Folding Fire Pit 42 cm with Stainless Steel Mesh Bowl

This folding fire pit is the simplest way to have an open wood fire somewhere that has never had one. A square sheet of stainless steel mesh slings between four crossed legs to form a shallow fire bowl, and the whole frame stands clear of the ground on slim tubular feet, so the flames sit at a comfortable height for people in low chairs around it.

Everything that meets the fire is stainless steel. The bowl is a woven stainless mesh with a reinforced hem and metal eyelets set around the edge; the frame is polished stainless tube with moulded caps on the feet. Because the bowl is mesh rather than solid plate, air reaches the fuel from every side and from underneath, so the fire lights quickly and settles into a steady burn, and you watch the flames from all round instead of looking into a bucket.

Assembly is tool free. The legs cross through a central collar to make an X, the corners of the mesh drop over the leg tops, and a supplied R-clip through each eyelet holds them there. Taking it down is the same job backwards: pull the clips, roll the mesh, slide the legs together, and the fire pit lies flat again as a slim bundle that goes into a car boot or onto a shelf in the shed.

It suits campsites, festival pitches, fishing trips and back gardens, and anywhere a cast iron fire bowl would be too heavy to move and too permanent to leave out. Burn seasoned logs and kindling, gather round it for warmth once the light goes, or toast marshmallows on sticks over the flames. It is a fire pit rather than a barbecue: no cooking grate is supplied, so bring your own grill or skewers if you want to cook over it.

One thing to plan for. The legs lift the fire off the ground, but the bowl is mesh, so ash and the odd ember drop through the weave. Stand it on gravel, stone, sand or bare earth rather than on decking or a good lawn, and let it cool completely before you roll the mesh up for storage.