By Catherine Best,
May 23, 2025
Winter is almost upon us, and with it comes the promise of cosy starlit nights huddled by a roaring campfire. If you’re lucky enough to be heading north this dry season, your campfire might be less about warmth and more about the tranquillity of staring into the bush telly!
Wherever you plan to stoke your fire, remember not all campgrounds have fire rings or allow you to build a campfire on the ground. Caravan parks that permit fires can also be protective of their lawn. And rightly so. The best option is to BYO fire pit, and there are a range of different styles to suit every budget.
Here are seven awesome portable fire pits that will keep you warm this winter.
ArcPit portable fire pit
This concept is so ingenious, we don’t know how no one came up with it sooner. The ArcPit solves your fire pit storage woes with a cleverly designed cavity that fits inverted over your spare tyre. No more dismantling your fire pit and getting your hands filthy while you pack it down and try to squeeze it into your RV. This bad boy requires no assembly or disassembly and fits snugly over a car or caravan spare tyre (up to 324mm wide) on your vehicle or van’s rear bumper. Made from food-grade, rust-resistant stainless steel, the Australian-owned unit sits off the ground on raised angled legs and has four convenient handles.
When it’s time to pack up, simply empty the ash, slip the (cooled) pit onto the tyre and secure with ratchet straps through the hook holes mounted under the legs. The pit comes in two sizes, the standard weighing 11.7kg, and is 70cm long and 31cm wide – generous enough for a moderately large campfire. Choose from a range of cooking accessories, including a barbecue plate, grill and rotisserie brackets, but get in quick. The ArcPit is super popular, so you will need to pre-order.
RRP from $285
VisionLINE MK2 Outdoor Firepit
What’s worse than rain dampening your campfire spirits? Being smoked out by your campmates next door. With the MK2 Outdoor Firepit by VisionLINE, you and your neighbours can enjoy hours of campfire ambience smoke-free. This fancy pit has a dual wall and secondary combustion design that effectively incinerates the smoke before it can escape. Sound like a gimmick? There’s science to back up VisionLINE’s claims. When emissions tested to Australian standards, the unit released 200g of emissions per kilogram of wood burnt.
What’s the downside? Well, these units are more designed for the backyard market and not as portable as some brands. However, they do have a loyal following among RVers with larger caravans. The stainless steel pit comes in two colours – black and raw stainless steel – and two sizes. The smaller weighs 16kg and the larger tops the scales at 23kg, with a footprint of about 50cm in height and diameter. The MK2 comes with an optional cover and the hollow can be used for storage during transit, assuming you have the weight allowance and space.
RRP from $540
Red Roads Riser Fire Stand
Not everyone can travel with a stainless steel drum in their tunnel boot. Some people don’t even have a tunnel boot, and space is an absolute premium. If that’s you, the Red Roads Riser Fire Stand is your new best friend. This ultra-compact mesh fire pit sits on collapsible ‘scissor’ legs that fold up into a slimline bag. When stashed, The Riser is the ultimate space saver, with a tiny 60cm x 5cm profile, and weighing just 1.9kg. Sure, this is no bonfire, but The Riser does allow you to have a small off-the-ground fire while on the road. The unit is mostly marketed as a base companion to the Red Roads Blaze-n-BBQ fire pit, plate and grill set, but it works a treat on its own.
RRP: $149
Fireside Portable Popup Fire Pit
For a collapsible fire pit similar in design to The Riser but with a larger burn surface and more rigidity, try the Fireside Portable Popup Fire Pit. This fire pit, available from BCF, is heavier than The Riser at 3.6kg, and packs down slightly larger (68cm x 12cm), but the extra bulk and weight get you a larger, more stable campfire. The three-piece pit comes in a carry bag and includes scissor-stand legs, a stainless steel mesh insert secured to the leg poles with eyelets, and four metal edge plates to prevent lit logs from rolling out.
The whole unit can be set up in less than a minute and packed down in 90 seconds. The 60cm x 60cm mesh base provides lots of airflow to fan the flames, generating hotter fires, which the manufacturer says means less smoke. The Popup Fire Pit is also available in a kit with an ember mat and heat shield for protecting the ground ($289.97).
RRP: $119.99 (club price)
Ezy Q
One of the original lay-flat heavy-duty fire pits, the Ezy Q means business. This robust four-piece campfire cradle slots together like a 3D puzzle – no tools required. Take the side frame panels, slide them into the upright ends and voila – load her up and go fetch the matches. The Ezy Q is made from 5mm thick ferritic stainless still, designed for maximum heat conductivity and to minimise corrosion and withstand warping. The V-shaped cradle has holes for ventilation and slits for two slide-in pot/pan support bars (included). Also included is a galvanised ash tray base plate, although you will need to stand this on bricks if you don’t want to scorch the grass. The standard pit is 50cm long, 39cm wide and weighs 15kg.
Whilst it is on the heavier side, the Ezy Q packs flat into a heavy-duty carry bag, sold separately ($39), for easy storage. Get the bundle, with a grill plate and bag ($376), and your fire pit transforms into a barbecue. I’ve had one of these for several years and it’s served us very well, although the pit is quite narrow at the base.
RRP: from $266
Darche
For a quality all-in-one fire pit and barbecue set-up, look no further than the Darche BBQ 450. This ultra-compact, quick-assembly unit pops up into a diamond-shaped basket – ideal for kindling or coals – with feet that clip into a sturdy base plate. Insert the cast iron trivet to aid air circulation, build your fire and decide – fillet mignon or marshmallows? The grill plate has three adjustable height settings for optimal heat control. Made from stainless steel, the Darche is smaller than some fire pits at 45cm x 45cm and packs down into a flat 11.5kg unit. This is a good option for RVers who don’t have a fixed barbecue and those who like to cook on open flame. It comes with optional accessories including a BBQ charcoal starter jug, starter grill and heat-proof gloves.
RRP: $399
Ridge Ryder Foldable Fire Pit
This thrifty fire pit doesn’t have the bells and whistles of some of the leading adventure brands, but it will nonetheless keep you warm and your snags sizzling this winter. A two-in-one barbecue/fire pit, the Ridge Ryder is similar in design, size and function to the Darche, just don’t expect any extras. Stainless steel made, the hexagonal unit pops out and folds in on itself like an origami pot. An internal trivet keeps air circulating under your wood or coals, while the top grill gets the protein party started. The grill is slightly recessed inside the pit, so no need to worry about any roly-poly runaway sausages. The whole unit weighs less than 3kg and packs down flat into a neat carry bag.
The Ridge Ryder is – as the retailer’s name suggests – a super-cheap option, ideal for frugal or occasional campfire campers. There’s no base plate, so mind the lawn!
RRP: $49 (club price)
Read next:
