If you’ve been reading the blog for the past few years you’ve likely read about wood burning stoves for camping. High efficiency wood burning stoves have been around for many years but there’s been a renaissance in wood burning stove technology over the past decade or so. This renaissance has its roots in engineering simple […]
Building Campfires
Fire By Friction
Fire by friction history was made by ‘World Champion Fire Starter’ Eagle Scout Dudley Winn Smith from Independence, Missouri who held the record for starting a fire using a bow and drill. The 1937 book Games and Recreational Methods for Clubs, Camps and Scouts, C.F. Smith, records his winning method. I have tried this out […]
How to Make a Fire in the Rain
Any good outdoorsman knows how to make a fire in the rain. Once you’ve mastered the skill of building fires when the weather is dry you’ll want to hone your skills for starting a fire when the weather goes bad. The infographic explains a few strategies for getting a fire going when you have nothing but […]
Top Ten Fire Starters Infographic
There are many ways to start a fire, and every experienced camper will have their own favorites, but here’s my list of top ten fire starters: Good strike-anywhere matches are increasingly difficult to find. I stock up on my favorite brand (Redbird from Eddy Match in Ontario) when we are in Canada for our canoe trips. […]
How to Build a Campfire
Here’s a simple formula for how to build a campfire, it’s easy to remember. (here’s a video that illustrates the technique) ‘Gather’ and ‘Build’ are the key concepts: GATHER …everything before you strike a match. The sizes and amounts are rules of thumb, don’t over-engineer things. For some reason my Scouts always seem to break the sticks they gather into tiny […]
Fungi Fire Starter
Informative article from Tim MacWelch at Outdoor Life Survival on how to find and use fungi fire starter: If you have birch or black Locust trees growing near you, then you probably have some very flammable species of fungi also growing nearby. A classic fire starting tinder of the northeast is the fungus that grows […]
Splitting Firewood
Splitting wood with a retaining chain and bungee cord: This splitting firewood video features a wicked-good looking splitting axe by Fiskars. It looks to me like their X series splitting axes that come in 17″, 23 1/2″, 28″ and 36″ lengths. The geometry of the axe head creates a wedge whose top curves outward sharply – […]
Campfire Code from Steve Karoly
Steven C. Karoly is a retired Seabee Cook who blogs at Round the Chuckbox. I eagerly followed a series of eight of Steve’s recent posts on the ‘Code of the Campfire’. They are a combination of practical advice and old fashioned good manners. One look at the idyllic campfire seen pictured above speaks volumes to […]
Burning Trash in Your Campfire?
A reader (who wishes to remain anonymous) asks; My son recently joined a Scout troop who, to my horror, burns almost all their trash in the campfire. Most leaders that do this either don’t think it’s a problem, or have just learned to be indifferent. As a cub leader we didn’t let the youth put anything other than paper […]
Three Wall Fireplace
Illustration by Hap Wilson. Originally appeared in The Keewaydin Way by Brian Back Lake Temagami and environs is one of the great good places to go canoeing. According to the Ottertooth website: The three-walled heritage fireplace has been a Temagami tradition for over a hundred years and many blackened campsite fireplaces have been in use […]
Never-Fail Campfire in Esquire
Tom Chiarella at Esquire Magazine has posted an article The 75 Skills Every Man Should Master. Skill # 51 uses many of the the methods and measurements from my video Never Fail Campfire Building. 51. Build a campfire. There are three components: 1. The tinder — bone-dry, snappable twigs, about as long as your […]
Bow Drill Fire at Wildwood Survival
The most common cliché about scouting is a toss-up between helping old ladies across the street and rubbing two sticks together to make a fire. Making fire with a bow drill is an obtainable skill for those who are willing to devote themselves to a little study, finding the proper materials and patient practice. […]
Making & Using a Fire by Friction Set
EXCERPT from Fire by Friction Do you think that you can build a fire using a fire by friction set made by yourself? If you answered YES to the this question, you are already 50% done with the building of your fire by friction. It is a fun challenge to any scout and the following tips should […]
Never Fail Campfire Building
Building a campfire is, for many, an elusive skill.
The Philosophy of Camp Fires
Kneel always when you light a fire – John Oxenham Sit at your camp fires conscious that it gives us more than heat and light. We have passed on the simple skills required to kindle a warming flame for millennia. We are united with the past around this common hearth gazing into the embers, dreaming dreams. Archaeologists […]
