If you can start the fire burning very hot to begin with, you can have a mostly smokeless fire.Despite the double steel layers, the exterior gets hot enough to burn flesh.I would have preferred to have the interior grate, at the bottom, be removable, as it would make it easier to clean out the inevitable unburned bits that will fall through.Since this is portable, it would have made sense to put a couple handles on it for carrying, preferably ones that did not transmit the heat.I do like that I can now have a smaller fire on my wooden deck, even on hot days, instead of going to the large firepit patio, which demands a large bonfire.