TJ Sher—January 11, 2021✓ Verified purchase
Some friends showed up to a camp-out with one of these fire pits. We were in a place where open fires were prohibited, and I thought it was cheesy. Then they fired it up and we gathered around it and late into the night. Bliss! Not having waves of smoke hitting you in the face is worth the price of admission! Not smelling like smoke when you finally retire to bed and for the rest of your trip makes it a real value! A single propane tank, which takes as much space as a single bundle of wood, will burn 10x as long for a fraction of the price and emit no carbon in the atmosphere. No risk of embers burning holes in your clothes and chairs or setting the forest on fire, and when you are ready to go to bed, you don't have to worry about finding enough water to fully extinguish the fire. Just turn the knob and go to bed. The lava rocks are incredibly light, so you can arrange them how you like, put the lid and carry strap on it, and lug it around with one arm. It takes about 10 minutes for the rocks to heat up, so initially it doesn't feel like the propane flames put out that much heat. But once the rocks are heated, it puts out plenty of heat for 4 or 5 people to enjoy. You can huddle in closely to it and stay in that one spot, because the fire intensity doesn't change unless you want it to, and you don't have to constantly be relocating your chair to avoid the smoke. It takes about 10 or 15 minutes to cool down once you've turned it off, and then you can pack it away. You can cook marshmallows and hotdogs on sticks, but I wouldn't recommend making a mess of it with anything greasy. It's a nice looking stove that sits low to the ground. The innovative propane piping in this unit disperses the flame evenly, so the flames look nice and natural. Cheaper units that have a single metal ring don't look nearly as nice. It's worth the extra money to get this one. We bought the fully-enclosed carry tote for it, which protects it in the trailer and keeps fire dust from getting all over our other gear when transporting, and it was worth the extra investment. We put it out on our front patio at sunset, set up some chairs right outside our daughter's bedroom window where she hides out with the phone glued to her face. She actually put down her phone, came outside in the cold, and spent 2 hours just visiting with us. A good social fire circle is one of the only things that can break the social media spell that's destroying the world. Read more
MP—June 5, 2019✓ Verified purchase
The media could not be loaded. This thing is pretty great. I went back and forth on this and a Solo Stove Bonfire. There’s not much substitute for a real wood fire. They smell good, they sound good, they look good... But they also require wood, and time, they burn out on their schedule, not yours, and ultimately you end up smelling like campfire, with an ashy mess on your hands. I decided clean, odorless, on-demand fire that turns off when I’m ready for it to be off was enough to tip the scales. So I started looking more and more at Outland Firebowls. We’re not RVers, and really not much into camping, so I just needed something that would work on our patio. I initially settled on the Mega Fire Pit, but then I noticed the Helios burner on the Cypress. Glad I did. It’s slightly smaller diameter, a little bit lower profile, and just a little more wheel-without-a-tire looking, but holy cow what a flame. It’s nearly as nice to look at as a real log fire. And it gets HOT. Anyone who complains about this not radiating enough heat is crazy. Medium heat is almost too hot to sit close to. High will melt your face like a Dimebag Daryl guitar solo. It does take a few minutes to heat the lava rocks to glowing red, but they definitely get there. The long hose makes it easy to stash the propane tank out of the way. I thought about getting the tank cover, but I probably won’t now that I have it set up with the tank hidden behind an Adirondack chair. Your set up will almost certainly vary, but I view the tank cover as completely unnecessary for mine. Set up is a breeze: take everything out of the box, put the rocks in the bowl per the instructions (medium size first, large on top), attach the hose to your fuel source, and you’re ready to go. I haven’t run it long enough to burn through a whole tank of fuel, but the fact that I was able to run it for two hours and then come into the house without worrying about what to do with burning logs pays for itself. And when you price propane against firewood (assuming you don’t just have a bunch lying around) the economics just work. This is very sturdy and well made. I anticipate many years of enjoyment as long as I keep it out of the weather. But with the included cover, it seems like it’s probably fine to withstand the occasional summer storm. I’m very pleased with my purchase. I can’t imagine any reason you wouldn’t be too. Unless you really just want a wood fire. [Pictures show the flame at various settings, from high to medium, to almost off. The video is just because slo-mo flames are cool.] Read more
