A fire pit keeps a backyard or a campsite warm on a cold night. The fire services set when one can be lit. They ban fire pits on Total Fire Ban days, and some states need a permit for the rest of the fire season, as the table further down shows. The pits below differ in how much smoke they give off, whether they pack flat for travel, and whether they cook.
| Fire pit | Type | Size | Weight | Cooking grill | Warranty | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 | Double-wall stainless | 49.5cm across | Not stated | Sold separately | Lifetime | $900–1,000 |
| Stanley Deep Bowl | Cast-iron bowl | 72cm or 82cm across | 18kg or 24kg | No | 1 year | $250–300 |
| ARB Steel Fire Pit | Flat-pack steel, made in Australia | 60 × 50cm | 18kg | Included | 3 years | $350–400 |
| Dune 4WD Flat Pack Firepit | Flat-pack steel | 51.5 × 50cm | 18kg | Plate and grill included | Not stated | $100–150 |
| Darche BBQ 450 | Folding stainless | 45 × 45cm | 11.5kg | Included | 1 year | $300–350 |
| Spinifex Compact | Folding stainless | 49.5 × 45.5cm | 4.3kg | Included | 1 year | $50–100 |
Sizes, weights and warranties are from the makers and the stores linked below. The Dune and Spinifex prices were sale prices. Checked on 28 September 2026.
1. Best Low-Smoke: Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0
The Bonfire is a double-walled stainless steel pit. Air drawn up between the walls feeds a second burn at the top of the fire, which Solo Stove says cuts the smoke, and it has a removable base plate and ash pan for emptying. It is 49.5cm across and 35.5cm high. In Australia Solo Stove sells it as a bundle with a spark shield, a stand that protects the surface underneath and a weather cover, with a lifetime warranty.
Its heat goes up more than out, so people sitting around it feel less warmth than from an open bowl. Solo Stove sells a heat deflector to send more of it outward.
What We Like:
- Less smoke once burning
- Shield, stand and cover included
- Lifetime warranty
What We Don't Like:
- Heat rises rather than spreads
2. Best Cast-Iron Bowl: Stanley Deep Bowl Cast Iron Fire Pit
The Stanley is a 4mm cast iron bowl on a trivet base with a rust finish, in 72cm and 82cm widths weighing 18kg and 24kg. It has a drainage hole so rain doesn't pool in it, and it needs no assembly. Temple & Webster's owners mostly comment on its size and on how well it has held up left outside.
It is a bowl only, with no spark screen or lid in the box.
What We Like:
- 4mm cast iron
- Drainage hole
- No assembly
What We Don't Like:
- No spark screen or lid
3. Best Australian-Made: ARB Steel Fire Pit
ARB makes this flat-pack pit in Melbourne from 3mm BlueScope REDCOR weathering steel. A base and four walls slot together into a pit 600mm long, 496mm wide and 300mm high, which packs down to 35mm thick, and it comes with a steel grill and hotplate and a canvas bag. ARB gives it a three-year warranty and ships it Australia-wide.
At 18kg it is a heavy pit to carry any distance from the car.
What We Like:
- Made in Australia
- Grill and hotplate included
- 3-year warranty
What We Don't Like:
- 18kg
4. Best Value Flat-Pack: Dune 4WD Flat Pack Firepit
Anaconda's own Dune pit also packs flat, with 3mm steel side panels finished in a powder coat rated to 600°C. It comes with an enamelled cooking plate with a grill and a zipped carry bag. Set up it measures 51.5 by 50 by 39cm, and it weighs 18kg.
Several owners say the panels warped after the first few fires, which made the pit hard to take apart and pack.
What We Like:
- Cooking plate and grill included
- Carry bag
- 3mm side panels
What We Don't Like:
- Panels can warp, owners say
5. Best Portable With a Grill: Darche BBQ 450
Darche's 450 folds flat to 8cm thick and stands 45cm square and 44cm high, with a trivet for the fire and a food-grade 304 stainless grill that Wild Earth lists at three heights. The body is 201 stainless steel, and it packs into a nylon carry bag.
It weighs 11.5kg, which one owner calls heavy, and the warranty is one year.
What We Like:
- Grill at three heights
- Folds to 8cm
- Stainless body and grill
What We Don't Like:
- 11.5kg
6. Best Budget: Spinifex Compact Stainless Steel Fire Pit
The Spinifex Compact is a folding stainless steel pit that weighs 4.3kg and packs into its case at 45 by 24 by 6cm. It comes with a stand, a charcoal pan and charcoal grill, and a cooking grill with 40.8 by 43.5cm of space, and Anaconda lists a 12-month warranty.
Owners say the grate that holds the wood bends in the heat.
What We Like:
- 4.3kg
- Charcoal pan and grill included
- Carry case
What We Don't Like:
- Wood grate bends, owners say
Other options worth a look
- MilkcanProducts Phoenix 80. An 80cm, 3mm steel bowl with a rust finish from Temple & Webster, designed in Australia.
- BioLite FirePit+. A fan-driven pit with a grill grate, whose battery-powered fan feeds air to the fire.
- Jumbuck Round Steel Fire Pit. A 76cm steel bowl on a stand from Bunnings, with a mesh spark screen and a poker, for under $100.
Fire bans and permits by state
| State | On a Total Fire Ban day | For the rest of the fire season |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria | Fire pits banned (CFA) | Allowed in a bought fire pit if the wind is under 10km/h, 3m around and above is clear, the fire covers no more than 1m² and someone stays with it |
| NSW | No fires in the open (RFS) | Fires in the open need a permit in the bush fire danger period, except heating and cooking fires in a permanently built fireplace (RFS) |
| South Australia | Banned without a council permit (CFS) | Braziers need a permit, and in metropolitan Adelaide and townships only charcoal can be burnt for comfort |
| Western Australia | Fire pits banned (DFES) | Burning times are set by each local council |
| Queensland | Brisbane bans them (Brisbane City Council) | Brisbane allows them 2.5m from anything flammable, burning clean, dry wood |
| Tasmania | Campfires banned (TFS) | In a Fire Permit Period, fires must be registered with the TFS |
| ACT | No fires in the open (ESA) | A fire in a container on residential land is allowed (ESA) |
The NSW RFS doesn't say whether a portable fire pit counts as a permanently built fireplace, so the local Fire Control Centre is the place to ask before lighting one in the bush fire danger period.
What to burn
EPA Victoria advises burning only dry, seasoned and untreated hardwood, and never treated timber, green-coloured pine logs or painted wood. Burning timber treated with copper chrome arsenate gives off smoke and ash containing copper, chromium and arsenic, according to HealthyWA.
In Sydney, backyard burning is banned, and an open fire pit can be used for cooking on dry seasoned wood, LPG, natural gas or barbecue fuel, as Inner West Council sets out under the state's clean air rules.
Where to put it
The CFA's advice is to set a fire pit on a flat, non-flammable surface, stay with it while it burns, and put it out with water. Brisbane's rules add no fires under a roof or on a balcony. Smoke drifts to neighbours, and NSW Health notes that if you can smell wood smoke, you are being exposed to it.
FAQs
Can a fire pit be used on a Total Fire Ban day?
No. Victoria, NSW, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the ACT all ban open fires on those days, and the CFA names fire pits, braziers and chimineas.
Does a smokeless fire pit make no smoke?
It makes less once the fire is hot, because the second burn at the top burns off much of the smoke, Solo Stove says. A fire that has just been lit, or damp wood, still smokes, and EPA Victoria advises dry, seasoned wood to cut smoke.
Can a fire pit go on a timber deck?
The CFA's advice is a flat, non-flammable surface, and Solo Stove sells its pit with a stand for surfaces heat could damage.
