Last weekend I bought my last fire pit. A number of years ago I saw Jeff Lohaus LoFerno fire pits at Art Attack in the Northrup King Building. I instantly admired the quality and design. However, I had just bought a chiminea. And not just any chiminea. I had bought the Big Green Egg Chiminea and I love my Big Green Egg products. A LoFerno and a chiminea seemed excessive, especially at the same time so I didn’t get it. Additionally, at our old house I had a proper fire pit in the far back yard so I could always have fires there.

Since moving to our new place I don’t have a large yard with a fire pit and I’ve been stuck with just the chiminea. The chiminea is fine, but you don’t get that sense that you are having a real fire. I started searching for a good fire pit. I knew I didn’t want something made of thin metal. I wanted something with weight and thick steel. The LoFerno is 120 pounds and made of 1/4" steel. Check!

The cool thing about the LoFerno is the fire tower. That’s a big part of the weight too. The bowl is 70 pounds and the tower is another 50 pounds. The tower allows you to be pretty sloppy with getting your fire started, and the logs burn in a vertical position and seem to start a lot easier that way. The pattern in the tower is interesting to watch as flames weave around it. The tower just sits in place, so remove it to move the unit or clean and your ready to go again. It would be pretty easy to put a grill grid on the tower and cook over the fire if you wanted, but I haven’t tried this yet.

The best thing about the LoFerno is that you really feel like your sitting around a fire. It’s stable and heavy so you know everything is safe. It’s made of ridiculous steel that will last longer than any of us will. And it’s made by a local artist who seems like a cool guy making some great stuff. I highly recommend one if you’re looking for something to enjoy the fall nights with.