The Ridge portable fire pit from Blue Sky Outdoor Living is touted as being easy to use, small enough to travel with, and capable of creating a smoke free fire.

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Performance: [star_bar stars=”5″ color=”#3B8EA5″]
Ease of Use: [star_bar stars=”4.5″ color=”#3B8EA5″]
Value: [star_bar stars=”5″ color=”#3B8EA5″]

We think that the Ridge fire pit from Blue Sky Outdoor Products is perfect for those that love tailgating, camping, and picnics.

After researching, assembling, and using, we think this fire pit has some great qualities, but it may not be for everyone. Keep reading to see who we think this Blue Sky portable pellet fire pit is great for and who we think should keep shopping around.

Want to see it in action? Watch our video review below!

Our Experience

Putting together our Ridge portable fire pit was incredibly easy. It comes in just 2 pieces, the burn chamber and the ash catcher, and you simply place one on top of the other.

We put this fire pit on a pad of concrete in the backyard (the directions say to stay at least 10′ from any structures and not to use the fire pit on wood, grass, or surfaces that may discolor).

Our first burn was using wood and it was a bit challenging to find pieces that would fit due to the small burn chamber size of this portable fire pit.

But, we cut the firewood to kindling size and put in about 2″ of wood, the amount recommended in the directions to give you a smokeless campfire.

No more than 2″ of fuel for a more smoke-free burn.

I used Stump Chunks fire starter and put a couple of handfuls under the wood. Besides being a little windy, the flames got rolling pretty quickly.

Once it got hot enough, there wasn’t that much noticeable smoke. I even sat in the smoke trail for a moment and wasn’t bothered at all.

Because of the small size of the firewood, I did need to add wood frequently to keep it going.

But it was nice to have a small and manageable fire and get to hear the crackle of the firewood without the smell getting in my clothes.

The Blue Sky Ridge portable fire pit uses firewood or wood pellets, so once the wood fire died down and cooled (which was pretty quickly), we added 2″ of Oklahoma Joe’s Apple Wood Pellets.

This was my first time burning pellets in a fire pit and it was actually a much more enjoyable fire than I was expecting!

I used the same Stump Chunk starter, putting a handful on top, and it started on the first try.

What I wasn’t expecting was the huge heat difference between the wood and the pellets, with the pellets creating a much hotter and bigger burning fire.

Once the fire pit cooled, clean up was as easy as dumping the ashes in our compost pile.

Below we get into more specifics about what we thought of using the Blue Sky Outdoor Living Ridge portable fire pit.

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Smokeless Design

The way this smokeless fire pit works is that holes on the outside pull air into the hollow place on the inside. This oxygen gets superheated as it exits the holes at the top of the fire pit, and the fire completely burns up the particles and embers along with it.

Or at least that is what it claims.

We put this to the test and found that a wood pellet fire, fulfilled its promise as we noticed no smoke, even when sitting in the smoke trail, and there were also no embers or sparks shooting out the fire pit whatsoever.

The wood burn was still quite smokeless, although we noticed trace amounts. This wasn’t enough to be bothersome at all, however.

But, even the smokeless design of this portable fire pit couldn’t stop embers from popping out of the pit when burning wood. Luckily, we got this fire pit in a bundle that came with a spark screen and that was fantastic at keeping sparks and debris from leaving the Blue Sky Ridge.

Truly Portable Fire Pit

This portable smokeless fire pit only weighs 20 pounds and comes with an included carrying bag to take it on the go.

It is a compact fire pit and so it, of course, holds a small fire, but it is still a good size for camping, tailgating, beach time, or even taking on a short walk. A longer hike would not be much fun when lugging this, however.

The Ridge needs to be 10 feet from any structures for safety reasons, so would also be perfect to use in a small backyard.

Dual Fuel

This portable fire pit is unique in that you can use wood or pellets. We tried burning each to see if both types of fuel were practical and produced a good fire.

Firewood

The most challenging part of burning wood in the Blue Sky Ridge was simply finding pieces that were small enough. Being a portable fire pit, its burn chamber is only 12″ in diameter, meaning that you may need smaller pieces than you have stacked on your wood pile.

They also need to be cut into kindling size as this fire pit can only accept 2″ of fuel at a time to remain smokeless, which doesn’t take a lot of wood.

Once I found small enough pieces, however, it burned really well.

I used Stump Chunks as a starter and it does burn through the small pieces pretty quickly, so be prepared to have the right size wood ready to go so the fire doesn’t burn out before you have a chance to add more.

While burning through firewood this quickly may seem like a negative, I don’t see it that way because this is a portable fire pit and often when you want a campfire “on the go,” you may only want it to burn for a short amount of time.

Wood pellets

This was my first burn ever using pellets and I was pleasantly surprised with the fire they produced.

The pellets were much easier to light than the wood and the fire burned much hotter. Two inches of pellets burned for about 30-35 minutes.

2″ pellets = approx. 30 minutes of burn time

A truly smokeless fire was achieved at these higher temperatures and there were no sparks or embers coming from the fire pit whatsoever. If I were using this tailgating, that alone would be enough of a reason to use pellets instead of wood.

Pellets are more expensive than firewood, but if you’re camping, you don’t have to worry about introducing diseases or invasive species to the area via the wood you brought with you.

Also, pellets are cleaner to store, don’t attract bugs, and don’t require as much space to keep on hand.

And when you are thinking about portability, taking along a bag of pellets may be much easier.

Heat Output

Even though this isn’t a bit fire pit, it still has the potential to put out some serious heat!

The pellet fire burned significantly hotter than the wood, something to think about depending on what season you are using this portable fire pit in.

Some reviews I have read on the Blue Sky pits talk about the high heat of the fire pit itself. The concrete that was under the Ridge when testing only got to 150 degrees while burning the pellets, however, and even less with wood.

Burning the pellets heated the outside of the burn chamber to around 375 degrees while the wood only heated it to around 200 degrees.

Heavy-Duty Steel Construction

I found the Ridge from Blue Sky to be very well constructed with durable welds and not much that could potentially fail.

The carrying case that it comes with also seems heavy-duty and as though it could last many years.

This portable fire pit has the potential to have a long life as long as it is stored out of the elements.

High-Temperature Paint

Because it is made of steel, the more time spent in the elements the more patina (which is a nice way to say rust) this fire pit will have.

Although it is painted with high-temperature paint, I will expect my Ridge fire pit to fade and even form rust with use. This more rustic look isn’t something that bothers me, but if that would bother you then this is something to keep in mind before buying.

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Pros and Cons

I really enjoyed using the Blue Sky Ridge and I can see how a portable fire pit this size could be a lot of fun. But, like every product, it does have its strengths and weaknesses.

Our Takeaways

This pit is perfect for creating that relaxing campfire experience away from home or in a tiny backyard space.

If you’re looking for a more permanent fire pit for a regular to large yard, for a pit that you don’t have to feed constantly, or something that you can cook on, I would suggest you keep shopping!

But for what this is, a portable fire pit you can use to keep warm or hear that great crackle while on the go, this is highly recommended.

Performance

[star_bar stars=”5″ color=”#3B8EA5″]

The Blue Sky Ridge pit held a great little fire and was truly smokeless when using pellets. With wood, the spark screen is a great addition.

It burns both pellets and wood, making this portable fire pit very versatile and can create the perfect fire whether it is summer or winter, at home or on the go.

Ease of Use

[star_bar stars=”4.5″ color=”#3B8EA5″]

This fire pit is quite portable and doesn’t take up much space when taking it with you. And putting it together is simple, placing one piece on top of the other.

Pellets in this fire pit started and burned quite easily.

We took half a star away because, while the wood burned well in this portable fire pit, it took searching and cutting kindling size pieces to be able to get firewood that would fit in the Ridge.

Value

[star_bar stars=”5″ color=”#3B8EA5″]

For an all-steel smokeless portable fire pit, we thought this was an excellent value for the price, especially considering that it has the dual-fuel capability.

If properly taken care of, this investment could last for years and years.

Plus, the bundle we purchased came with a carrying case, spark screen, and screen lifter all included.

See our list of other fire pits we’ve reviewed!