A good campfire is almost a necessity when camping. While there may be times when it isn’t fully required, if you spend very long camping you likely need or want one. Getting the campfire started has always been difficult for people who aren’t experienced with starting fires. There are many useful methods and practices people use to get the fires going. Let’s explore!
Where to Start
Everyone starting a fire needs to address the ability of the fire to spread outside its intended area and cause damage to surrounding areas. Ensure that your fire is properly contained within a designated fire area. Most campgrounds will have “fire pits”, whether it’s a steel containment area, concrete ring, or even just simple rocks, be sure to start your fire within these areas. If you are in a remote area with no preformed fire area, clear the ground of flammable material like straw, dead grass, leaves, twigs, etc. Build a ring or circle of rocks to be able to contain the fire with almost no effort, once these rocks are in place. The rocks do not need to be very large. Somewhere in the vicinity of the size of your fist will be fine. If you are unable to find any that size, pile up several rocks to form a barrier at least 4-6inches tall.
Start With the Basics
Every fire needs 3 things: heat, oxygen, and fuel. Seems simple, right? It’s not always very simple. If you are lacking one of the three, you will have no fire. All three components are critical. Let’s start with heat. When camping you may want to bring a backup plan to ensure you have an enjoyable experience. If the weather isn’t warm and you have no fire, the camping trip will not be one to replicate. The backup plan for a heat source to start the fire could be as simple as a second Bic-style lighter or a flint or ferro rod. I normally have great luck with a simple butane lighter. In recent years, I have been using the larger stand-up style butane lighters. They usually produce a larger flame, which can help when starting fires. There are lots of them available online and at most hardware stores. I will cover the reason for my choices later.
Fuel
The next component for fire is fuel. Firewood of course is the main source of fuel. Finding the right firewood can be crucial to your meals and I cover some of that info in this article. Because I want to talk about just getting the fire started, I won’t cover the larger needed wood for cooking and heating. Technically tinder is the smallest most flammable material, then kindling is larger and use second. With this in mind, I use pine straw, dead grass, dead leaves, and tiny twigs for the tinder. Later I use a little larger twigs and fatwood, if available. I’ll cover fatwood later.
Oxygen
The last component needed is oxygen. While this one is pretty easy to come by because it’s readily available, placement of it is key. You can suffocate your fire with too tightly packed tinder. This will slow the fire and sometimes not light at all. Simple bellows are available online with many different styles to help get oxygen to needed areas.
The Order of Operations
Having all the elements needed, only get you so far. The proper order and assembly are vital to a successful fire. The normal order I use is tinder, kindling, larger kindling (lots of it), then larger firewood. See my personal definitions of each below:
· Tinder – small dry dead grasses, dry dead leaves, dry small twigs no larger than a matchstick in diameter. Fatwood or Rich Lighter Pine
· Kindling – dry wooden twigs no larger than a pencil.
· Larger Kindling – Use the “rule of thumb”, keep these about the diameter of your thumb.
· Firewood – basically anything dry and large. Whether it’s the whole tree trunk or just wood bigger than the kindling.
Keeping this order when starting a fire will almost guarantee positive results. There are of course other things to consider, but the order of the materials plays a large part in your success.
The Order of the Burn
1. Start with laying the tinder in a small, loosely packed pile about the size of your hand and keep another pile of the tinder nearby. Take your heat source, as I recommend the butane torch lighters, and light the pile of tinder. Once you have the tinder burning well, which should take less than 3 minutes, next move on to the kindling.
2. This is where finesse plays a large role. Be sure the tinder is burning strong enough to apply the kindling. The kindling step will produce a suffocated fire if you throw too much on the tinder too soon, so only add what the tinder can burn. I usually start with a few of the smallest twigs first. Normally I will have the best luck with very small and thin twigs broken into 4-6inch lengths. Keeping a close watch and using a bellows to get the oxygen concentration in the fire material can help tremendously. I often do not need to use bellows. When the material is damp or the humidity is very high, I will use the bellows to increase the burn rate and help get the fire started.
3. Once you are able to get the small kindling started, move on to the larger kindling, again finesse and patients can be critical to a strong fire. Stuffing or suffocating the fire can happen if you move too quickly in the order of operation. Slowly add the larger kindling. Be sure you have dry larger kindling or the small flames at this point in the process will not burn the wet wood fast enough and the fire will burn thru the small kindling and die out. A crosshatch method of stacking the kindling can allow enough oxygen and keep the fire breathing well. If using the crosshatch method of stacking the kindling do not pack the wood too tight, remember don’t smother the fire. Once you have the larger kindling burning you can move on to the larger wood.
4. Adding the larger firewood should be done with caution. Only add one or two pieces at a time until you have a strong fire. Depending on which type of wood, whether it’s split firewood or dead limbs found in the forest can direct how to stack the firewood when adding to a newly lit fire. If its round, cylindrical limbs found in the forest, I try the crosshatch method of stacking most often. Lay one piece on opposite sides of the fire and one or two across the two on the ground and allow the crossed pieces to catch before adding more. This arrangement will give ample airflow to ensure the fire isn’t suffocated. See the pics below as a simple demonstration of the crosshatch method.
Reasons for Convenience
In today’s high-tech world the choices of products are almost endless. With the availability of convenience all around us, I enjoy them, often. Some campers choose to use more traditional means of striking up a flame, like ferro rods, bow drills, or matches. I see the benefit in all of these older more traditional methods and materials. Some are more eco-friendly in their production and some people really like to be as basic and environment friendly as possible. I do also see the benefit in being more “natural” when camping but I think there should be some sensibility as it relates to certain areas of camping. Starting a fire should be one of those areas when you use sensibility. My mentality as it relates to fire-starting equipment is to be certain. A ferro rod can be less than desirable when the circumstances aren’t perfect. If you are dealing with damp or limited tinder and only have a few chances to get it right. Some of the more advanced ferro rods available may be able to help deal with dampened materials. A butane torch lighter just makes sense to me when I’m in a remote location. The only time I have ever thought it to be necessary to use a ferro rod or a bow drill was when I was in Boy Scouts as a kid, and these survival principles were taught and we needed to prove we learned the basics while working thru a merit badge class. While they can be great to have when in a survival situation, almost all the camping I do isn’t a survival situation. The butane torch lighters are effective and reliable plus, there are lots of variations to suit your needs.
Commercially Available Fire
The camping gadgets, products, and supplies industry is big business. There is no shortage of choices and products. A quick search online will produce a myriad of products available to help you start your fire. Some of the products are very good quality and highly effective. Very few have I used and thought “Wow! I need to order more of that!” Nature provides way too many great supplies and choices to start your fire. Tinder and kindling have always served me well and I didn’t have to pack them out to a campsite. I think that’s the main reason I don’t use more products that aren’t necessary. I normally try to travel as light as I can. Tents, tarps, propane bottles, sleeping bags, small tables, pots and pans, food, drinks…..all heavy. I try to reduce the needed items when I can. Packing out an already heavy campsite to a remote location isn’t always enjoyable. Use mother nature when you have the opportunity, your legs and back will thank you.