Breeo vs Solo Stove: Which Smokeless Fire Pit is best?

Breeo and Solo Stove are the two brand names that have become synonymous with smokeless fire pits, and if you're in the market to make a purchase, you're probably trying to decide which of these two options is best for your backyard.

With summer winding down that means that fire pit season is making a comeback. So we're comparing the Solo Stove Yukon and the Breeo X24 smokeless fire pits today. We're going to explore things like build quality, heat output, ease of use, and more, so let's get started.

(If you're looking for smaller smokeless fire pits, be sure to check out our comparison of the Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 and the Breeo Y series next.)

Where are they made?

First and foremost I feel like it's important for me to let you know that Breeo fire pits are made right here in the U.S.; Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to be exact. While Solo Stove's headquarters are down in Texas, their products are manufactured overseas in China. So if buying American-made products is important to you, score one point for Breeo.

What's the Price Difference?

So now that you know where these units are made, I can talk a little about the price.

Breeo fire pits are more expensive than what you can buy from Solo Stove, as would be expected since they're made domestically. 

This Breeo X24 fire pit in Corten Steel currently costs $599. I'll talk a little more about the Corten steel finish in just a minute, but you can also get this same smokeless fire pit in stainless steel for $200 more. 

The stainless steel Solo Stove Yukon currently retails for about $450, but you'll need to factor in another $60 for the stand, which I would definitely recommend. 

How does the build quality compare between Breeo and Solo Stove?

Ok, let's talk about this corten steel finish on the Breeo for a minute. This smokeless fire pit is literally designed to rust.... on purpose. When it first arrived it was a blue/grey steel, but over the course of the past year sitting outside on our patio in the rain and snow it has developed an exterior patina that gives it that signature "Breeo" rustic look. We've allowed our patina to develop naturally with no assistance, but some people aren't as patient and Breeo even offers instructions on their website on how to expedite that process. 

So what's the point of using a material that is going to rust? What's the advantage? Corten steel is an incredibly durable material, often used in the construction of bridges and other architectural structures. Apparently, the patina you see is actually a corrosion-resistant coating that protects it from rusting beyond the surface. Kind of weird, right? Like I said earlier, if the patina look isn't your jam, you can pay more for the 304 stainless steel option of the X24.

Now, the Solo Stove Yukon is made of 304 stainless steel, however they do also offer their fire pits with ceramic coating in a variety of colors for a little bit more. I can't speak to the color options and their durability since we've never seen one in person, but I'd be curious to hear, if any of you have had experience with the colored solo stove options, let us know in the comments how that's working out for you.

Since both of these fire pits are double walled, I don't really have a way of measuring the metal thickness and distance between the outer and inner wall to give you any concrete data to compare in this category. But I will say that the X24 is about 20 pounds heavier than the Yukon and definitely feels more durable. I wouldn't say that the Solo Stove feels fragile by any means, but I do suspect that it's probably more likely to dent than the Breeo if something were to fall on it. 

Breeo X24 vs Solo Stove Yukon: a Size Comparison

Smokeless Fire Pit 101

In just a minute we're going to look at the actual fires you can achieve in these fire pits, but first I want to make sure we're all on the same page about how smokeless fires work.

Both Breeo and Solo Stove have designed their fire pits similarly in that they are double walled with some type of air intake on the bottom and air exhaust holes along the top interior.

Cool air enters the gap between the inner and outer walls from the bottom. While the fire heats up the walls, the hot air rises, and as it exits the holes along the top, the oxygen mixes with the smoke and causes a secondary combustion. This is how you get a fire to be smoke-less. Emphasis on the "less".

They're not smoke-free fire pits, they're smoke-less. And there are a few things you can do to make them even more smoke-less.

First, always use dry hard wood to make your fire. Wet wood will always result in a smoky fire no matter what fire pit you're using. Well seasoned firewood is a must.

Second, the hotter you can get your fire, the less smoke you'll see and smell.

And third, keep your wood below that line of exhaust holes at the top of the burn chamber. Secondary burn only works to kill the smoke below that level so if you're building your fire higher than that, you're going to have to be ok with the smoke.

Will I feel Radiant Heat?

Both fire pits burn very similarly. But is there a difference in how they distribute heat?

Smokeless fire pits tend to get a bad rap for not radiating enough radiant heat outward since the airflow design directs it all straight up. So we built a thermometer rig to test the air temp at various heights around the fire. We measured the air temperature at 1, 2, 3, and 4-foot heights to see if there were any differences in how these fire pits distribute heat.

According to our measurements using our Thermworks Signals 4 channel thermometer the one foot height barely got any heat at all. But at the two foot height we started seeing a dramatic difference. 

Both brands also sell heat deflectors as accessories to their fire pits to solve the heat distribution complaint, so next we added the heat deflectors to each smokeless fire pit to see how that changed things.

For the deflector analysis we found that the Solo Stove fire flat out burned a little bit hotter than the Breeo. As we looked at the data that we collected, we noticed that the Solo Stove deflector gave us hotter temperatures at the higher elevation of 4 feet. However, the we found that the deflector really evened out the heat below that throughout the bottom 3 feet.

The Breeo deflector distributed the heat evenly across all 4 feet of our testing area, with only a 2° difference between the 1 foot and 4 foot heights.

Whether you're using the heat deflector or not, sitting higher up is going to be helpful if you're using your fire pit to warm up. That's why we really like the X-series chairs from Breeo because they sit higher than a typical Adirondack chair. 

Breeo vs Solo Stove: Clean Up Comparison

When it comes to cleaning out the ash, Solo Stove has the clear advantage here. The Yukon 2.0 has a removable ash pan and base plate that really simplifies the cleanup process.

Breeo isn't quite so easy. You either have to dig in with a scoop or ash shovel and dig around the raised X on the floor or break out the shop vac after the ash is fully cool. Lifting the X24 to flip over and dump isn't practical because it's just too heavy so cleaning the Breeo fire pit is admittedly more work.

Final Thoughts

I know a lot of you get frustrated when I don't declare a clear winner in these. But that's just not what I do. I'm here to show you the differences, the pros and cons, let you see them operate side-by-side, and give you all the information that you need to make an educated decision before you spend your money. And to be perfectly honest, in this comparison, you really can't go wrong either way.

Both fire pits are well made, they perform how they say they should perform, both companies offer excellent customer service. So it comes down to your preferences.

Is it important to you to buy American made products? Go with Breeo.

Is it important to you that clean up is simple? Go with Solo Stove.

Do you appreciate the more rustic look and want to treat your fire pit like a fire pit? Go with Breeo.

Do you prefer the sleek and shine of stainless steel and like to keep your fire pit looking a little more polished? Go with Solo Stove.

At this point it's up to you to let your budget and your personal preferences make the final decision. Let us know in the comments where you land and why?