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Home & Garden

Solo Stove Mesa Tabletop Fire Pit Review

Solo Stove's new tabletop fire pit is adorable, but will it keep you warm?

solo stove on tabletop Credit: Lindsay Mattison / Reviewed

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  1. Product image of Solo Stove Mesa

    Solo Stove Mesa

    Pros

    • Portable

    • Works with wood pellets

    Cons

    • Small

    • Wood can be hard to add

    • Hot to touch

    Buy now at Solo Stove

    Buy now at Amazon

If you're looking for a sure-fire way to augment the mood at your next backyard meetup, a fire pit is the way to go. Gathering around open flames is relaxing, and they create a comforting environment that tends to spark lively conversation. While we would normally recommend the Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0, we know it may not be right for every occasion.

The new Solo Stove Mesa Tabletop Fire Pit (available at Solo Stove) is small enough to sit on an outdoor dining table or end table, allowing you to bring a mini fire with you wherever you go. I spent a few weeks testing the pint-sized fire pit. Here's how it went.

About the Solo Stove Mesa Tabletop Fire Pit

  • Dimensions: 6.8 in. x 5.1 in. (H x W)
  • Diameter: 5.1 in.
  • Weight: 1.4 pounds (0.6 kg)
  • Materials: Stainless steel | Ceramic
  • Features: Tabletop fire pit, stainless steel stand, pellet adapter, nylon carry bag
  • Fuel Type: Dual fuel—pellets or wood cut to five inches or smaller

The Solo Stove Mesa features the same signature 360° airflow design that you'll find in Solo Stove's other fire pits, just in a much tinier package. Oxygenated air is drawn into the fire pit and travels over the top of the flames, creating a "secondary burn" that burns off the smoke to produce a smokeless fire.

Solo Stove's attention to design not only creates a better fire, but it's also carefully considered for the Mesa's portability.

The flame ring, stand, and pellet adapter all fit inside the unit when not in use, and an included drawstring bag wraps it all up in an easy-to-transport package.

The Mesa tabletop fire pit is also set up for dual fuel sources, capable of burning with wood or pellets. You'll need to cut wood down to five-inch pieces so it can fit inside the tiny fire pit, or you can purchase Solo Stove's mini oak firewood. We also tried using sticks and twigs from around the yard, and they worked just fine as long as they were dry (wet wood doesn't burn well and produces smoke, even in a fire pit designed for smokeless burn).

That's where the second fuel option comes in handy. To use wood pellets, simply place the Mesa's included pellet adapter into the unit before filling with pellets.

Solo Stove has also evolved from a single stainless steel option to offering several color finishes. At the time of this publication, you could purchase the Mesa in stainless steel or several seasonal colors, including deep olive, mulberry, bone, ash, and water.

The colors are created with a high-temperature ceramic coating that's designed to withstand the high heat produced by the fire pit.

What we like

black solo stove drawstring bag
Credit: Lindsay Mattison / Reviewed

A storage bag comes with the Solo Stove Mesa.

It's ultra portable

The Solo Stove Mesa is adorably small. Prior to the launch of Mesa, Solo Stove's smallest fire pit (the Ranger) weighed 15 pounds and was just over a foot tall by a foot in diameter. That's decently portable, but the Mesa blows it out of the water at only 1.4 pounds.

It boasts a profile that's certainly small enough to pack into a backpack or an overnight bag, too, clocking in at just shy of seven inches tall and five inches in diameter.

The included stand also allows you to use it on any tabletop surface, so you won't have to worry about bringing the right table with you if you travel.

It's available in several colors

While Solo Stove has since released colors of its other fire pits, the Mesa was the first product offered in several different colors.

The original Solo Stove products had the classic 304 stainless steel finish. Over time, a patina develops on the surface, kissing the exterior with a warm coloring that's unique to your fire pit sessions.

While I love the patina look, the new high-heat ceramic coatings allow you to customize this tabletop accessory to match your existing backyard color scheme.

I can't personally speak to the longevity of the color coating, however Solo Stove claims the color will "stay vibrant and resist patina for years to come."

It can be used with wood pellets

The ability to burn wood pellets in the Mesa is one of its top features. Wood pellets ignite quickly and burn clean at high temperatures, so you'll produce effortless, mesmerizing flames in no time at all. During our tests, it took about two minutes for the wood pellets to fully ignite, compared to the four minutes it took with the wood pieces. The pellets burned faster, so you'll want to have plenty on hand, but they also produced less ash than the wood and cleanup was a little bit easier.

What we don't like

solo stove close up
Credit: Lindsay Mattison / Reviewed

The Solo Stove Mesa is like a mini Solo Stove.

It's really small

The same feature I loved about the Mesa is one of the features I don't like about it. While the portability is great, the Mesa is just a little bit too small to be functional for warmth purposes.

It was a tight fit to get the lighter into the unit to ignite the starter cube, and we would have appreciated it if the opening was a little wider.

It was also difficult to add additional fuel with a skinny opening filled with flames.

It's challenging to use with wood fuel

You don't realize how small a five-inch piece of wood is until you try to cut some down to size! It took significant effort to cut kindling into five-inch-long pieces for the Mesa.

Even when we used twigs from around the yard, we still had to break them in half several times to get them to fit inside the unit. It was much easier to use pellets, which didn't require any manual effort at all.

It doesn't radiate that much heat

While the Mesa produced gorgeous flames, it didn't radiate that much heat. You had to hold your hands within six inches of the unit to warm them, so it certainly didn't reach as far as the chairs around our table.

It's hot to the touch

One downside to the Mesa is that the outside is hot to the touch when in use. While this shouldn't be surprising, since this is true of almost every fire pit we've tested, it is important because Mesa is designed to go on top of a table.

You absolutely do not want to touch the fire pit for at least 30 minutes after it's extinguished (and it was still warm to the touch up to an hour after the flames went out).

This is especially important to remember if you're using the Mesa with children at the table.

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Warranty

components of solo stove
Credit: Lindsay Mattison / Reviewed

Here's a look at what comes with the Solo Stove Mesa.

Like Solo Stove's other products, the Mesa has a 100% guaranteed return policy and a lifetime warranty that protects against manufacturing defects.

If your damages are found to be due to misuse or normal wear and tear, Solo Stove often extends a 50% off MSRP prices as a one-time courtesy offer (excluding web specials).

You can also purchase two-, three-, and five-year accident protection through Extend for additional coverage.

Should you buy the Solo Stove Mesa tabletop fire pit?

Yes, if you're looking to add a little flair to your backyard setup

solo stove and pellets from above
Credit: Lindsay Mattison / Reviewed

The wood pellets must be five inches long or smaller to fit in the Solo Stove Mesa.

Overall, the Solo Stove Mesa tabletop fire pit fully met our expectations. It's easy to use and quick to start—especially when using pellets—and it creates a gorgeous, smoke-free fire.

With the included stand, this tabletop fire pit can be used on any outdoor table surface (although Solo Stove recommends against using it under a canopy, patio umbrella, or gazebo).

That said, it doesn't produce that much heat, so it's more decorative than functional. You can absolutely use it to make s'mores, but it won't radiate that much heat on a cold night.

If that's what you're going for, and portability isn't as much of a factor, we recommend picking up one of Solo Stove's larger units, like the Ranger, Bonfire, or Yukon.

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

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