Making A Long Burning Fire Is Easier Than You Think

Hey there SurvivalTab readers. Let's talk a little about a long burning fire. Making a fire is an essential part of camping. It can make or break your camping trip. Having said that, let's face it - about 7 out of every ten campfires are failures.

They just never get going properly or they burn out too quickly. Sadly, a fire that burns out too quickly equals a failed camping adventure. It just generally puts a damper on proceedings.

It goes with saying that your campfire is vital for your cooking, warmth and comfort. To achieve all this, you really need to get the most out of your fire - you want it to be a long burning fire. HOW do you do it? It’s actually pretty easy if you know WHAT to do.

We found an interesting video and it may just change your take on a campfire. Here's what the owner of the video have to say:

I am going to teach you something different here, I’m going to re-visit it actually. I made this video a long long time ago and it’s called the upside down fire. So, we’re going to take what you’ve learned, and we’re going to turn it upside down. We’re going to start with the biggest stuff first, and then, we’re going to go to the smaller stuff.

Video and Image Source: CrOcket20 on YouTube

So basically what we've learned from the video explanation is that making a long burning fire is a process of placing the bigger pieces of wood (that we would normally think of placing on top of the smaller pieces and dry grass) first, and then the smaller pieces of wood and dry grass last (on top of the stack).

It almost looks like a pyramid of sorts.

The theory behind this is that you light the stack at the top (dry grass and dry branch pieces) and then it burns down. This minimizes your fire management efforts and leaves you with more time to attend to other important stuff around your camp.

It shouldn't take that much longer to build your stack since you are just doing it the other way round from what you might be used to. A good campfire should never be a rush job anyway.

Just remember to always keep safety in mind. You don't want to be the person who made the headlines for setting the woods or camping area on fire. When you are out camping, check if there is a designated fire making area. If it's there, use it. If you are out in the woods, make a small clearing away from your shelter, any bushes, dry leaves or wood.

Finally, make sure you have a long burning fire starter the works in all kinds of weather conditions.

Happy camping - don't forget to practice making your long burning campfire BEFORE you go!