After winning the 2022 Retailer’s Choice Award, it’s clearly time to give the Halo Versa 16 Pizza Oven a proper review.
It has some unique features which make it a better product than some of its competitors that I’ve reviewed, primarily its dual-burner system and rotating pizza stone. I’ll cover each of these in more detail below.
While it’s certainly a well-made product and more than capable of making great pizza, the Halo pizza oven suits certain styles of pizzas more than others.
For more information on this and if the Halo is the right pizza oven for you, here’s my complete Halo Pizza Oven Review.
The Bottom Line: Halo Versa 16 Pizza Oven Review
If you don’t care to read the entire review, here’s the bottom line.
Overall, I’m really impressed by the way this pizza oven performs and the way it looks. And at around $550, the performance-to-cost is almost unparalleled.
The Versa 16 Outdoor Pizza Oven is an excellent option if you want to cook a variety of pizza styles. This oven is best for New York and Detroit style pizzas, though it does a fine job with Neapolitan as well (though I wouldn’t say it was made for Neapolitan).
If you will primarily be making New York style pizzas, this is the only one you should look at. It’s easy to use and delivers consistently impressive results. I really love this oven, particularly the dual burners and rotating surface.
What is Halo?
Halo Products Group does things a bit different.
Halo only makes products its employees love, and believes that translates to better customers. “At our core, we believe in true authenticity. And really, we’re all like you in some ways: we’re travelers, parents, entertainers, and just regular old foodies. We love this stuff, and we want to share it with you.â€
Although many companies say this, I was pleasantly surprised by my entire experience with the Halo pizza oven. From the packaging to the build quality to the performance, the Halo team really nailed this outdoor pizza oven.
The Halo Versa 16
Price
The Halo Versa 16 is priced competitively, usually around $550 on Amazon.
This is a bit cheaper than the same-sized Ooni Koda 16 and about the same price as the Gozney Roccbox.
Overall, it’s excellent value for the money. It is well-built, durable, and comes with a range of features that make it easy to use and produce delicious pizzas. The oven also has a stylish design that will look great in any outdoor kitchen.
The pizza oven comes with a 1-year warranty, giving you peace of mind and confidence in your purchase. It also comes with a range of accessories, including a pizza peel and a recipe book, making it easy to get started and experiment with different pizza recipes.
Unboxing & Assembly
The Halo Versa 16 comes well-packaged and protected.
It’s not too hard to assemble (thanks to the quick start guide), but it does take 15 minutes to get everything into its proper place.
Included in the box are:
- The pizza oven body and legs
- Stone rotator assembly and motor
- Pizza stone
- Debris guard
- 1 lb. propane canister adapter
- 20 lb. propane tank hose and fitting assembly
- Screws
- Quick Start Guide
- Essentials Guide – includes care and cleaning instructions, recipes, instructions, and more
Make sure you take it out of the box and have it all set up a couple hours before dinner time, or you might be eating late!
Design
After looking at pictures on Amazon, I wasn’t in love with the design. But once I ordered it and took it out of the box, I realized how much better this pizza oven looks in person.
The Versa 16 Outdoor Pizza Oven is made of powder-coated, cold-rolled and 430 stainless steel. The cooking surface is your typical 16″ cordierite pizza stone, and the burners provide an ample 21,100 BTUs of heat.
The build quality is also exceptional and the functionality is very well though out. Every component feels high-end and solid, nothing “cheap” about the materials. The oven has a huge opening for easily maneuvering a large pizza peel, the dual burners easily maintain the stone’s heat, a rotating stone, a simple ignition, and a very practical hinged lid.
Size
- Cooking Surface: 16″ Diameter (201.06 Square inches) Cordierite Cooking Stone
- Oven Opening: L=18in H=3 ¼ (at peak) H= 2 ¾ (at lowest point)
- Oven Body Construction: High Temperature Powder Coated Cold Rolled Steel and 430 Stainless Steel
- Product Dimensions: 24.3″ x 21.64″ x 14.82″ (61.7 x 55 x 37.65cm)
- Product Weight: 43.21 lbs. (19.6 kg)
- Carton Dimensions: 25.59″ x 22.05″ x 13.98″ (64.9 x 56 x 35.51 cm)
- Carton Weight: 55.12 lbs. (25.0 kg)
- Feet measurement: 15in (back) – 17 ¼ (front)
Features
The Halo Versa 16 Pizza Oven comes with a range of features designed to make the pizza-making experience as easy and enjoyable as possible. It boasts a large cooking surface, measuring 16 inches in diameter, which is perfect for making large pizzas or multiple smaller ones.
It also features a digital display with temperature and timer settings, as well as a built-in light, making it easy to monitor the cooking process.
But there are 2 features I want to pay special attention to:
1. Dual Burner
The most notable feature of the Versa is the patent-pending dual-burner system.
The oven includes an infrared burner at the bottom for consistent stone temperatures between bakes and a back-oven burner for standard convection heating. Theoretically, the 2 burners give the Versa an edge over some of the other ovens out there because both the bottom crust and the toppings on top are getting the high heat needed for a good pizza.
2. Rotating Pizza Stone
One of the standout features of the Halo Versa 16 Pizza Oven is the rotating pizza stone, which makes for evenly-cooked crusts every time.
The pizza stone’s rotation can be adjusted with a switch found at the front of the oven. You can stop or start the rotation at any point during the cooking process. The rotating pizza stone is battery-powered or can be plugged-in, if you have an outlet nearby.
The stone itself is made from high-quality cordierite and helps to absorb moisture from the dough, resulting in a crispy, perfectly cooked crust.
It’s also removable, which makes it really easy to clean.
Performance
The Halo Versa 16 Pizza Oven delivers excellent performance, producing delicious, crispy pizzas in just a matter of minutes. The oven heats up quickly and maintains a consistent temperature throughout the cooking process, ensuring that your pizza cooks evenly and doesn’t burn.
The oven is stated to reach temperatures of up to 950 degrees Fahrenheit, but I found this to be quite overstated. The hottest I was able to get it was about 790 degrees.
Testing the Halo Versa 16 Pizza Oven (Pizza Results)
New York Style Pizza
The Halo Versa 16 is the best pizza oven for cooking New York style, especially if you’re making multiple pizzas.
While I love the Ooni Koda 16, the rotating pizza stone and dual burners of the Halo Versa 16 make this pizza oven ridiculously easy to make consistently great pizzas.
The amount of heat and rotating speed of the pizza stone is absolutely perfect for New York style crusts.
Plus, unlike the Oonis I’ve tested, there was no cooling off between bakes, a welcome surprise. Cooking pizzas on the Halo pizza oven is a total “set-it-and-forget-it” ordeal. This is where the 5 minute bake that Halo claims comes into play, because my pizzas were ready pretty much on the dot or even a hair before.
Also, since launching a 16″ pizza onto a 16″ round stone can be very difficult, I strongly recommend getting a Lloydpan 16″ pizza screen. You can make your pizza right on the screen and put it in the oven for the full bake – or you can let it cook for 1-2 minutes until the dough firms up and then slide it off the screen and onto the stone (which is what I do).
Detroit / Pan Pizza
I was also really happy with my Detroit style pizzas when cooking on the Halo.
I love the rotation adjustability when panbaking my dough for a perfectly even bake without the need to turn it myself. The final bake also resulted in perfectly crisped crusts and a nicely golden bottom. For this style, I recommend preheating the oven on HIGH because the pan pizzas could use a hotter stone surface for proper browning.
The only thing I noticed was that the cheese in the middle of the pan could have used some more browning. To fix this, I simply lifted the pan with a pizza peel so that it was near the top of the oven for about 20 seconds.
Neapolitan Pizza
Neapolitan pizza is best made with a very hot single-burner flame, which doesn’t fit the Halo Versa 16 pizza oven. The stone also doesn’t turn fast enough to cook this style of pizza without manual intervention.
Still, after a few trial runs, I managed to create a system to make pretty solid Neapolitans.
Here’s my process:
After launching onto the pizza stone, I pick the pizza up with my turning peel and hold it higher in the oven and closer to the rear flame, rotating it myself as necessary to finish the crust. This takes about 2 minutes.
It’s not ideal, and definitely doesn’t take advantage of the self-rotating stone, but you can still make great Neapolitan pizzas!
Maintaining the Halo Pizza Oven
- Seasoning the oven: The Halo team recommends seasoning the Versa 16 outdoor pizza oven for at least 30 minutes before use. I did this and noticed some very light smoke emitting from the oven, so I’m glad I did it before putting a pizza in there. Let the oven cool, thenwipe the cooking surface clean. This will get rid of any debris leftover from manufacturing.
- Cleanup: Another thing we like about the Versa is that it is easy to clean and maintain. Let the oven cool completely before any cleaning. The oven features a hinged access lid design accessible by two rubber tabs on the side. You can just open it up to remove the cordierite stone and clean it as needed. Once the stone is out of the way, you can easily clean up and debris and crumbs that fall into the catching tray below.
- Maintaining the Cordierite Cooking Stone: Allow the stone to cool completely before cleaning it with a nylon pan scraper or a spatula to remove any extra food. Do not use soap or detergent. Halo mentions that if there is something really stuck on you should soak the stone in hot water before scrubbing again. However, as long as there are no food particles on the stone that might harbor germs, it is clean and safe to use. Personally, I never recommend to use water on your pizza stones. Any spills will be baked off in the future.
Final Word: Halo Pizza Oven Review
If you don’t care to read the entire review, here’s the bottom line.
Overall, I’m really impressed by the way this pizza oven performs and the way it looks. And at around $550, the performance-to-cost is almost unparalleled.
The Versa 16 Outdoor Pizza Oven is an excellent option if you want to cook a variety of pizza styles. This oven is best for New York and Detroit style pizzas, though it does a fine job with Neapolitan as well (though I wouldn’t say it was made for Neapolitan).
If you will primarily be making New York style pizzas, this is the only one you should look at. It’s easy to use and delivers consistently impressive results.
You won’t be disappointed.
