Solo Stoves

Justinitus1972 · Sep 12, 2023

We’ve been thinking about a small Solo Stove for a while now to extend our outside time in the chillier evenings. More similar to a charcoal bbq in that they are “contained” fire rather than an open mesh basket type fire pit, but still classed as a fire pit so all of the sites except 1 we’ve used so far don’t allow them.

We’ve done a mix of club sites, independent sites and small CL type / farm field sites. Does anyone here have one and if so, where do you use it? Maybe we aren’t choosing the right type of site for these!

dspuk · Sep 12, 2023

For stricter sites it's purely a safety thing for fire hazards and TBH I'd rather they erred on the side of safety than allowed any old Tom Dick or Harry to rock up and put one on. Some of the campers I have seen believe their space is their own personal "do what the heck I want" zone and be damned the rest of you.

If you check out the video from Will last year on different external BBQ's the Ridge Monkey one seems to serve well as both.

Ch1pbutty · Sep 12, 2023

Justinitus1972 said:
We’ve been thinking about a small Solo Stove for a while now to extend our outside time in the chillier evenings. More similar to a charcoal bbq in that they are “contained” fire rather than an open mesh basket type fire pit, but still classed as a fire pit so all of the sites except 1 we’ve used so far don’t allow them.

We’ve done a mix of club sites, independent sites and small CL type / farm field sites. Does anyone here have one and if so, where do you use it? Maybe we aren’t choosing the right type of site for these!

They are an open fire, so will only be allowed depending on the sites rules. Alot of the time it’s more about the smoke and the impact on other campers. Especially if people put treated wood / chemical ‘easy light, charcoal on them.

Should be ok on smaller sites. Some welcome fire pits but will might insist that you buy their logs, as then they know exactly what is being burnt.(..and make a small profit!)

Ch1pbutty · Sep 12, 2023

dspuk said:
For stricter sites it's purely a safety thing for fire hazards and TBH I'd rather they erred on the side of safety than allowed any old Tom Dick or Harry to rock up and put one on. Some of the campers I have seen believe their space is their own personal "do what the heck I want" zone and be damned the rest of you.

If you check out the video from Will last year on different external BBQ's the Ridge Monkey one seems to serve well as both.

We have the ridge monkey Grilla. It’s great as you can use on gas (just slide the burner tube in), charcoal, small logs; Can also put pans on the top, and has a hot plate accessory. Folds flat and easy to disassemble for a proper clean.

Justinitus1972 · Sep 12, 2023

Ch1pbutty said:
We have the ridge monkey Grilla. It’s great as you can use on gas (just slide the burner tube in), charcoal, small logs; Can also put pans on the top, and has a hot plate accessory. Folds flat and easy to disassemble for a proper clean.

Never seen the Grilla before, looks pretty neat!

Kayleigh · Sep 12, 2023

Ch1pbutty said:
We have the ridge monkey Grilla. It’s great as you can use on gas (just slide the burner tube in), charcoal, small logs; Can also put pans on the top, and has a hot plate accessory. Folds flat and easy to disassemble for a proper clean.

Good option. By comparison, the Solo Stove is a very large item and more suited to home use.

chockswahay · Sep 12, 2023

Ch1pbutty said:
They are an open fire, so will only be allowed depending on the sites rules. Alot of the time it’s more about the smoke and the impact on other campers. Especially if people put treated wood / chemical ‘easy light, charcoal on them.

Should be ok on smaller sites. Some welcome fire pits but will might insist that you buy their logs, as then they know exactly what is being burnt.(..and make a small profit!)

As it happens the very design of the ‘Solo’ fire is that it is virtually smokeless however they are a bonkers price and take up a lot of space.

wildslammer22 · Sep 13, 2023

I have the Petromax atago which is both a great BBQ and fire pit. It’s not the smallest but does fold into itself, it takes up about half the storage space of a Cadac Safari 30 at only 14-15cm high when collapsed. Like the Solo stove it’s double walled so also efficient and burns cleaner but a lot more versatile, space efficient and cheaper than the equivalent size Solo (although not exactly cheap!).