East Oak Fire Pit Review

About the East Oak Fire Pit

• Dimensions: 21.26 x 21.26 x 14.95 inches
• Weight: 19.36 pounds
• Material: 304 Stainless Steel
• Fuel Type: Wood
• Shape: Circle-tapered-square
• Colors: Chisel steel, pitch charcoal, polish black, silver
• Assembly required: No

If you haven’t heard of the East Oak Fire Pit, it’s a “smokeless” outdoor fire pit—similar to the well-known Solo Stove. The fire pit has special inlet holes on the bottom and sides that allow more oxygen into the fire, which results in more complete combustion and less smoke.

The East Oak Fire Pit comes in three sizes—17, 21, and 29 inches in diameter—and I tested the 21-inch model, which retails for around $270. The fire pit comes with an extra-long fire poker, and there are several accessories that you can purchase separately or in a bundle, including a weatherproof cover, metal lid, and/or fire pit mat to protect the surface under the fire pit.

What we like

The design is modern and eye-catching

When I unboxed the East Oak Fire Pit, I was immediately impressed by its design. The exterior is made from pristine stainless steel, and it has a cool, contemporary shape. The bottom of the fire pit is round, but it tapers up into more of a square shape at the rim. It’s also wider than other fire pits with a larger opening, which gives you lots of space to arrange wood and adjust the logs as they burn.

The fire pit has little legs on the bottom, helping to keep it up off the ground. Because of this feature, I felt comfortable using the fire pit on my wooden deck, as it keeps the heat away from the combustible surface. I also liked that it comes with the extra-long fire poker, which proved helpful for moving around logs in the fire.

It’s nearly smokeless once it gets going

I’ve never used a smokeless fire pit before, so I was really curious to see how much smoke it would create. I used a combination of cardboard, twigs, and logs to get the fire started, and the fire pit did put off a normal amount of smoke while the cardboard was burning.

However, once the kindling was mostly burned and the main logs caught fire, the amount of smoke decreased substantially. In fact, there was barely any at all! The fire pit was around 3 feet away from my seat, and I never had any smoke blowing in my face. However, I was still comfortably warm on the chilly autumn night.

Once the fire started petering out, it did get smoky again. When it got down to the last few logs, I didn’t add any more fuel, and the wood smoked for around 45 minutes before extinguishing completely. At that point, it didn’t bother me much, as I was just cleaning up and getting ready to go back inside.

It creates less ash

After each time I used the East Oak Fire Pit, I was surprised at just how little ash was left in the bottom of it. There were often pieces of the larger logs left, but everything else was totally burned with minimal ash left behind. According to the brand, this is because the fire pit’s improved airflow allows the wood to be more fully burned, and it meant I didn’t have to clean out the pit as often (always a good thing in my book).

When you do need to clean out the ash, the bottom of the fire pit is removable, so you can simply pull it out using the poker and dump it. Easy!

What we don’t like

It can’t be left outdoors

I was surprised to read in the instruction manual that the East Oak Fire Pit shouldn’t be left outside when it’s not in use. The brand says you should either move it to a dry location or cover it, but the stove covers are sold separately (about $39).

This proved to be quite inconvenient, as we are having a rainy fall in New England, which means a lot of schlepping indoors and out if I want to use the fire pit on a regular basis. Additionally, the fire pit is fairly bulky, so it was a hassle to move it in and out of storage every time it was going to rain. I also just found it strange that the fire pit, which is supposed to be an outdoor fixture, wasn’t designed to be left outdoors.

Bottom line: To save yourself some frustration and make sure your fire pit lasts, you’re probably going to want to purchase a cover to go with it.

Should you buy the East Oak Fire Pit?

Yes, it’s worth splurging if you like the design

Overall, I was really impressed with the East Oak Fire Pit. Not only does its design look really contemporary, but it creates minimal smoke while burning wood. It was comfortable to sit around for hours, providing a cozy level of warmth on a chilly evening, and it was equally easy to clean up, thanks to its minimal ash and removable bottom pan.

If you’re debating between the East Oak Fire Pit and the Solo Stove, the choice mostly comes down to which design you like better. The East Oak has a more contemporary shape with a wider opening, while the Solo Stove has a taller, more narrow form.

They cost and weigh roughly the same, and both products do a great job minimizing smoke to make your outdoor time more comfortable, but remember, both do need a cover (sold separately) if you want to store outdoors. And if weight is not a concern because you’re going to leave your fire pit in place, check out the Tiki Patio Fire Pit, which comes with a weather resistant cover.

East Oak Fire Pit

This smokeless fire pit has a unique curved shape that some might prefer over the Solo Stove.

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Meet the tester

Camryn Rabideau

Contributor

@CamrynWrites

Camryn Rabideau is a full-time freelance writer and product tester with eight years of experience. She's been lucky enough to test hundreds of products firsthand, and her specialties include bedding and pet products, which often require help from her two dogs, three cats, and flock of rambunctious chickens.

See all of Camryn Rabideau's reviews