Camp Chef Propane Outdoor Portable Campfire

This was a bit of a tough sell with my family. ~$80 for a campfire when a bundle of wood is only $5 or so? I explained its benefits to my wife and I think I won her over at "no smoke". We ordered it up and put it to the test last weekend.Packaging: The shipping box is sturdy, no issues or damage. The included bag works well, the only annoying bit is the valve/flitting assembly that hangs off the side. It's a bit awkward, it does fit in the bag but feels vulnerable, I'm worried about smacking it against something and breaking it off. Time will tell here, however I trust Camp Chef to make a sturdy product.Size - Great, big enough to accommodate 4-6 campers around it and keep them warm in cooler weather, small enough to tuck away nicely.Design - It's simple and it works. The legs are sturdy, I only had issues when trying to push it around instead of lifting it, which is to be expected. They also allow it to be picked up immediately after use as they are far enough from the flame to stay cool. Some of the included rocks are small enough to fall through the holes, so expect some fallout on the first few uses, after which it won't be an issue.Use - Painfully simple. Pull it out of the bag, unfold the legs, hook up the propane, turn it on, light, you're done. I haven't timed myself, but from in the camper to setup and running I think I could knock it out in under a minute. The adjustable flame is great too, choose your heat and height based on weather and use. The first time I pulled it out my family was sold. No more fussing with kindling and logs, just open the valve, light, and go. Unbothered by wind too, which proved very useful at City of Rocks. Be sure to "condition" the rocks per the instructions before putting it to normal use, instructions are in the box.Bonus - I knew this would work for cooking over, but man, I've never had a marshmallow as good as this can cook them. Even my 4 year old daughter had no issue getting a perfectly browned marshmallow. We didn't burn a single one and they got so gooey inside that they almost fell off the stick (2 of which are included by the way). Excited to try it with hot dogs this weekend.Overall - Worth every bit of what I spent. It seems rather propane efficient too, should be able to pay for itself this summer by eliminating the need to buy firewood. Packs smaller than a few logs, uses a fuel source you likely already have with you, hard to find fault here. Two thumbs up.

I decided to finally do a makeup on my patio this year and a fire-pit was #1 on the list. I live in side by side condos so a wood-burning pit was not permissible or practical. I shopped far and long and found most propane patio fire-pits well out of my budget - most costing hundreds of dollars. When I searched 'firepit' on CL, this Camp Chef model came up but the owner wouldnt budge from there $70 price - but Im glad I searched as I didnt even know these existed. I read the reviews everywhere - all positive - and decided to pull the trigger. This is PERFECT. Flames are just as large and beautiful as a log burning fire and once the lava rocks heat up, this thing puts out heat. The hose I received was about 6' 6". I went to WalMart and bought their cheap $29 wood firepit with the big bowl/screen top and this fits perfectly within it. Next, Im going to drill a hole in the large bowl, install a rubber grommet and run the hose thru it. Surround it with some nice stones / river rock and then add some Peterson ceramic logs. Ill have a $500 looking firepit for less then $150. :) Im really happy with this and glad I did the research. The fact that its also portable (comes with very durable canvas bag) is a huge bonus as most campgrounds here in SoCal only allow wood burning a couple months a year. Shipping was fast and product arrived well packaged. Its ready to use immediately - just carefully place the lava rocks within the ring, install the hose, turn on the propane and you're enjoying your own little campfire!

We looked at a lot of these before settling on this particular unit. We were a bit torn between size and portability vs looks. Wife was not excited about the folding legs vs the grander stands that some other larger units have but could not deny the portability of the folding legs was ultimately worthwhile. Tree pattern on the sides is nice, and the included lava rock looks good and works well so far.Had no issues hooking it up and getting it going. Very pleasant yellow flames. Hard to compare it to a wood fire as its somewhat an apple and an orange but definitely not as much radiant heat as a real wood fire, if you are actually needing the warmth you have to huddle closer to this than you would a wood fire. It does have all the charm and ambiance of a wood fire though, in that regard its actually better since there is no smoke in anyone's face and no sparks/embers flying out to put holes in light clothing.As others have said the included roasting sticks are high quality, and the travel bag is very nice too.Due to its small size this is best suited for 4 adults, maybe can push it to 6 if you are mainly wanting the ambiance and not actual heat/warmth. You get the most flames on the high setting but even with the gas valve half-closed you get a pretty decent low flame that is still enjoyable.We are excited that we can travel with this and set it up easily, and that we can use it for short periods without a lot of hassle. Also excited to be able to use in the winter when shoveling out the wood fire pit and digging firewood out of snow is a pain. There is a lot of appeal in these units over traditional wood campfires. Packing propane will be more the issue than packing this tiny unit itself, we may look into 5 or 10 pound propane cylinders for a little more portability but will have to get a feel for the fuel consumption first.Overall would definitely recommend.

I purchased this for when there are fire restrictions. Nice warm fire. I have only put it through a test run but will have a better idea come summer.

Pratique!

I love the product but felt it was very hard to initially get started and don’t like how close the control valve is. There is also no starter.UPDATE: I dropped my rating to 3-stars, the regulator is a pain in the butt and does not work well. They ended up shipping me a new one but I am experiencing similar issues. Instead, I purchase a manual regulator for $25 and now I control the flame which is bad-ass.