Comments on: How To Build a Roaring Campfire

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Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:08:57 +0000

[...] How To Build a Roaring Campfire [...]

By: Katakato

Katakato — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 01:17:47 +0000

The absolute best tinder that I’ve used is to buy a bicycle inner tube and cut it up into 1-inch wide strips…using a couple of these under your kindling works like charm and doesn’t blow around or go out in the wind.

By: Little man

Little man — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 22:05:18 +0000

allright once when I was fourteen last year I hiked up a mountain near my house in the Hudson valley with my friend all I had was a flint I got the fire goin not so impressive but I got it working then I found a copper mesh and I ripped some off bent it stuck it in the fire till It was glowing bashed the end with a rock to make it sharp made bark string and I made a whole fishing line and hook took grubs and caught some fish we were going to eat them then we decided to go home and make hot pockets

By: Erik

Erik — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 03:45:11 +0000

Before you lay the tinder, kindling, and logs, prepare the gound under the fire.
dig a trench along the path of the breeze into the ground. It shound be 2-3 inches
wide, 2 inches deep, and 1-2 feet long. That way air gets sucked through
the channel and up into the fire. That fire will grow super quick.

To start a raging fire with wet logs is a manly art when everyone around is freezing and numerous attempts to start the fire has failed. My trick that works
everytime is an aluminum canister of white-gas with a spigot cap. Hold it
two to three feet above the sputtering fire and flick with your wrist to dispense
a few drops of gas at a time into the heart of the fire. The goal is to keep a
good hot flame going CONSTANTLY. Keep the action going for 10 minutes, enough for the wet logs to dry out and the fire to gain temperature enough
to be self-sustaining. You will be declared man-of-the-day by your buddies.

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 07:17:22 +0000

An overly smoky fire is caused by wet wood, rotting wood especially.

By: nricco

nricco — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:54:52 +0000

My problem is the same – the fire is always too smokey and we have to move away and the warmth is never worth the amount of smoke in your eyes, throat and clothes. In fact most of us end up with sore throats from the smoke. What are we doing wrong? Are there any poisonous woods that you should not burn in the US – specifically North Texas.

By: Boone

Boone — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 05:26:02 +0000

Some things I’ve learned:
1) AIR! Fire need it! Giving a little extra helps a lot in the early stages. Blow on the fire, or fan it with a newspaper. After the kindling catches, don’t worry about blowing out the fire. Where you have coals, you can blow as hard as you can.
2) GOOD TINDER: Someone mentioned Birch bark… Dry lichen burns well too. Also, tiny twigs can work well when bundled together.

In wet weather:
3) FINDING DRY WOOD: If it’s just rained, look tunder thick trees and bushes.
4) WET WOOD: Place wet wood just outside the fire – just out of reach of the flames. Radiating heat will help dry it out. Don’t use a wet log for your lean-to. It robs the young fire of heat.
4) WET GROUND: Don’t start a fire on wet ground – it’s a bottomless heat sink. Build it on a flat rock or a bed of sticks.

By: Jane

Jane — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:03:07 +0000

I have always heard “Where there is smoke there is fire,” but in the our case there seems to be more smoke than fire.
We go camping at least once a month with several of our friends and when the weather starts getting cool we sit around the fire day and night. I love the fire, but there is always so much smoke I can’t stand it. We are constantly having to jump up and run because every little breeze sends a tremendous amount of smoke. Since camping is all new to me is this just part of it, or is there something we can do to prevent so much smoke.
HELP!!!!!!!!!!

By: jack the clipper

jack the clipper — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:52:21 +0000

If the purpose of the fire is to look good the teepee style fire is the most picturesque and generally the fire will fall in on itself as it burns thus keeping “rollouts” to a minimum ……..
also since this type of fire tends to burn hotter the smoke will dissipate better….

By: SGT Harry

SGT Harry — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 19:15:33 +0000

A couple of simple lessons I’ve learned from my time in the Army and camping with friends…

Remember that fire needs three ingredients:
- Heat
- Fuel
- Oxygen (air)

The reason to keep this in mind is that too often I’ve seen people pile their wood close together, eliminating airflow. Or they try to spread it out and let most of the heat escape through the top of the pile.

Watch your fire carefully and adjust it as needed. If it seems to be dying, and you can’t figure out why, it’s probably one of these ingredients is lacking. Trap your heat in by placing larger fuel about an inch apart across the top of your coals. Ensure airflow by leaving channels through your fire. (Use a flap of cardboard or something similarly wide to fan it if absolutely necessary.) And of course, make sure your fuel is dry and flammable (as many have already pointed out). Keep TONS of tinder nearby (twigs aprox. 1/8 inch to 1/2 inch in diameter are excellent), as there may be times you need to keep the heat high to light new bits of fuel (larger logs) that you have added.

Laslty, bear in mind that a picturesque fire (lots of light) is very different than a good cooking fire (lots of heat). If you want to do any serious field cooking, let your fire build up a nice large bed of coals, clear some of the larger logs from those coals, and do your cooking over those.

Hope this helps!

By: Forest

Forest — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 04:52:41 +0000

To address the hot rocks issue, I have a use that at least works in colder weather. When you get ready to go to bed, and before you start putting the fire out, pull the rocks away from the fire to let them start cooling. After the fire is out, you can wrap some of the rocks-that-were-the-ring in a towel or a couple shirts and set them in the foot of your sleeping bag to keep your feet warm while you sleep. I’ve found that I sleep much better when I don’t have to try to keep my feet warm all night.

By: Dan Keller

Dan Keller — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:55:00 +0000

I have often purchased split oak fire wood that was too green to burn no matter how much kindling I used. The only answer I’ve found, and I hate this answer, is to marinate the wood in charcoal starter fluid overnight. You can douse it with starter fluid right before you light it, but it works better if you do it some hours before lighting it. Squirt the fluid on the split sides of the logs, not the bark side. I realize this is not a very manly approach, but it’s the only answer I’ve found.

By: C Fearns

C Fearns — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:21:58 +0000

Truth be told the romantacised image of a campfire with stones around it should be abolished. For two simple reasons really: 1. it doesn’t prevent fire from spreading that much and 2. the rocks heat up and stay hot for a long period of time and just end up scorching the ground. which is more important on a wild camp rather than on a designated fire spot in a campsite.

By: Crazy Ivan

Crazy Ivan — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:42:51 +0000

We went camping with friends, in-laws and out-laws one time about 6 years ago.. Went to one of those Yogi Bear joints. I brought a cord of wood and a keg of beer for 3 campsites. My Brother-in-law marinated a log in charcoal lighter fluid for 3 days prior to arriving at the camp. I think his fire won the contest for easiest to light. He stood back and threw lit matches at it.

By: Sean M. O'Grady

Sean M. O'Grady — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:49:19 +0000

Written like a scout. Nice work.