As a restaurant chef with over 10 years of experience at Dequte Restaurant LironBoylston, I’ve had the opportunity to test and cook with many pizza ovens in both professional and home settings. In this comparison, I’ll share my hands-on experience with two models I personally used in my kitchen: the Solo Stove Pi Prime and the Cru Champion. I compared them based on several key factors: quality and materials, temperature control, shape, first-time usage impressions, power source, size, ease of cleaning, and of course, how each oven performed in a real pizza cooking test—including how long it took to heat up and bake a Margherita pizza to perfection.
The Solo Stove Pi Prime is a sleek, propane-powered oven built for ease of use and consistent results, while the Cru Champion is a large-format wood-fired oven crafted for serious outdoor cooking enthusiasts who want versatility beyond just pizza.
In this article, I’ve provided a detailed comparison of the Solo Stove Pi Prime and the Cru Champion based on my hands-on tests.
These two pizza ovens fell short of the TOP-5 pizza ovens, but they’re still worth a look.
Please note: I include referral links throughout this article to the products I tested. If you decide to purchase through them, I’ll earn a small commission at no cost to you—which helps tremendously in keeping this blog alive and continuing to bring you honest reviews based on real cooking experience.
Solo Stove Pi Prime VS Cru Champion: Quality and Materials
| The Solo Stove Pi Prime is built with premium stainless steel, offering excellent durability and heat retention in a compact body. Everything from the finish to the insulation feels purpose-built and efficient. |
The Cru Champion uses layered ceramic stone inside a stainless steel shell with a lacquered aluminum finish. While it looks great and performs well, the chimney showed discoloration over time.
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Solo Stove Pi Prime VS Cru Champion: Temperature Control
| With propane as its power source, the Solo Stove Pi Prime provides consistent and easily controlled heat. It quickly reaches up to 900°F and holds it well. A temperature dial is included, but it benefits from an external thermometer. |
The Cru Champion maintains heat efficiently after preheating, using a built-in thermometer. However, managing temperature through wood or charcoal takes more attention and experience compared to propane.
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Solo Stove Pi Prime VS Cru Champion: Shape
| The Solo Stove Pi Prime features a sleek demi-dome shape that promotes excellent airflow and heat distribution. Its wide front opening makes maneuvering a 12″ pizza peel effortless. |
The Cru Champion has a traditional semi-circular dome with a spacious interior. While it offers more cooking space, its open design can lead to more heat loss during cooking without the door in place.
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Solo Stove Pi Prime VS Cru Champion: First-Time Usage Impressions
| My first time with the Solo Stove Pi Prime was smooth — fast to set up, intuitive to use, and immediately delivered a perfectly cooked pizza. It felt user-friendly even for beginners. |
The Cru Champion impressed with its size and build, but required more effort to preheat and learn to manage firewood properly. It cooked delicious pizza, though it needed more active attention during use.
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Solo Stove Pi Prime VS Cru Champion: Power Source
| The Solo Stove Pi Prime runs on propane, offering clean, controlled, and fast heating. There’s no need to refill wood or charcoal, making it perfect for regular weeknight cooks. |
The Cru Champion operates on wood or charcoal, giving that classic smoky flavor. While it adds depth to the pizza’s taste, it requires more prep, fuel, and cleanup time.
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Solo Stove Pi Prime VS Cru Champion: Size
| Compact and portable, the Solo Stove Pi Prime weighs only 30 lbs and fits easily on any outdoor table. Ideal for patios or even bringing along on road trips. |
The Cru Champion is a heavyweight oven with a 24″ x 24″ cook surface. Great for large gatherings, but not portable — once you place it, it’s best left there.
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Solo Stove Pi Prime VS Cru Champion: Ease of Cleaning
| Cleaning the Solo Stove Pi Prime is easy. A quick brush and wipe-down is usually all it needs. Its propane fuel means no ash or soot to deal with. |
Cleaning the Cru Champion is easier than some wood ovens thanks to the removable dome. However, dealing with ash and soot after every use is still required.
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Pizza Cooking Test
To fairly evaluate both ovens, I tested each one using a classic 12-inch Margherita pizza, made with fresh dough, crushed San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, and a touch of basil.
The Solo Stove Pi Prime impressed right out of the gate with its fast heat-up time. It reached around 900°F in just 15 minutes, which is remarkable for a gas-powered oven. Once it hit temperature, I slid in the pizza and had a perfectly cooked pie in only 90 seconds. The crust had that ideal leopard spotting on the edges, the bottom was evenly crisp, and the cheese was melted with a beautiful bubbly texture. The taste was well-balanced, clean, and slightly toasted—exactly what you’d expect from a high-performance propane oven.
On the other hand, the Cru Champion took a little more patience. I used hardwood to fire it up and measured the heat with its built-in thermometer and an infrared reader. It took about 13 minutes to hit 850°F, although Cru claims it can go beyond that. Once ready, it baked the same Margherita pizza in about 90 to 120 seconds, depending on how evenly I managed the fire and rotated the pizza. The result was delicious—a slightly smokier flavor profile thanks to the wood fire. The crust came out airy and golden, but I had to be more hands-on during the bake to avoid uneven charring.
In short, both ovens delivered great-tasting pizzas, but the Solo Stove Pi Prime offered more convenience and consistency, while the Cru Champion gave that nostalgic, smoky edge for those who prefer wood-fired flavor.
How We Tested
To ensure a fair comparison between the Solo Stove Pi Prime and the Cru Champion, I used both ovens in my restaurant kitchen at Dequte Restaurant LironBoylston, where I’ve been a chef for over 10 years. For consistency, I used the same batch of dough and ingredients for each test—classic Margherita pizzas with fresh mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes, and fresh basil. I preheated each oven according to the manufacturer’s guidelines, monitored the internal temperatures using an infrared thermometer, and timed how long it took each to reach optimal cooking conditions. Once the ovens were hot, I baked several pizzas back-to-back, observing how well each oven maintained its temperature and how evenly it cooked the crust, cheese, and toppings. I also paid close attention to usability—how easy it was to load and rotate the pizza, manage the heat source, and clean the oven afterward. This real-world testing approach gave me a clear sense of which oven performed better under pressure and which one I’d prefer using during a busy service or at home.
Final Thoughts
Whether you choose the Solo Stove Pi Prime or the Cru Champion really depends on your cooking style and what you value most in an outdoor pizza oven. The Solo Stove Pi Prime wins on portability, ease of use, and fast, consistent results—perfect for those who want a reliable propane-powered oven with minimal setup. On the other hand, the Cru Champion offers that authentic wood-fired experience with a larger cooking surface and a more traditional feel, ideal for those who love crafting pizzas with a hands-on, fire-tending approach.
Whichever oven you go for, I genuinely appreciate your support. If you decide to buy one, please consider using my referral links below. I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, and it helps keep my blog running strong:
Thank you—and happy pizza-making!
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