The Best Fire Pits to Get Your S'mores On This Summer

Snow Peak's Takibi Fire & Grill is extremely well made (heavy-duty stainless steel). It's designed to last forever, and by all accounts it does. The one I've been testing for years is discolored but otherwise fine—no rust, despite months outside in the rain. The Takibi has legions of fans, including WIRED editor Adrienne So, who says it made her like camping again.

The genius of the Takibi is the folding design. This fire pit can lay flat for storage, and Snow Peak includes a nice canvas carry bag that makes it easy to tote around; at almost 24 pounds, it's not light, but the shoulder bag helps. The included base plate helps it remain sturdy on just about any surface and protects what's below from cinders. That said, I would hesitate to use this on a nice deck. The design allows for airflow along the hinged joints, but this means tiny embers can escape and you might discolor wood underneath it. Snow Peak's official suggestion is to keep your wood around one foot in length, which helps, but I tend to throw on far bigger logs. It's still safe, you just nudge them inward as they burn, though it does increase the risk of marring the surface below your fire pit. If you're worried, Home Depot sells fire-proof tiles you can put underneath it.

The Takibi works great as a fire pit, but it also doubles as a grill (there is a $375 oven attachment as well). The grill top is a grid so small things won't fall through, and you can cook over charcoal or wood. Unfortunately, unlike the fire pit body, the grill has rusted a bit, so avoid leaving it out or oil it well when you're done using it. There's also a nice add-on that turns the Takibi into a tabletop fire pit ($340).

Biolite's FirePit+ is a sleek, portable, mesh box with removable legs, a hibachi-style grill, and an ash bin. It has a rechargeable 10,400 mAh battery that can power 51 air jets for up to 26 hours. This allows you to precisely control the flame, and to some extent, the heat of the fire. It’s Bluetooth-compatible so you can tweak the airflow—and how high the flames go—on your phone. The FirePit+ can burn charcoal or wood and, thanks to the fans, you don't need a charcoal chimney and you'll never struggle to get a fire burning.

Weighing less than 20 pounds, and standing only 10 inches high with the retractable legs stowed, the Firepit is nicely portable and easy to carry via the side handles. You won't want to set this one up on a wood deck or anywhere around dry grass because some sparks will make it out of the mesh sides. Also note that, while you can technically charge your phone with the FirePit+, the heat generated from the flames does not automatically recharge the FirePit’s battery pack, as it does on BioLite’s other stoves.

If the 19-inch Bonfire 2.0 above isn't large enough for your space, consider the Solo Stove Yukon (7/10, WIRED Review). The 27-inch Yukon is big enough for a crowd of s'mores and functions nearly identically to the smaller models. While it's still portable, the Yukon is best thought of as “portable around the house” unless you have a good-size vehicle to haul it to a campsite. It's not cheap, but thanks to the solid, stainless steel construction, it's essentially indestructible (as long as you cover it in winter), so your hefty investment should last for years.

I've written extensively about my love for the Firebox Stove. This is the easiest way to bring a (small) controlled fire to the backcountry. It's also an awesome way to cook. The stove I recommend for most people is the original Firebox G2. Because I am feeding a family of five on the trail, I own the larger eight-panel version ($150). Functionally they work the same way—build a fire out of twigs and small branches and cook over it. While that sounds simple, I strongly suggest you practice this a few times before hitting the trail. If you’ve never cooked over an open flame, the first time you do, you’ll likely produce some half-raw, half-burnt food.

If I were through hiking, or going on multi-week trips, I’d still bring some dehydrated meals. Fresh food is heavy and perishable (though less perishable than people think). My time in the backcountry right now consists of shorter trips though. An overnight here, a few days there. For these trips, I often bring only the Firebox. It's perfect for cooking and then doubles as a kind of low-impact, twig-based fire pit. If you'd like to see it in action, check out the company’s YouTube channel, which is an eye-opening backcountry cooking guide told through the adventures of Firebox founder Steve Despain.

Firepits are generally pretty simple to use, but here are a few tips and tricks to ensure safety and longevity.

Follow the manufacturer's suggestions on where to put it. For example, most companies will tell you to keep it a specific distance from any structure, and not to place it on a wood deck, in a field of dry grass, or in other highly flammable situations.

Keep your firepit clean (wipe up those burnt marshmallows once it cools), regularly empty the ashes, and cover them when not in use (or take them inside if they're portable), and they should last you many years. That said, don't forget the basics. Make sure you're burning the right wood (don't burn pressure-treated wood and avoid yard trimmings if you don't know what kind of wood it is). Keep a fire extinguisher handy, and make sure your children and pets stay away from the fire.

Before you invest, check the legal restrictions in your area. There are often specific rules in big cities (like New York City, where my editor cannot have a fire pit because he lives in an attached rowhouse). Even if there aren't city laws prohibiting fire pits, many homeowners associations (HOAs) have restrictions, so make sure you know what the legal situation is in your neighborhood before buying.