In autumn and winter, a wood fire in the garden is one of the cosiest places to sit together. But do you choose a tall fire basket with open sides, a wide fire bowl on legs, a small tabletop fire pit or a design fire pit that looks good even without a fire? In this guide you will read how they differ and which type suits your garden, which size and material to choose, what rain and ash do to each type, and how to cook on it. With a quiz, a comparison table and available models from BonFeu, Höfats, CookKing, Esschert Design, RedFire and Petromax, among others.
In short: a fire basket is tall and open: you see the flames from the side and it draws well, but it also lets sparks and ash through. A fire bowl gives a wide, calm fire, you sit low around it and cooking is easier. Choose the size based on your spot and group, and the material based on how it may look after a few winters. Want less smoke? Look at a low-smoke fire pit.
What is the difference between a fire basket and a fire bowl?
Both hold an open wood fire outdoors, but they work and feel different. On the comparison page for fire pits and fire bowls you will roughly find four types:
| Type | What does it look like? | Strong at | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire basket | Tall, with bars, holes or a laser-cut pattern | Flames visible from all sides, good draught | Ash and sparks fall through the openings |
| Fire bowl | Open, shallow dish on legs or a base | Wide, calm fire; grate or plancha on top | Rainwater collects without drainage holes |
| Design fire pit | Cube, sphere or hexagon, often corten steel | A feature even without a fire | Often limited capacity, accessories sold separately |
| Tabletop fire pit | Small and double-walled, for on the table | Atmosphere on the table, little wood | Gives little heat, only on a heat-resistant table |
An open fire basket is the classic image: a steel basket where the wood burns upright. A fire bowl is more like a campfire in a dish. In between are design models such as the Höfats Cube or the Esschert Design fire ball, which you also leave in the garden as an object. Still deciding between a wood fire and a gas or bioethanol fire table? Read buying a fire table: gas, bioethanol or wood? first.
Quiz: fire basket or fire bowl, which suits you?
Answer three questions and see which type best suits your garden and your evenings.
Fire basket or fire bowl: which suits you?
How do you want to sit around the fire?
- Standing or on high chairs, with the fire at eye level
- Low, in a circle of lounge chairs
- It should look good without flames too
- I mainly want to cook on it
Where will it stand?
- On tiles or gravel, well away from the house
- On an open patch of grass or gravel
- In a fixed spot as a feature
- Somewhere I can grill as well
What matters most to you?
- Seeing the flames from all sides
- A wide, calm fire
- A clean design
- A grill grate or plancha
An open fire basket suits you: tall, with flames you see from the side.
A fire bowl suits you: low and wide, for a circle of chairs.
A design fire pit suits you: a shape that adds something during the day too.
A fire bowl with cooking accessories suits you: a wide fire with a grate or plancha on top.
What size fire basket or fire bowl do you need?
The diameter determines how much wood fits, how big the fire gets and how much space you need around it. Bigger is not always better: a large fire gives more heat but also more smoke and sparks, and needs more distance from the house, fence, trees and chairs. The fire bowls on the comparison page range from around 40 cm to 150 cm. This is how you arrive at a size:
Find an open spot, well away from the house, fence, shrubs and overhanging branches, and never under a canopy, pergola or parasol.
Put your chairs in a circle at a distance where you feel the warmth without getting too hot. What is left in the middle is the space for the fire.
As a guideline: around 50 to 60 cm for a smaller garden and a small group, around 80 cm as a middle size, 100 cm or more for a large garden or if you also want to cook on it.
Your logs need to fit. In a small basket you often have to cut wood shorter; a large bowl burns a pile of logs that you also need to keep feeding.
Want to give the fire a fixed place in the garden? Also read how to divide seating areas in creating an outdoor living room.
Steel, corten steel, cast iron or stainless steel: which material?
The material determines how your fire basket or fire bowl looks after a few winters, how heavy it is and how much care it needs. These are the four materials you will come across most:
| Material | Look | How it behaves |
|---|---|---|
| Steel (black or untreated) | Clean, black or grey | Can rust outdoors and change colour; often cheaper |
| Corten steel | Warm rust brown | Forms a protective rust layer; can stain the surface below |
| Cast iron | Sturdy and heavy | Holds heat for a long time, very stable; can rust outdoors |
| Stainless steel | Silver or coated | Does not rust easily, common on low-smoke and double-walled models |
Corten steel is popular because after a few weeks outdoors it looks like a warm rust-brown object. According to the product information, the BonFeu BonBowl Plus is made of 3 mm corten steel that forms a rust-brown protective layer and then needs little maintenance. For ordinary steel, CookKing itself states in the product information that it can rust in damp conditions and change colour. That is no disgrace, but worth knowing before you put a black bowl on a light floor.
Corten steel on tiles
Especially in the first months, rainwater can leave rust-brown marks from corten steel on tiles, concrete or light decking. So place a corten fire basket or bowl on a base plate, on gravel or somewhere a little discolouration does not matter.
Cast iron, as in the Esschert Design 50 cm cast iron fire bowl, looks sturdy and holds heat for a long time. Stainless steel is mainly found on low-smoke fire pits and tabletop models. Read more about the brands at Esschert Design and BonFeu.
Rain, ash and sparks: how does each type behave?
A fire basket and a fire bowl stay outside all year, and it shows. With a fire basket, fine ash and the occasional glowing piece of wood fall through the openings. That is why it needs a non-combustible surface underneath, or a separate base plate for a round fire basket like the one Esschert Design makes. Rain simply runs through a basket.
With a fire bowl it is the other way round: the ash stays neatly in the dish, but so does rainwater. So check whether it has drainage holes. The BonFeu BonBowl Plus has them according to the product information. Without holes, empty the bowl after rain or cover it with a matching protective cover once it has cooled. A fire basket lets ash and sparks through, a fire bowl holds on to rainwater.
A fire basket lets ash and sparks through, a fire bowl holds on to rainwater.
Sparks fly from every open fire, especially with resinous or damp wood. According to Esschert Design, a folding spark guard over a fire bowl catches part of them, and you can fold it half open to add wood. Choose the type whose drawbacks you can most easily live with, and always burn dry wood.
Sitting low or high, and where do you keep the wood?
How you sit determines which height is comfortable. A fire bowl on low legs suits lounge chairs and a circle on the lawn. According to the product information, the 80 cm BonBowl Plus is 24 cm high. A tall fire basket, such as the 100 cm high BonFeu BonVes, puts the fire at eye level instead, nice if you stand or sit on a high stool. Whatever you choose, place the fire so nobody has to walk past it to reach the garden door or the path.
A model with log storage is handy. According to the product information, the RedFire Juva has log storage under its 80 cm bowl, so firewood stays within reach. Esschert Design also makes fire bowls with a log compartment underneath. Only keep that evening's wood there, and keep your main supply dry and away from the fire.
Can you cook on a fire basket or fire bowl?
Yes, and a fire bowl is the most suitable. On the wide, open dish you place a grill grate or a plancha, or you hang a grate from a tripod above the fire. A few examples from the fire pit accessories:
- Half plancha: according to the product information, the BonFeu BonPlancha 80 cm half plancha covers half of an 80 cm bowl, so you can add wood on the other side.
- Tripod: on the CookKing 180 cm tripod a 60 cm grate hangs from a chain that sets the distance to the fire.
- Campfire bridge: according to the product information, the BonFeu BonBridge has six hooks and fits over fire bowls up to 120 cm, for example for a cast iron pot.
- Folding cooking bowl: the Petromax Atago is a fire bowl with an adjustable air inlet and charcoal grate, made for charcoal, briquettes and firewood.
BonFeu half plancha 80 cm
View plancha →
CookKing tripod with grate
View tripod →
Esschert Design spark guard
View spark guard →
BonFeu cover 80 cm
View cover →Cooking over an open fire is different from a barbecue with a lid: the heat is less even and the wind plays a part. Start with simple things like sausages, vegetables and bread on the plancha. An accessory has to match the diameter of your bowl, so always check the size.
And a low-smoke fire pit, is that a third option?
Yes. A low-smoke fire pit has a double wall with air holes. Warm air rises between the walls and re-enters near the top of the fire, so smoke gases burn more completely. That means less smoke, but never no smoke at all: damp wood and a fire that is just getting going always smoke. Well-known names are Solo Stove, the Höfats Moon and the Petromax Pyron. Small tabletop models such as the RedFire Volcano Small also use double walls. How it works exactly and when it is worth the extra money is explained in low-smoke fire pit: how does it work?
Six fire baskets and fire bowls compared
Six available models from different brands side by side. The details come from the product information; the current price is shown on the product cards and product pages.
| Model | Type | Size | Material | Special feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BonFeu BonBowl Plus 80 | Fire bowl | 80 cm | Corten steel 3 mm | Drainage holes, handles |
| CookKing Verona | Fire basket | 60 cm | Steel 4 mm | Ash tray, carrying handles |
| RedFire Juva | Fire bowl | 80 cm | Untreated steel | Log storage underneath |
| Höfats Cube | Design fire basket | 43 x 43 x 44 cm | Corten steel | Removable ash pan |
| Esschert Design cast iron | Fire bowl | 50 cm | Cast iron | Bowl on a base |
| Petromax Atago | Cooking bowl | 42 cm | Steel | Folding, adjustable air inlet |
BonFeu BonBowl Plus 80 cm: the wide all-rounder
A shallow corten steel fire bowl on three legs, with two handles to move it. According to the product information it has drainage holes and takes a plancha or grill grate, which you buy separately.
CookKing Verona 60 cm: open fire basket with ash tray
A chalice-shaped fire basket of 4 mm flat steel, handmade in Europe according to the product information, with three legs, two carrying handles and an ash tray.
RedFire Juva 80 cm: fire bowl with log storage
An 80 cm bowl on a block with room for firewood, made of 2 mm untreated steel with an industrial look.
Höfats Cube: corten steel design fire basket
A cube-shaped fire basket with a removable ash pan. According to the product information, an optional plancha, grill grate or top board turns it into a barbecue, stool or side table. More models are available from Höfats, such as the hexagonal Triple fire bowl.
Esschert Design cast iron fire bowl 50 cm: compact and heavy
A black cast iron bowl on a base of about 25 cm, which according to the product information you fix to the bowl with three screws. A straightforward choice for a smaller garden.
Quick choice
- See the flames from the side and stand by the fire: an open fire basket
- Sit low in a circle: a fire bowl on low legs
- Want to cook too: a fire bowl of 80 cm or more with a plancha or grate
- An object that looks good by day: a corten steel design model
- Less smoke for the neighbours: a double-walled low-smoke fire pit
Where should you put a fire basket or fire bowl?
Whichever type you choose, the spot matters as much as the model. Place a fire basket or fire bowl in an open spot, on a stable, non-combustible surface, well away from the house, fence, hedge and trees, and never under a canopy, pergola, louvred roof or parasol. Keep a bucket of water, a garden hose or a fire blanket at hand and never leave the fire unattended. Before lighting it, check the wind direction, the rules of your municipality and the burning advice of the RIVM Stookwijzer.
Distances, surfaces, which wood to burn and how to put the fire out safely are covered in detail in using a fire pit safely: distance, ground and rules. If you mainly want warmth on the patio without smoke, a patio heater or fire table may suit you better: see buying a patio heater and fire table or patio heater.
Common mistakes when choosing
Click each pitfall you already avoid.
Too big a fire for a small garden
A one-metre bowl looks impressive but takes a lot of wood and a lot of distance. In a small garden, a smaller fire is more pleasant and safer.
Corten steel straight on light tiles
The rust layer can run, especially at first. A base plate or gravel prevents brown rings on your patio.
An open basket without a base plate on grass or wood
Ash and glowing bits fall through the openings. Put an open basket on a non-combustible surface or a base plate.
Leaving a bowl full of rainwater
Water mixed with ash attacks the steel. Empty the bowl after rain or cover it once it has cooled.
Buying accessories that do not fit
A plancha, grate or lid belongs to a specific diameter. Check the size of your bowl first.
Checklist before you buy
Tick off what you have sorted; your browser remembers it.
- I have chosen an open spot, well away from the house, fence and trees
- There is no canopy, pergola or parasol above the spot
- I know whether I want a fire basket, fire bowl or design model
- The diameter suits my garden, my group and my logs
- The material suits the surface, or I will put a base plate under it
- I know what I will do with ash and rainwater
- If I want to cook: grate, plancha or tripod fits my diameter
- There is something to extinguish the fire at hand, and I have dry firewood
Ready to compare? See all fire baskets, fire bowls and low-smoke fire pits, or read fire table or patio heater if you would rather not have a wood fire.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a fire basket and a fire bowl?
A fire basket is tall with open sides made of bars or a laser-cut pattern, so you see the flames from the side and the fire draws air from below. A fire bowl is an open, shallow dish on legs or a base. You look into it from above, it gives a wide, calm fire and it is easier to put a grill grate or plancha on top.
What size fire bowl do I need?
Start with the spot: the bigger the fire, the more distance you need from the house, fence, trees and chairs. A bowl of around 50 to 60 cm suits a smaller garden and a small group, 80 cm is a popular middle size, and 100 cm or more suits a large garden or cooking over the fire.
Does corten steel leave rust stains?
Corten steel deliberately forms a layer of rust that protects the steel underneath. Especially at first, rainwater can leave rust-brown marks on tiles, concrete or light decking. So place a corten fire basket or bowl on a base plate, on gravel or somewhere a little discolouration does not matter.
What do I do with rainwater in a fire bowl?
When buying, check whether the bowl has drainage holes; the product information for the BonFeu BonBowl Plus mentions them, for example. If your bowl has none, empty it after rain or cover it with a matching cover once it has cooled. Standing water mixed with ash is bad for the steel.
Can I cook on a fire basket or fire bowl?
Yes, if the model is suitable or there are matching accessories. A fire bowl is easiest: you put a grill grate or plancha on it, or hang a grate from a tripod above the fire. Some fire baskets, such as the BonFeu BonVes, come with a grill grate according to the product information.
