Solo Stove vs BioLite FirePit: Which Fire Pit Should Carry Your Logo?
A portable fire pit is one of the few corporate gifts that gets more use the longer someone owns it. It comes out for backyard dinners and camping weekends, and your logo comes out with it. When clients ask us about branded fire pits, two brands come up again and again: Solo Stove and BioLite.
Both make fires with far less smoke than an ordinary pit, but they get there in completely different ways. Solo Stove relies on a double-walled steel design with no moving parts. BioLite uses a battery-powered fan you can adjust from your phone. Which one makes the better gift depends on who’s getting it and where they’ll use it.
The quick verdict
Choose Solo Stove if your recipients will mostly use it at home. It’s simple and built from stainless steel. Sizes range from a tabletop model to a 30-inch pit for a crowd.
Choose the BioLite FirePit+ if your recipients camp, like to cook outdoors, or enjoy gadgets. It burns wood or charcoal, ships with a grill grate, and lets you raise or lower the flames from an app.
Solo Stove vs BioLite at a glance
This table compares the most popular gift model from each brand.
| Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 | BioLite FirePit+ | |
| How it cuts smoke | Double-wall design reburns smoke, no electronics | Battery fan pushes air through 51 jets |
| Materials | 304 stainless steel, ceramic-coated colors available | Stainless and enamel-coated steel, mesh sides, glass-filled nylon |
| Size | 19.5″ wide, 14″ tall (17.5″ on its stand) | 27″ x 13″ x 15.8″ |
| Weight | About 22 lbs (pit only) | 19.8 lbs |
| Fuel | Wood (pellets with an adapter, sold separately) | Wood or charcoal |
| Cooking | Grill accessories sold separately | Grill grate included |
| Flame control | Set by how much wood you add | Adjustable fan on the powerpack or Bluetooth app |
| Power | None needed | 12,800 mAh battery, up to 30 hours on low |
| Cleanup | Removable ash pan | Dump the ashes, fold the legs |
| Giving back | Tree planting and community programs | Certified B Corp funding off-grid clean energy |
How the Solo Stove works
Every Solo Stove fire pit is a stainless steel cylinder with two walls. Air comes in through holes near the base and heats up as it travels between the walls. It then feeds back into the fire through vents near the top, where it burns off much of the smoke before it can escape. Solo Stove calls this its 360° airflow design. There’s no fan, no battery, and nothing to charge.
It isn’t smokeless from the first match. Owners often mention some smoke for the first 15 minutes or so while the fire heats up. Once it’s going, the difference from an open fire is easy to notice, and nobody spends the evening switching seats to dodge smoke.
The lineup runs from the tabletop Mesa to the 30-inch Canyon. Most companies choose the Bonfire 2.0. It’s 19.5 inches across and about 22 pounds, with a removable ash pan under the base plate, so cleanup takes a minute. Plain stainless steel develops a patina over time, while the ceramic-coated colors keep their finish. It comes with a stand that protects decks and grass, plus a carry case.
The Bonfire doesn’t fold. It fits in a trunk easily, but it’s really a backyard and patio piece that sometimes goes camping.
How the BioLite FirePit+ works
BioLite takes the opposite approach. A rechargeable powerpack clips onto the side and runs a fan that pushes air through 51 jets into the fire. More oxygen means a hotter, cleaner burn with less smoke. You set the fan speed on the powerpack or from the BioLite Energy app over Bluetooth. That means you can turn the fire up for cooking or down for a slow evening without leaving your chair.
The 12,800 mAh battery runs the fan for about 30 hours on low, 14 on medium, or 7 on high. Its USB port also charges phones, which is handy at a campsite without outlets.
The body is a long box with mesh sides, so you can see the flames from every angle. It holds up to four standard logs. For cooking, lift out the fuel rack, add charcoal, and set the included grill grate on top to turn it into a hibachi-style grill. The legs fold for transport, and the whole thing weighs 19.8 pounds.
Solo Stove vs BioLite: head to head
Design and build
Solo Stove is all metal with no moving parts, which makes it about as low maintenance as a fire pit gets. The round shape works well in the middle of a patio with chairs all the way around it.
The BioLite has more going on: steel, mesh panels, folding legs, and a battery pack. Its rectangular shape and see-through sides make it feel more like camping gear. It’s a little lighter than the Bonfire, though at 27 inches long it takes up more room in a car.
Smoke and flame control
Both burn far cleaner than a ring of rocks. The real difference is control. With a Solo Stove, the fire is as big as the wood you put in it. With BioLite, you can change the airflow in seconds, which helps when you’re trying to get damp wood going or hold steady heat for cooking.
The trade-off is that BioLite works best with a charged battery. Solo Stove only needs wood.
Cooking
BioLite has the advantage out of the box, because charcoal capability and a grill grate come standard. Solo Stove sells cooking accessories, including a cast iron grill and a hub that raises it over the flames, but they cost extra.
Portability
For car camping, tailgates, and beach trips, the BioLite’s folding legs and lower weight give it the edge. The Bonfire travels fine in its carry case, but its shape doesn’t change. If you want a Solo Stove gift for people who travel a lot, a smaller model makes more sense.
Giving back
Both companies support causes, but in different ways.
Solo Stove has worked with One Tree Planted and the National Forest Foundation on tree planting, with a goal of planting more trees than its products use. It also partners with Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a nonprofit that builds beds for kids. Through Project Good, it gives fire pits to families going through hard times.
BioLite is a certified B Corp. Sales of its outdoor gear help fund clean cookstoves and solar home systems for off-grid households, and that work has reached more than 14 million people across Africa and Asia. If your company wants a gift with a clear impact story, BioLite has the stronger one. You can find more options like this in our gifts that give back collection.
Which one should you gift?
Solo Stove is the better fit for:
- Client appreciation gifts for homeowners and executives
- Real estate closing gifts
- Work anniversary and milestone awards
- Anyone who would rather not charge a battery
BioLite is the better fit for:
- Outdoor, travel, and adventure brands
- Tech companies whose teams like gadgets
- Employees who camp or tailgate
- Campaigns built around sustainability
Neither one is a budget gift. Both flagship models retail for a few hundred dollars, so price rarely decides between them. Bulk pricing with your logo depends on quantity and how the logo is applied, and our team can quote both side by side.
Putting your logo on it
iPromo offers both brands with custom branding. Shop custom Solo Stove fire pits and custom BioLite gear, or browse our wider range of outdoor promotional products and gifts for outdoor explorers. Before anything goes into production, we’ll send a virtual proof so you can see where your logo sits and how it looks.
Not sure which fire pit fits your gift list? Talk to our team and we’ll help you choose.
FAQs
Is Solo Stove or BioLite less smoky?
Once they’re hot, both produce much less smoke than an open fire. BioLite’s fan lets you push more air in when the fire starts smoking. Solo Stove depends on its double-wall design and usually needs 15 minutes or so to reach full efficiency.
Can you cook on a Solo Stove?
Yes, with accessories sold separately, such as Solo Stove’s cast iron grill. The BioLite FirePit+ includes a grill grate and can also burn charcoal.
Which is easier to carry?
The BioLite FirePit+ weighs 19.8 pounds and has folding legs. The Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 weighs about 22 pounds on its own and comes with a carry case, but it doesn’t fold.
Does the BioLite FirePit need to be charged?
Yes. The fan runs on a rechargeable 12,800 mAh battery that charges over USB. A full charge runs the fan for up to 30 hours on the low setting.
Can I order Solo Stove and BioLite fire pits with my logo?
Yes. iPromo carries both brands with custom branding, and you’ll see a virtual proof before production starts.
