Solo Stove Campfire Review – Is It Worth $100?

In this Solo Stove Campfire review, we weigh the quality & benefits versus the price and answer some commonly asked questions. Let's dive in!

Not one for reading lots of text? Here's a great video review we found by CountryMash on YouTube:

In addition to the Solo Stove Campfire, the accessories used in the video are:

If you're the kind who prefers text to video, or you've still got questions before you buy, read on!

To see how to use your Solo Stove, here's a 58-second how-to video made by Solo Stove themselves:

The Solo Stove Campfire - and the Solo Stove Lite & Solo Stove Titan - produce a hotter fire and less smoke using a unique airflow system.

Thanks to the holes on the bottom and inside of the fire pit, cold air is pulled in by the flames, then split in two directions.

Half of it goes under the fire to feed the embers, and the other half is heated through the sidewalls and comes out the holes in the upper chamber, causing a secondary combustion of the fire.

Here's a visual:

They also have bottom vent holes under your sticks so oxygen can be fed directly into the bottom of the embers, resulting in a hotter burn.

A hotter burn means less ash - and you can easily clean out anything that happens to be left by tilting the fire pit upside down and giving it a little shake! (There's an ash pan underneath the nichrome wire grate where the wood is burned).

The Solo Stove Campfire has a modern stainless steel design, burns hotter than a regular fire, and makes fire starting easier thanks to the walls that block the wind.

But more than that, these wood burning camping stoves have three main benefits:

One of the worst parts of cooking outside over an open fire is the constant smell of ash and soot on your clothes and skin.

With the Solo Stove Campfire, there's less smoke and less campfire smell.

After the fire is initially lit, the smoke dies down thanks to the double combustion and extreme heat. 

Note that low smoke doesn't mean NO smoke!

You'll still see some smoke upon the initial lighting. However, Kayla and I have found that there is significantly less smoke than an open fire on the ground.

The Solo Stove Campfire is made out of 304 stainless steel. That's durable stuff.

But, if you do somehow break it (say by throwing your backpack off a cliff during a day hike?), you're covered by a lifetime guarantee.  

From the Solo Stove Campfire reviews we've seen, they're good about honoring this guarantee, as long as you don't do something that's obviously against their terms.

These wood burning camp stoves were made specifically to be the ultimate cooking system for hiking and camping, so they're made with portability front-and-center.

At just 2.2 lbs and 7 inches wide by 9.25 inches tall, they're lightweight and easy to toss in a backpacking pack or tie to the bottom of your hiking pack.

While this is one of the top rated backpacking stoves money can buy, no product is perfect. Kayla and I had a few (minor) gripes with our campfire.

Some users have experienced rust after several months of using their stove. I can't attest to this yet since we've only had ours for a little over a month now.

However, all of the rust complaint reviews are dated 2017 and prior, indicating that Solo Stove may have upgraded the 304 stainless steel they use in their products.

But remember: If yours rusts, it's covered by the lifetime guarantee!

Despite how awesome and portable this little camp stove is, it's still $100. While we believe it's worth every penny, not everyone can afford to spend that much on a portable campfire.

Those are really the only cons we could come up with. This thing is awesome and it's easy to see why they have thousands of 5-star reviews.

Speaking of reviews, here are some things Solo Stove's customers are saying about the Campfire (taken from their site):

There are only 6 "critical" reviews on Amazon. Here are 2 of the most constructive.

Note that all of these reviews are from 2017 or older and may have been addressed since then. Kayla and I haven't seen any rust issues yet, but we've only used it a handful of times. We'll update this post after a few months.

Enough customers reviews. Let's answer some commonly asked questions!

Here are some frequently asked questions we've personally been asked or saw others asking. Click any question to open a drop-down box with the answer.

Have a question not answered here? Leave a comment below and we'll add in you question (and answer) ASAP!

Overall, the Solo Stove Campfire is a high-quality, minimalist, portable wood stove. For us, it was worth the money.

But it's not for everyone.

The Solo Stove Campfire is for you if...

• You don't like smelling like a campfire every time you cook over one.
• You need a portable wood burning cooking system that's lightweight to take hiking or camping.
• You're going to use it often enough to justify the price.
• You just like having a cool ass campfire in your back yard.

*If you prefer an outdoor fire pit to portable stove kits, consider getting the Solo Stove Bonfire instead or in addition to the Campfire!

Enjoy your camping trips with your new wood burning stove!