When I packed my first portable camping fire pit into the back of my SUV for a weekend in the Sierras, I expected the same smoky, eye-stinging experience I'd grown up with on family trips. Instead, I spent three nights cooking dinner over a contained, nearly smoke-free flame that left the grass beneath it completely […]

I tested eight of the most popular propane fire pits across three weekends of real camping trips, from dry Sierra Nevada sites under active fire restrictions to damp Pacific Northwest evenings. My goal was simple: figure out which models actually deliver the warmth and ambiance they promise, and which ones are better suited for the […]