Update 6/13/18
After a successful Kickstarter campaign last year, the FirePit is now available for direct preorder from BioLite’s site for $199, with shipping in August. If you can’t wait, the company also offers a number of portable stoves and grills available right now, including a CampStove 2 Bundle that’ll save you $40.
Not much to complain about when you’re sitting around a roaring campfire.
Well, except that game of musical log stumps you play to avoid the smoke. Or the fire’s constant need for attention. Or how you really need two fires: one for cooking, one for heat.
OK, so there’s a lot to complain about.
Luckily, our favorite camp stove company just solved both those issues with the highly intelligent — and highly portable — BioLite FirePit. It’ll transform your tailgating, camping and backyard grilling escapades.
We’re already big fans of BioLite: their wood-burning CampStoves and solar kits will keep you charged up and fed during any camping trip (or major weather catastrophe).
We visited the company’s HQ in Brooklyn last week for a closer view of their new grill. Surprisingly for a product launch, the office was almost empty — most of the staff was away on the company’s “annual honesty mission,” as BioLite’s Erica Rosen noted as she gave us a tour. During those getaways, the staff lives off BioLite products for 4-5 days in a remote camp.
Speaking of remote, the new FirePit was designed with portability in mind. And versatility: you won’t need to set up a camp grill and a separate campfire.
The 19-lb. grill (“If you can carry a cooler, you can carry this”) comes a USB-rechargeable powerpack, folding legs, a removable grill grate (for hibachi-style meals) and an X-ray mesh for 360-degree viewing. It looks slick, and you get a nice full view of the flames.
It’s also easy to switch from charcoal grilling to a wood-burning campfire — the charcoal embers even serve as a firestarter.
And no smoke. Seriously. The dual fuel capability allows you to burn charcoal or wood, and the design and internal airflow jets (controlled via a Bluetooth app) achieve almost perfectly smokeless flames. “The smoke off of a campfire is just unburnt fuel,” explains Rosen.
The grill comes with a solar-panel cover so you can recharge it when it’s not in use, and because the cover is waterproof, you can leave the FirePit out in the backyard and it’ll be ready to go next time you need it.
And to help you round out the rest of your camp-cooking needs, don’t sleep on some of our other favorites from BioLite …
The HomeStove
The BioLite stove that started it all has long been a godsend in developing countries — but they just released it to the U.S. market in limited quantities earlier this year. It’s a wood-burning rocket stove that uses 50% less wood than a traditional open fire while also powering up an included light. $150
The PizzaDome
An add-on to the modular BaseCamp cook-and-charge system, this ceramic dome that comes with an integrated thermometer so you can fire up crispy pizzas, flatbreads or whatever crusty favorites you crave. $70
The CampStove 2
The first thing our editor in chief puts in his backpack before a camping or through-hiking trip, this 2-lb. stove turns biomass (twigs, sticks or wood pellets) into a super hot and efficient fire in minutes. Oh, it also converts heat into electric energy to charge anything USB-compatible while it burns. $130
Nota bene: If you buy through these links, InsideHook may earn a small share of the profits.
All images via BioLite
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