Is smokeless worth it?

Ever been let down by a “I saw that going differently” experience?

“Hey buddy, move to the other side…the smoke is gonna get in your eyes, it’s not good for you to breathe…”

“Haven, move your chair…you don’t want your hair to smell like smoke tomorrow…”

Our family loves the idea of an evening together around a good fire. Who doesn’t want to unwind, grab a beverage of choice and enjoy some quality time on a crisp evening… and maybe even roast some marshmallows…

(and the best part for our kids - throwing in sticks and watching stuff burn)

What we didn’t love, however, was spending more time avoiding the chaos of the smoke than actually enjoying the fire.

Note to mention, showers immediately after and a new heap of laundry to do because we all smelled like campfire.

Straight buzz kill.

Ya know what I mean?

Rewind about a year ago.

We meet our new friend Casey while playing in a volleyball tournament down in the Dominican Republic.

Casey (like most of us) loves sharing new things that are incredibly cool and useful.

So, at dinner that night she tells us how her family just got this “smokeless” fire pit and absolutely loved it.

Maybe we’d been living under a rock, but I had never heard of such a thing…

We were used to one like this (ol’ smokey)

The idea of a “smokeless” fire pit sounded cool, but it wasn’t like we jumped and bought one right away.

(We had to experience like 30 more “I saw that going differently” fires before we finally got serious and committed to a more enjoyable experience for everyone)

Fast forward a handful of months, we finally decided to take a serious look and narrow down different options.

Here’s what we found.

We could attempt to build a smokeless fire pit ourselves as complete amateurs

Or…

Compare between different companies who specialize in making them.

We narrowed it down to a couple of companies that seemed to both own the smokeless fire pit space and make high quality smokeless fire pits:

Breeo and Solo Stove.

After doing the comparisons based on what was important to us, we made a simple and quick cheat sheet for those who are interested in the research but don’t want to take a lot of time to do it : )

The Breeo

Pros: smokeless, high-quality construction, cooking accessories are well designed and easy to cook on, aesthetic fire pit designs and colors, built-in stand is ideal for wood decks

Cons: heavy, more expensive

Middle option X Series: $599

The Solo Stove

Pros: smokeless, high-quality construction, lightweight & moveable, removable ash pan makes cleaning easier, variety of color options, more affordable, customizable options for upgrading the fire pit like the heat deflector and fire pit surround

Cons: less effective cooking design/accessories, need to purchase the permanent stand separately

Middle Option Yukon + Stand: $459

After carefully considering these two options and spending hours reading reviews, we went with…

The Solo Stove.

Here’s why:

Price was certainly one factor. However, we would have paid more for the Breeo if it checked more of the boxes than the SoloStove.

What were our “boxes?”

• A trusted friend highly recommended this brand and continues to have a great experience (I trust raving fans I know the most).

• The Solo Stove was more light weight and would give us flexibility to move it around the patio or even throw it in the car to go camping (many friends do this!).

• The “upgrade-ability” factor of the Solo Stove (probably the #1 reason). We liked that we could get the Solo Stove fire pit to “try out” and then add on accessories like Surround Accessory to make the fire pit more permanent and “pretty” or the heat deflector so the heat can be felt across a greater distance for more people.

What’s our honest review, nearly a year later?

Brian and Sarah: “We LOVE it! No more smokey nights on the patio with someone inevitably crying because they can’t breathe or see from the smoke LOL. Mom and dad aren’t moving chairs around continuously. More peace. More joy. We are big fans.”

Riser: “I can throw more sticks and things in with less smoke and mom and dad don’t make us go inside sooner”

Haven: “I am so warm! And I can play outside longer having fun with Riser.”

Would we do anything differently if we could do it over again?

Yes.

Knowing how much we love and use ours now, we would buy a couple more accessories up front…

The lid: This would make it easier to safely contain the fire & embers after use.

The heat deflector: This would create more heat going out around the fire pit, less heat getting lost straight up into the air.

Does it live up to the hype?

That would be a YES. We had hesitations about this bigger purchase, but are very happy we decided to own one.

So, if you’re the kind of mom or dad looking to spend quality time with your family over an enjoyable fire, without the usual annoying smoke (and inconvenience of moving every time the wind changes direction)… AND would like to access a nice little discount because you know someone who already owns one (Solo Stove allows you to get your friends $50 off if you sent them over)

If this was of value to you and you believe in people getting some credit for bringing good ideas to good people, click the affiliate link below to order:

If you don’t know us well (yet) and maybe think we are only recommending this because we get some compensation when you order, feel free to use Solo Stove’s direct link without the $50 coupon:

https://solostove.com/en-us 

Cheers to making family memories, a little more relaxation for mom + dad, and a purchase for your family that we believe will add a ton of joy…especially if you prefer your family to be outside and away from the screens.

Oh, we almost forgot!

This summer we are doing a giveaway of some of our favorite things.

Send us a picture of you and your family enjoying a fire together* (smokeless, camping it doesn’t matter) and you will be entered into the giveaway!

(*family privacy protected, we won’t share or post your pictures! We just want to connect, say hello and hear about your family having fun & making memories…or other ideas you love).

Reach out if you have any questions about smokeless fire pits, already have a smokeless fire pit and want to share your experience, or just want to say hi!

We would love to hear from you.

Again, if you want to get a fantastic smokeless firepit for your family along with the $50 coupon, here’s the shortened link: https://rb.gy/augwn0

Until next time, own what matters : )

Brian, Sarah, Riser & Haven

P.S. If you don’t have an emergency fund with 6 months of living expenses saved…OR a separate account set up to acquire assets…we recommend you don’t buy what we just reviewed. Instead, reply with the phrase “budgeting sucks” and we will get you access to a powerful app that allows you to put your cash flow on autopilot.

P.P.S. If you haven’t answered life’s most important question, anything else we talk about is irrelevant. So consider watching a few minutes or more of this: https://rb.gy/bw6r29

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