As a restaurant chef with over 10 years of hands-on experience at my own kitchen — Dequte Restaurant LironBoylston — I’ve had the opportunity to test a wide variety of outdoor pizza ovens. In this comparison, I’ll walk you through the differences between the Camp Chef Italia and the Carbon pizza oven, both of which I’ve personally used in real cooking environments.
I evaluated each oven across several key factors: build quality and materials, temperature control, shape and design, first-time usage impressions, power source, size, ease of cleaning, and a real-world Margherita pizza cooking test to see how they actually perform under heat. If you’re curious about how I run my pizza oven tests in detail, you can check out my separate article where I break it all down.
The Camp Chef Italia is a propane-powered outdoor oven designed to deliver high temperatures and even cooking, ideal for quick and consistent pizza sessions at home. The Carbon oven, on the other hand, stands out for its hybrid fuel option and sleek, carbon steel construction that promises intense heat and restaurant-style results.
Here, you’ll find an in-depth comparison of the Camp Chef Italia and the Carbon pizza oven, backed by my testing.
Before we dive into the side-by-side breakdown, a quick note: this article contains referral links. If you decide to buy one of the ovens through these links, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you — and that support really helps keep this blog alive.
Camp Chef Italia VS Carbon: Quality and Materials
| Camp Chef Italia is made from stainless steel with a smooth dome top and a double-layered ceiling for better insulation. While the metal feels a bit thin, it holds up well under heat and sits on stable, rubber-coated feet. The cordierite pizza stone helps deliver a consistently crisp crust. |
Carbon is constructed from stainless steel and features a black coated finish with visible insulation at the seams. It uses firebricks for heat retention, which adds weight but improves cooking consistency. The overall design is durable, though some users find the craftsmanship slightly behind top-tier brands.
|
Camp Chef Italia VS Carbon: Temperature Control
| The Camp Chef Italia offers precise temperature control through its micro-adjust gas valve and internal thermometer. It heats up to 700°F and maintains steady heat across the pizza stone, bouncing back quickly after opening the door. This makes it very beginner-friendly. |
The Carbon pizza oven excels in temperature thanks to its dual burner system. It can reach over 950°F and offers separate controls for top and bottom heat. It requires more attention during cooking but delivers powerful, consistent performance once dialed in.
|
Camp Chef Italia VS Carbon: Shape
| Camp Chef Italia’s rounded dome encourages even airflow, mimicking traditional brick ovens. This shape aids in even baking across the pizza surface. |
Carbon has a boxier shape with a lower ceiling, which is functional but doesn’t circulate air as evenly. However, its firebrick base and flame visibility still ensure solid results.
|
Camp Chef Italia VS Carbon: First-Time Usage Impressions
| Unboxing and assembling the Camp Chef Italia was straightforward and quick. Connecting the propane was easy, and getting to cooking temperature required minimal fiddling. It’s ready to go in under 30 minutes. |
The Carbon oven required a bit more setup effort, especially adjusting the burners and balancing the legs. The build looks premium, and the metal-stamped logo adds a nice touch, but the learning curve is a little steeper.
|
Camp Chef Italia VS Carbon: Power Source
| Camp Chef Italia uses propane gas and includes a regulator and hose. It’s easy to set up with a standard propane tank. |
Carbon also uses propane or natural gas, offering flexibility. It uses more fuel due to dual burners but gives you more control over heat zones.
|
Camp Chef Italia VS Carbon: Size
| Camp Chef Italia is compact yet efficient, but its 13.25″ x 20″ stone makes rotating larger pizzas a bit challenging under the low roof. |
Carbon supports pizzas up to 15 inches wide with a 3.4″ ceiling. It’s larger and heavier but can handle two small dishes side by side.
|
Camp Chef Italia VS Carbon: Ease of Cleaning
| The Camp Chef Italia is easy to clean—just run it on high to burn off residue, then scrape with a steel tool and wipe it down. Cooling takes about an hour. |
Carbon includes a cleaning brush with perpendicular bristles that helps clear out stuck residue. Still, the firebrick base requires more careful maintenance.
|
Pizza Cooking Test: Camp Chef Italia vs Carbon
To put both ovens to the test, I cooked the same Margherita pizza using identical homemade dough and toppings in each oven, focusing on heat-up time, cook duration, and final taste.
The Camp Chef Italia took about 35–40 minutes to preheat and stabilize around 700°F, slightly longer than the manual suggests. Once ready, it cooked the Margherita pizza in 7–9 minutes, depending on dough thickness. The result was a nicely crisped crust with a golden bottom and gentle browning on the cheese. The taste leaned toward a classic New York-style finish—crunchy, balanced, and evenly cooked. It lacked a wood-fired smokiness but made up for it with consistency and ease.
The Carbon pizza oven heated up much faster, hitting 950°F in just 15 minutes. I tested cooking at several stone temperatures. At 740°F, the Margherita pizza was done in about 80–90 seconds. The top had excellent cheese melt and caramelization, while the outer crust blistered beautifully. The bottom, however, needed some dialing in—the first try was slightly underdone. Once adjusted to 760°F, the pizza had that artisan-style bite: charred edges, soft center, and a satisfying chew. The flavor was more intense thanks to the higher heat, but controlling it took more attention than with the Camp Chef.
Overall, both ovens delivered delicious pizzas, but the Camp Chef Italia felt easier to manage, especially for repeatable results, while the Carbon gave you more of a fast-paced, pizzeria-style bake with a steeper learning curve.
How We Tested
As a restaurant chef with over a decade of experience at Dequte Restaurant LironBoylston, I wanted to test both the Camp Chef Italia and Carbon pizza ovens under real cooking conditions—just like I would in a busy kitchen. I prepared identical Margherita pizzas using homemade dough and fresh ingredients to make the test fair. Each oven was preheated to its optimal cooking range based on my prior experience and the manufacturer’s guidelines.
I paid close attention to how long it took each oven to reach the right temperature, how evenly the stone heated up, and how consistent the heat stayed between pizzas. I also tracked how easy it was to control the temperature during back-to-back bakes. After each bake, I evaluated the pizza’s crust texture, bottom browning, cheese melt, and overall flavor. Beyond just performance, I considered usability, how intuitive the controls felt, and how practical the cleaning process was after a full cooking session.
Both ovens were tested side by side during the same afternoon in similar weather conditions, using the same propane source, to remove as many variables as possible. While both ovens performed well, the Camp Chef Italia consistently stood out for its balance of ease, control, and reliable baking results.
Conclusion
It’s ultimately your choice whether to go with the Camp Chef Italia or the Carbon pizza oven. Both are excellent tools that can elevate your homemade pizza game. If you decide to buy one, I’d highly appreciate it if you use my referral links—I’ll earn a small commission at no cost to you, which helps me keep this blog going and continue testing more ovens. Here is the link for the Camp Chef Italia, and here is the link for the Carbon oven. Thank you for your support!