The 8 Best Smokeless Fire Pits for 2024, According to Our Tests
Get that campfire feel minus the smoke.
Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. Why Trust Us?
Most likely, you want a fire pit that adds ambiance to your outdoor space, provides warmth on chilly evenings, and maybe even grills up some tasty meals. What you don’t want is a ton of smoke that leaves your eyes watering and your clothes smelling like a weekend camping trip. What you’re looking for is a smokeless fire pit.
These modern appliances safely contain fire, foster complete combustion of your fuel with minimal smoke, and come in a variety of sizes and styles to suit your outdoor decor. While smokeless fire pits for your backyard are a relatively recent development, smokeless fires have been burning for years.
Native Americans employed the Dakota Fire Hole to create hot fires that would burn in windy conditions and not spread. It consisted of two holes in the ground connected by a tunnel: building a fire in one hole causes the rising heat to draw air through the tunnel from the other hole. This constant flow of air creates a hot fire that burns close to 100 percent of the wood—similar to the modern smokeless fire pits that pull air from the bottom or sides to fuel your fire and leave a minimum mess.
The Best Smokeless Fire Pits
- Best Overall: Breeo X-Series 24 Smokeless Fire Pit
- Best Budget: Inno Stage Smokeless Fire Pit
- Best for Small Spaces: Cuisinart Cleanburn Smokeless Fire Pit
- Easiest to Clean: Tiki Patio Fire Pit
- Best Mid-Size Pit: Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0
What to Consider
First, manage your expectations regarding smokeless fire pits. While good ones are nearly completely smokeless visually, they still produce exhaust gasses so expect some of that campfire smell, especially if it’s breezy. For the same reason, you might occasionally get a face full of invisible smoke if you’re in the wind.
Keep in mind, not all smokeless fire pits are safe to use on decks or other combustible surfaces, so consider buying a heat shield or fire pit mat.
Most smokeless fire pits burn wood. You’ll want to use seasoned wood—that means it has had time to dry out over six or more months. Wood that’s still green or wet will burn more slowly and may produce smoke even if you use it in a smokeless fire pit.
Some models, like the Tiki we tested, are also designed to burn wood pellets. Whatever fuel you use, you’ll burn through it more quickly in a smokeless fire pit due to the constant stream of air feeding the fire. The upside of this is that, when the wood burns this hot and completely, you have less ash to clean up.
How We Selected
We shopped a range of smokeless fire pits we wanted to test in person and those we wanted to further research based on other expert reviews. We loaded them with seasoned oak firewood and started fires in each of our test units, gauging how easy they were to load and feed to maintain a continuous burn.
Once they were burning, we walked toward each pit until we could feel noticeable heat, then circled them to see how even the distribution was and how much it was affected by wind. We also looked at them through a Flir infrared camera to see if there were any concerning hot spots on the fire pits’ bodies. We let the fires burn down to ash so we could determine how easy clean-up was after the blaze.
We also noted how easy each pit was to carry or move around, as well as their weight and dimensions. Models we didn’t test, we evaluated based on their features, user reviews, and the experience and insights we gleaned from using similar pits. We’re sure you’ll find a smokeless fire pit for your next patio hangout.
Danny Perez is a Commerce Editor for Popular Mechanics with a focus on men's style, gear, and home goods. Recently, he was coordinator of partnership content at another product journalism outlet. Prior to that, he was a buyer for an independent men's shop in Houston, Texas, where he learned all about what makes great products great. He enjoys thrifting for 90s Broadway tees and vintage pajama sets. His spare time is occupied by watching movies and running to impress strangers on Strava.
Rachel Klein is a Senior Commerce Editor for Popular Mechanics, where she writes about everything from garden hose reels and patio furniture to mesh wifi systems and robot vacuums. She started her career as a daily newspaper reporter and was a travel editor for more than a decade before she started testing and reviewing luggage, noise-cancelling headphones, and other travel-related products. Fast-forward another five years and her area of expertise includes home decor, appliances, tech, and outdoor adventure gear. In her spare time, you'll find her planning her next trip, reading historical fiction, and seeing as much art as she can squeeze into a weekend.
Brad Ford has spent most of his life using tools to fix, build, or make things. Growing up he worked on a farm, where he learned to weld, repair, and paint equipment. From the farm he went to work at a classic car dealer, repairing and servicing Rolls Royces, Bentleys, and Jaguars. Today, when he's not testing tools or writing for Popular Mechanics, he's busy keeping up with the projects at his old farmhouse in eastern Pennsylvania.
Watch Next
The 5 Best Zero-Turn Mowers of 2024
Tested and Approved: The Best Outdoor Pizza Ovens
DJI Portable Power Stations Are 30% Off at Amazon
The Best Knife Sharpeners for Your