Answer time
Looks good send me one and I’ll give you an opinion. We’ve warped the hell out of brand new steel ones. How do these hold up?
The Pop-Up Pits are obviously engineered to hold up to large campfires, through our testing with fire experts and other independents we've never had any issues with warping.
Although the Ember guards are aluminium the ribbing on the outside allows them to release heat to the ambient air quicker than it can build up. Even with the coals burning directly against the Ember Guards the outside temp is never much above 500F.
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"Mesh should be good for over 50 uses"
How much is a replacement mesh? Are the side guards aluminum? Seems like they would warp.
The Replacement Meshes are going to retail for $18.95 – To be frank we wanted to put a number on the uses for the mesh because in our experience other fire pits don’t really say much about the number of uses but rust and warp after a year of use, so you have to buy a new one at full pop every other year.
If you treat your fire mesh well there’s no reason it won’t last you 100 fires. As a quick side note that 50 uses mean 50 fires burning for 6-8 hours not a quick cooking fire or the like.
By breaking everything down into replaceable parts we feel it makes it easier on you guys if something ever wears down.
The Ember Guards are aluminium, it is counter-intuitive that they do not warp we fully understand that, we were skeptical at first too. If you notice on the outside of the Ember guards are ribbed, this essentially works as a heat sink for the guards. As the fire mesh in the center is a mesh it causes air to circulate around the pit as it sucks in cold air from the environment and the heat column forces the air up. This constant airflow allows the aluminium to keep itself cool even when flames or coals are directly against them.
So have you talked with NPS to see if they agree that it's compliant? I just read the language as "it should work" not "it is NPS approved". And the 50 fireish longevity isn't that long, but the price point is nice... assuming the mesh is less than half the price of the pit, I could see that being ok... if it lasts that long in practice. What kind of trials have you done, how many do you have out being tested and for how long? Some testimonials will go a long way to alleviating fears about longevity.
BTW, thanks for stepping up, sponsoring the site and legitimately requesting feedback. Good on ya!
We are in the process of getting the Pop-Up Pit entirely approved by all regulatory bodies which is why our expected ship date isn’t until Early-Mid June. These processes take some time. As it sits now the Pop-Up Pit meets all regulations for fire pits and fire pans including the regulations stated by NPS here:
https://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/riverregulations.htm
And the BLM here:
https://www.blm.gov/or/resources/recreation/files/brochures/firepans.pdf
We’ve had this Pit tested by many experts including fire chiefs and fire scientists/investigators. It is also currently in the process of being reviewed by the BSA as a No Trace fire alternative. We’ve done a number of longevity tests as well testing for off-gassing and such. Fortunately, this is not our first campfire related product, so we already knew who to go to and what tests to run to ensure safety.
You can research our other product here:
https://www.amazon.com/Campfire-Def...=1525976158&sr=8-1&keywords=campfire+defender
I’ve linked our Amazon, so you can see the outsider reviews!
The 50 uses as I had stated above is a number we feel very comfortable with but there’s no reason the fire mesh couldn’t last longer. It is made from a special stainless-steel alloy designed to withstand repeated heating and cooling cycles without forming or warping. Now you will see some discoloration on the mesh after your first use but that is totally normal. Our goal by putting a number of uses on the Fire Mesh was to try and remain entirely transparent with the product.
The Fire Mesh will retail for $18.95
Thanks for the great questions everyone! Keep em coming!