No Campfires Allowed? No Problem

No Campfires Because of Fire Bans? Here’s the Solution

Introduction: Welcome to Our Reality 

Growing up, my summers were never like this: filled with forest fires. There weren’t any fire bans while camping and no need to restrict our activities. Now, planning a camping trip doesn’t just involve the basics: camping gear, booking a campsite, packing bug spray; it also means adapting to new rules and gadgets so we can still enjoy the outdoors. 

The Best Substitute for a Campfire 

What’s camping without a campfire? Not the same, which is why the Campertunity crew set out to find a substitute and the result is impressive: a firebowl. (However, in extreme fire conditions these may also be prohibited, and depending on your province.)

After doing our homework, we came across the Outland Living Deluxe Firebowl, a camping solution to fire-bans. My first reaction to it was, “Thank goodness I can still have a fire while camping!” When we first heard of the Outland Living Deluxe Firebowl as a fire ambiance option, I called the company and was greeted with a friendly voice that answered all my questions about Outland’s firebowls, including whether they meet fire ban regulations (For rules specific to your area, please email us and we’ll find answers for you). 

Perks of the Outland Living Deluxe Firebowl 

What’s awesome is that Outland builds its firebowls to meet these regulations, a perk of having a Canadian company make a product that understands Canadian fire-ban laws. They make sure the rules are met with, including a flame that’s less than 6 inches tall and is CSA approved, so that all we have to do is turn it on and not worry about anything else.

Despite not having the classic crackling campfire sound, the Outland Living Deluxe Firebowl is an excellent substitute with benefits of it’s own. It feels great not having to constantly re-position ourselves to get away from smoke or flying embers, or argue with the kids on who gets the best spot. As long as we were close enough to the firebowl, we could feel its heat, and each of our crew was able to find a cozy place near it. 

As an added bonus, the Outland Living Deluxe Firebowl comes with a cover and carry kit to make transportation and storage easy. Since the rocks for the firebowl can be dusty, the cover and carry kit come in handy to keep the dust out of your vehicle. 

How it Works 

Out of the box it came, the Outland Living Deluxe Firebowl is an easy, quick set-up… unlike my tent. Within a few minutes, heat is emanating; a nice change from having to run around looking for firewood, especially on our damp camping weekend. By simply plugging it into our propane tank and using the easy on / off knob, we sat for 6 hours and still had propane left to plug into our BBQ at home. With a long enough cord, the propane tank sat far enough so that it wasn’t in the way. 

And, with an attractive design, smaller diameter, and low maintenance, we also use it as a fire pit in on our terrace at home. It’s pretty great when camping gear has dual use. 

We didn’t take an RV on this camping trip, but it’s worthwhile to see if you can hook-up your Outland Living Deluxe Firebowl directly to your RV. You may need to purchase a separate hose for this.

Cooking is a Grey Area

Because of manufacture warning, we didn’t use the Outland Living Deluxe Firebowl as a cooking mechanism but were tempted as it would have been so easy to throw a grill on top of it for our hoagies. We saw other campers making their smores over their firebowls, but we played it safe and kept the cooking for the burner. With one propane tank, we were able to swap it between the Outland Living Deluxe Firebowl and the cooking burner when needed.

In the End 

It’s sad that we need to adapt to climate change when, instead, we should be burning our energy in reducing it’s effects. In the meantime, we still need to live and benefit from being outside for our mental and physical well-being, and the Outland Living Deluxe Firebowl is the perfect fit for needing that warmth and flame while outdoors. It’s reassuring that during a fire-ban, we will be the ones with a warm, legal, and safe fire that we know has no risk in setting in our forests up in flames. 

Article by Nora Lozano and Guita Yazdani, co-founders of Campertunity