to me and everything goes together in a few minutes. The only mod to the pit was to cut the hole through the side of the pit so the bottom of the hole was nearly flush with the top of the perforated pit floor. The mod wasn't inexpensive the purpose was to have a Bonfire flame with propane. I'd recommend reading up on risks of building DIY propane fire pits and accumulate returned parts a cheaper prices.

No, just a glow is all I see. The hole transects the double wall side of the pit just above the perforated interior base. This space produces the superheated air that spontaneously ignites any escaping smoke at the top of the pit, where one sees thee secondary burn in the op. The pit design produces so much draft the hole feeds air. However I do plug the hole with a electrical box knockout cover. I use a S-type  cover because it's easy on/off. https://www.morrisproducts.com...43E3B7209EE61602D773

Here is a picture of the pit burning wood without the hole covered.

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Last edited by VigII

Speaking of Solo Stove accessories... A nice new one is available... A cast-iron grill:

https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-b5b4c/product_images/uploaded_images/cooktop-desktop-hb-noppl.jpg?t=1624465811

The picture above is from the solostove.com website.  They just started shipping the pre-orders.  I pre-ordered a while back, and mine arrived this week.  I haven't had a chance to use yet, but it looks pretty good.  The casting has some little bit rough areas that I'll sand on to smooth out. Then I want to season up the cast-iron before I cook on it.

As was said earlier, I'll state once again, pricey, but very cool stuff.  I think this will add some cool versatility for the campsite.

Les found this thread for me because I was telling him about my new Solo Stove "Campfire" (that's the model name). I travel alone and I LOVE a campfire...best part of camping for me! Anyway, in the past, by the time I get a regular wood campfire going good, I'm ready for bed - waste of wood and time!

Over the years, I've had a Little Red (propane) Campfire and a Flame Genie (built exactly like the Solo, except uses pellets). Little Red - on the heavier and bulky side and you have to schlepp an extra propane tank (heavy). Flame Genie - burns through pellets really fast; pellets are heavy; non-cooking pellets are difficult to find on the road.

Now I'm giving this Solo Stove Campfire a try - the largest of the stoves, but nowhere near close to the largest of the campfires. It weighs in at 2.2 lbs! It's meant to burn with twigs and sticks and leaves. I bought wood chunks online and the pic below was using 1 Weber fire starter cube, 2 fatwood sticks, and 2 pieces of chunk hardwood. So far, so good - perfect for me, as a Solo (pun intended) traveler! (the black thing is the Flame Genie). Happy Camper here in NW TN. Real World experience to follow!

Alternate product idea here.

Before I knew about the Solo product (my brother has a Solo Yukon in his backyard and that bad boy does a great job of completely burning wood mostly smoke free), I picked up a Pop Up Firepit from Fireside Outdoor, also mostly smoke free. Kind of like one of those collapsible chairs you travel with or use around the campfire.

With the heat shield and ember mat, it's a  great lightweight, ground safe firepit that fully burns wood, manufactured logs, and charcoal (they have available cooking grates sized to fit).

I'm not sure if the BLM or US Forest Service officially weighed in on it, but at the time I bought ours the claim was that they are BLM and USFS approved.

They have occasional sales, the best usually before the Christmas season. Here's a link: https://firesideoutdoor.com/co.../products/pop-up-pit

Note: While I love our pop up firepit, I am not associated with the company and I do not sell the product or profit in any way from them except from the enjoyment of an excellent campfire.

Last edited by Hoppy Camper

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