Solo Stove Pi Fire Review

We’re always looking for newer and better ways to make pizza. It might have started with an indoor pizza revolution—pizza stones and pizza steels for your indoor oven—but the advent of affordable outdoor pizza ovens really made it possible to make restaurant-quality pizza at home.

Now the Solo Pi Fire (available at Solo Stove) , from the makers of our our winning Solo pizza oven, turns your Solo fire pit into a wood-fired pizza oven.

Outdoor pizza ovens are designed to hit temperatures as high as 900°F, creating perfectly charred edges and puffed-up crust like your favorite artisan pizza joint. Now, you don’t even need to buy a stand-alone oven: Solo Stove Pi Fire is designed to sit on top of your existing fire pit, transforming any backyard fire into a pizza party.

About the Solo Stove Pi Fire (available in three sizes)

• Stone Diameter: 12 in. (Ranger); 14 in. (Bonfire); 20 in. (Yukon)
• Oven Diameter: 15 in. (Ranger); 19.3 in. (Bonfire); 26.5 in. (Yukon)
• Oven Height: 14.7 in. (Ranger); 16.9 in. (Bonfire); 19.1 in. (Yukon)
• Weight: 13.4 lbs. (Ranger); 19.6 lbs. (Bonfire); 44.5 lbs. (Yukon)
• Materials: Ceramic coated stainless steel
• Features: Pizza oven sits on top of Solo Stove fire pits; comes with a carrying case and high-heat-resistant gloves.

We were impressed when we tested the Solo Stove Pi, which quickly became our top pick for outdoor pizza ovens. We liked that it heated up quickly and could be used with gas or wood, but not everyone has space in their backyard setup for another appliance.

What intrigued us with this new Solo pizza oven is that it’s designed to sit on top of your existing Solo Stove fire pit. That means anyone who has already carved out space for a fire pit can have a pizza oven! This attachment also comes with a carrying case for easy storage (and protection from the elements when not in use), so it’s easy to take with you when you’re on the go.

You can purchase the Pi Fire as a stand-alone unit or pick up one of two bundle options. In addition to the gloves and carrying case, the Pi Fire + Tools bundle also includes a 12-inch bamboo peel, a stainless turner to turn and rotate pizzas as they bake, and an infrared thermometer to check the oven’s temperature.

If you don’t already have a Solo Stove fire pit, you can purchase a bundle that includes the fire pit.

What we like

It’s so easy to use

The process here was as uncomplicated as it gets. There are no hoses to hook up or air vents to worry about; simply start a fire in the Solo Stove and place the Pi Fire’s legs around the edge of the fire pit.

We love that the legs don’t clamp permanently onto the fire pit. Instead, they nest in place on top of the flame ring, and you can easily remove the unit by lifting the Pi Fire by its handles. It’s worth noting that you’ll need to screw the legs into the unit before the first use, but no additional assembly is required after that.

Once the kindling produced active flames, we added three logs and waited about 30 minutes to start our pizza party. By then, the stone had reached 600°F and we were ready to load our first pizza.

It only took about 5 minutes for the pizza to cook in this environment, creating a pie that was beautifully cooked on the top and evenly browned on the bottom. Those results can take some practice in a wood-fired pizza oven, but it felt effortless here.

It’s forgiving and cooks evenly

The Pi Fire doesn’t get as hot as most outdoor pizza ovens, which could be viewed as a pro or a con. What we like about its 500 to 650°F temperatures is how forgiving it makes the cooking process.

You don’t need to worry about the high heat or direct exposure to flames burning the pizza as it cooks, making this a perfect oven for beginner pizza-making enthusiasts. We weren’t able to burn the bottom of the pizza, even when we tried by cranking up the heat and adding significantly more wood than Solo Stove recommends.

Basically, the design works similarly to a pizza stone on a grill, where the flames heat the stone instead of coming into direct contact with the pizza. The Pi Fire’s design is unique because of a reverse dome shape on the bottom of the unit. We’re not exactly sure how it works, but we noticed it creates almost perfectly even heat on the stone. Most grilling pizza stones have hot spots on the edges or in the middle, but an infrared thermometer showed even heating on the Pi Fire from end to end.

The stone recovers temperature quickly

The temperature of a pizza stone will drop anytime you add cold or room-temperature pizza dough to a hot oven—there’s no way to avoid that. That’s why we specifically look for pizza ovens that recover their temperatures quickly.

When we added the pizza to the stone, it dropped from 600 to 440°F. By the time we finished cooking the first pizza, the stone had recovered to 500°F, and we only had to wait 5 minutes for the stone to return to 600°F for the second pizza. Of course, if the temperatures do happen to stall as you use the unit, increasing the heat is as simple as adding another log to the fire.

It’s portable

We love that the Pi Fire nestles in place on top of the fire pit and has handles on top for easy removal. You don’t even have to wait for the fire to die down to remove it: If you wear heat-resistant gloves, you can (very carefully) remove the unit after you finish cooking your last pizza.

The included carrying case means you can take it with you to the beach or on your next camping trip, too.

Depending on the size of your firepit, the stone can be quite big

We tested the Pi Fire on our Yukon (one of the largest fire pits Solo Stove sells), and the pizza stone was a massive 20 inches—by comparison, the Solo Pi pizza oven fits a 12-inch pizza—so you can cook some really large pies in this thing if you want to. Of course, the Bonfire version is 14 inches, and the Ranger is 12 inches, so pizza size depends on the size of your fire pit.

What we don’t like

It doesn’t get as hot as some pizza ovens

While we were thrilled with the quality of the pizzas we made in the Pi Fire, it is worth noting that it won’t get as hot as the Solo Stove Pi stand-alone pizza oven. The Pi can reach 900°F with the propane attachment, but the Pi Fire is designed to cap out at 650°F.

That’s still hotter than most indoor ovens, but it won’t be hot enough to make a true Neapolitan pizza. On the plus side, that temperature range is perfect for making a New York-style pizza with its tender, chewier crust, so you can still make a quality pie.

It won’t create charred edges

Although we like that the Pi Fire doesn’t provide direct access to the fire (promoting even heating and making it forgiving to cook on), that also means you won’t get those gorgeous charred edges you’ll find in artisanal wood-fired pizza restaurants.

Our pizza was evenly browned all around the crust, but it and the toppings don’t have the classic charred look. Still an Instagram-worthy pizza, but without the flame-kissed crust.

It might be heavy

Depending on the size of your fire pit, this attachment can range from 13.4 to 44.5 pounds. When we tested the Yukon-sized Pi Fire, we could feel every pound of that weight when we lifted it! We were grateful for the handles (both on the unit and the carrying case), but keep in mind that this might be a two-person lift job.

It’s hard to see inside

Compared to most of the pizza ovens we’ve tested, the viewing window is relatively small on the Pi Fire. It was a little hard to see inside because of its size and location relative to the ground.

The unit won’t be at eye level unless you’re sitting in a camping chair, so you’ll have to stoop down to load and unload the pizza and check on its progress. When it got dark outside, it became even more difficult to see inside the window without a flashlight. It’s not an end-of-the-world problem, but it's certainly a consideration.

The unit gets very dirty

Solo Stove recommends using hardwoods (like oak) to limit soot on your pizza, and we didn’t find any issues with our pizza getting ashy as it cooked. However, the outside of the unit got extremely dirty, even after one use.

There was a lot of soot around the exterior and the handles, so we recommend using gloves to move the Pi Fire back and forth between the fire pit and the carrying case. Be careful not to rest the unit against your clothing while transporting it, either, as that’s a recipe for dirty clothes!

Warranty

Solo Stove products carry a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects.If the damage is determined to be caused by normal wear and tear, Solo Stove often extends a one-time courtesy offer of 50% off MSRP prices (excluding web specials).

Solo Stove also has a 100% guaranteed return policy. If you’re not satisfied with the product within 30 days from the date the order was shipped, you can send it back for a full refund (for orders shipped within the contiguous United States). After 30 days of shipment, Solo Stove typically still accepts unused units for store credit, but Solo Stove will no longer cover the return shipping cost.

Should you buy the Solo Stove Pi Fire?

Yes, if you’re ready to turn your fire pit into a pizza party!

All in all, we were thrilled with the Pi Fire. It’s a fantastic accessory for your existing fire pit and a good reason to start a Solo Stove journey if you don’t already have one. The ease of use and forgiving nature makes this a no-brainer for anyone who doesn’t have experience cooking pizzas, and the Pi Fire still makes a quality pie for those of you who consider yourselves seasoned pizzaiolos.

In addition to this pizza oven, Solo Stove has other cooking bundles that fit on top of your fire pit. Put them all together, and you can transform the humble fire pit into a fully-functional kitchen that can travel with you on your outdoor adventures.

However, if you’re only interested in making Neapolitan-style pizzas, we recommend going with an outdoor pizza oven, like the stand-alone Solo Stove Pi, which can create higher heat and provide direct access to the cooking flames.

Buy now at Solo Stove

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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.