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Outdoor fire pits

Updated: 2026-10-16Hub page

Outdoor fire pits covers stir stick, fire bowls, fire pit spark guard, fire basket with spark screen, fire plate and lantern stick, and the other product types on the cards below. Each comparison says what that product is for, and which checks still apply when the listings change.

Open a card when you know which product you need. Makers, star ratings and prices sit on that comparison, so they can be updated without rewriting this page.

Comparisons

HJSEL 100 birch stirrers, top pick in the stir stick comparison

Stir stick

Drink, paint and silicone sticks

Compare eleven stir sticks on amazon.co.uk, from about £3.65 to £20.99. Check length and section, and why drink, paint, and silicone sticks are different jobs.

Comparison guides

Wickerfield heart-handle crate, top pick in the wooden basket comparison

Wooden basket

Open crates, mini baskets and a hamper

Wooden baskets on amazon.co.uk from about £6.29 to £39.99. Four open crates, six mini baskets and an MDF hamper. None of the six is a tested log basket.

Comparison guides

Esschert FF44, top pick in the fire bowls comparison

Fire bowls

Eleven bowls from £16.99 to £149.99

Compare 11 fire bowls on amazon.co.uk from about £16.99 to £149.99. Top pick: Esschert FF44 at about £64.99. Best value: Yaheetech bowl at about £33.24.

Comparison guides

Esschert FF44 fire bowl, top pick in the Blumfeldt fire bowl comparison

Blumfeldt fire bowl

Twelve bowls from £64.99 to £384.99

Compare twelve UK fire bowls on amazon.co.uk, from about £64.99 to £384.99. Top pick: Esschert FF44. Best value: blumfeldt Versailles with a spark mesh.

Comparison guides

Outsunny fire pit table, top pick in the gas fire pit comparison

Gas fire pit

Nine pits from £89.99 to £225.99

Nine gas fire pits on amazon.co.uk, from about £89.99 to £225.99. Outsunny is the top pick; the Onlyfire 18 in is the best value with a named regulator.

Comparison guides

Hydream 24 in screen, top pick in the fire pit spark guard comparison

Fire pit spark guard

Six screens from £15.29 to £61.25

Six amazon.co.uk fire pit spark guards, from £15.29 to £61.25. Check the rim, the weight and UK reviews. Mesh does not stop smoke, rain or a deck fire.

Comparison guides

JVL Arden grate, top pick in the fire basket comparison

Fire basket

Nine baskets from £13.75 to £28.50

Compare nine fire baskets on amazon.co.uk, from about £13.75 to £28.50. Top pick: JVL Arden at about £22.99. Best value: VonLux mesh pit at about £13.75.

Comparison guides

Generic 304 pit, bag and stand, top pick in the fire barrel comparison

Fire barrel

Ten barrels from £10.99 to £139.99

Fire barrel comparison: ten amazon.co.uk listings from £10.99 to £139.99 for garden waste, an evening barrel or a patio pit, with top pick and best value.

Comparison guides

SOUJOY 1–2 in, 10 lb, top pick in the lava rocks comparison

Lava rocks

Four bags from £7.62 to £19.50

Compare four lava rock bags on amazon.co.uk, from about £7.62 to £19.50. The SOUJOY 1–2 in bag at about £15.99 is the top pick and best value for a gas pit.

Comparison guides

Aomig red and blue LED sticks, 40 cm, top pick in the lantern stick comparison

Lantern stick

Seven sticks from £3.99 to £14.84

Compare seven lantern sticks on amazon.co.uk, about £3.99 to £14.84. The top pick is a 40 cm LED stick; short plain poles are for crafts, not night walks.

Comparison guides

Outdoor fire pits guides

View all articles →

Guides for outdoor fire pits in a British garden: fire bowl rules, neighbour smoke, decking, winter covers, what not to burn, dry logs, cooling wood ash, and café stirrers.

Chiminea or fire pit: heat in a circle or up a stack
Comparison7 min read

Chiminea or fire pit: heat in a circle or up a stack

You are on the patio with two listings open, a tall chiminea and a low round bowl, and last Friday's wind already showed you which chair gets the smok

21 October 2026Read
How to dispose of wood ash: cool it before the bin
Maintenance6 min read

How to dispose of wood ash: cool it before the bin

The morning after a fire pit, the bowl looks finished. The embers are grey, the evening is over, and a plastic sack is the nearest thing with handles.

16 October 2026Read
Kiln dried logs fire pit: what 20% moisture changes
Rules7 min read

Kiln dried logs fire pit: what 20% moisture changes

The net has sat in the garage since the weekend, the bowl is on the patio, and the window next door is open. You bought kiln dried logs for a fire pit

21 October 2026Read

Common questions about outdoor fire pits

What is on this outdoor fire pits page?
Twelve comparisons sit here: stir sticks, wooden baskets, fire bowls, Blumfeldt fire bowls, gas fire pits, spark guards, fire baskets, screened baskets, fire barrels, a fire plate, lava rocks and lantern sticks. Stir stick is eleven amazon.co.uk listings checked on 16 October 2026, from about £3.65 to about £20.99. Wooden basket is six stored listings from about £6.29 to about £39.99, and those figures are not a live check on 15 October 2026. The listings were read. There was no laboratory test.
Is a stir stick a fire-pit tool?
No. In this set a stir stick is a slim mixer for a drink, a small pot of paint, or a craft batch of resin. It is not a poker. Choose the job first: about 140 mm birch for hot drinks, a flat stick about 3 mm thick for a paint tin, or reusable silicone for epoxy and repeat mixes. Stars do not make those three the same product.
How long should a wooden drink stirrer be?
About 140 mm, or 5.5 inches. That is the length on the HJSEL, 1ABOVE, Ridoon, Edenpack, and We Can Source It listings. Symphonyw states 11 cm, which is 4.3 inches. UK reviewers say that shorter stick misses the bottom of a mug and that fingers meet the drink. A 140 mm stick can still be too thin for a heavy mix, because drink sticks in this set are about 1 mm thick.
Are plastic drink stirrers banned for a UK business?
In England, supplying a plastic drink stirrer in business is an offence under the 2020 regulations. The implement is made partly or wholly of plastic and designed for stirring drinks. GOV.UK lists no exemption. Scotland has covered single-use plastic beverage stirrers since 1 June 2022, and Wales since 30 October 2023. DAERA expects Northern Ireland's transposition in 2027. Wooden sticks sit outside that offence. These silicone sets are described for craft, not as café drink stirrers.
Is every wooden basket on amazon.co.uk a log basket?
No. A fireside basket in UK stove shops is usually willow or rattan with a hessian liner. The six listings here are four open wooden crates from about £6.29 to about £12.99, six untreated mini baskets at about £21.99, and a painted MDF laundry hamper at about £39.99. None states a log capacity or a liner. Match the job the listing names before you compare the stars.
What size counts as large enough for logs?
Ignore the word large. The large crates here are about 41 cm on the long side and 18–20 cm high externally. Retailer rules of thumb put an evening log basket nearer 40–60 cm across. That band is a shop guide, not a British Standard. Measure your log and the gap. A basket about 12.5 cm long will not take a 25 cm log.
Can I stand the basket on the hearth?
No. A fuel basket is combustible. It is not a hearth and it does not create a legal clearance. HETAS says no combustibles on the hearth or against the appliance, and only the next two days' wood indoors. London Fire Brigade says radiant heat can ignite nearby logs. Use a fireguard and fit a carbon monoxide alarm. The guide on keeping logs dry beside a fire pit covers that short supply.
Does Ready to Burn apply to the basket?
No. In England, wood fuel under 2 cubic metres must be Ready to Burn, at 20% moisture or less. Larger volumes need the statutory drying notice, including at least two years for unseasoned wood. That instrument is England-only. It is a rule about the fuel, not about the crate, the mini baskets or the hamper. Do not dry wet logs on the stove.
Is a gas fire pit the same buy as a fire bowl?
A gas fire pit and a fire bowl are different buys. Fire bowls are 11 wood-burning listings from about £16.99 to £149.99. The top pick is the Esschert FF44 at about £64.99. Gas fire pits are nine LPG burners from about £89.99 to £225.99. The top pick is the Outsunny fire pit table. HSE says outdoor heaters are not for indoor use, so a tent, a room, or a closed gazebo is the wrong site. None of these rows was a laboratory test.