Campfires 101: Essential Tips for Beginner Campers

Hey Everyone, thanks for watching. Feel free to introduce yourself and let me know what type of camping knowledge you'd like to see covered in Visual format. I'm planning my 2023 Video Topics and Schedule now! I try to respond personally to as many of these messages as I can before it gets overwhelming. - Your friend, DJ My Gear List: www.amazon.com/shop/thebearessentials The Bear Essentials Handmade Gear: bearessentialsoutdoors.ca/ DJ's Gear Recommendations (Not from Amazon) bearessentialsoutdoors.ca/collections/djs-gear-rec…

I've been using the upside-down method exclusively for years, but I do mine very differently than yours. No gaps, no tinder built-in. I lay my largest pieces side by side, tightly together without gaps. The next layer is smaller pieces, tightly packed side by side, usually at a 70 degree angle rather than 90, to retain more coals on the layer below it (so they don't fall off to the sides and smolder). Repeat this process layer by layer with ever smaller pieces until you have all your wood stacked. On top, I build a tinder/kindling/twig structure of pure chaos, with just enough material to burn for about 5-6 minutes and enough pinky sized twigs to generate some starting coals. My method takes longer to get going, but it burns very slowly and for a long time, and tends to re-burn the rising smoke from the layer beneath what's currently flaming. Advantages: It can be nearly smokefree when it gets rolling. You can use less dry material for your larger pieces, as they'll be drying for a long time from the layers above and the falling coals. Your wood lasts much longer as it burns layer by layer. You'll tend to burn 100% of your fuel with no left over chunks of char. Disadvantages: If you need heat "right now", this is not the one you want (cooking, drying off). You'll be waiting 15 minutes for it to start producing significant heat. Your top 2 layers need to be decently dry material to generate hot coals to continue the burn to the larger layers. Takes some axe skills to prep the correctly sized pieces (XL, L, M, S, XS is what I usually start with for layers, with XL being forearm sized and XS being pinky sized). Give this tactic a try sometime, I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised!

Man I've said it before - you have the best outdoor/bushcrafting/skillset videos around. Not only the quality of your cinematography and editing skills, but unique applications and solid data. Can't remember seeing anyone use a moisture meter in a fire test comparison video before. The only thing in your way now is time for the algorithm to catch up, so just don't quit - gonna be some views, some views, some views, BAM!!! Even if it takes a year.

If you want a good tip for an easy and cheap fire starter, just save the lint that gets caught in your dryer at home. That stuff is super flammable and you'll always be getting more. I keep a plastic bag full of it for when we go camping as an easy fire starter.

log cabin fire is great for wet wood. if you can get a bit of pine resin place it on your tinder in the middle and it you can use the spaces between the logs of the “cabin” as grate bars for inserting your wet wood so that it both dries and ignites over the flame, and continue this until the top ignites

The log cabin fire technique is definitely my favorite and what I use most of the time. I find it much easier to add wood to it later without making it collapse because the coals naturally form a pyramid that the new logs can lean on without crushing the structure, compared to the teepee one. I also just start with a split log base to make the fire on, and if it's windy I protect it with some vertical logs stacked around it also. I find it also makes the best camp fires. The reverse fire is definitely the best for getting good coals for cooking, but doesn't make as good of a campfire when you just want to enjoy a good flame and light the campsite at the same time. I tend to completely avoid the teepee technique unless I want to smell like smoke and spend half the time rearranging the logs to prevent it from smothering itself.

It would be super helpful if you could make a video about what are the best kind of ropes to buy and use for different situations, because your videos are super well put together and clean.

I have seen other videos on this topic that were not nearly as detailed. Thank you for making this and being detailed with amount of wood, how much water is in that wood and thermal readings. Well done.

I’m really glad the algorithms guided me your way. Very well done and informative video. You really have all the tech gadgets to measure different fires 👏

Using the thermal gauge was the kind of scientific information I always wanted but have never found in an outdoors class or video before. Thank you!

WOW! Friggin' science, I LOVE how much detail and diligence went into this test, super impressive and helpful knowledge! Definitely going to binge watch more of your stuff, thank you!!!

This is so, SO helpful. Thank you for your attention to detail on all of these.

Nice exposition. I've long been a proponent of the upside-down/reverse fire-lay and I avail myself of this method except when I need a fire going in a hurry. In addition to the merits you described, I find that learning to use that fire-lay forces one to acquire some knife and axe skills for wood-processing, which are advantageous skills to have for any backcountry camper. Cheers and all the best to you in this new year. - Martin

First time seeing your videos, glad they’re on my recommendation. I’m at zero level as I’ve never been camping, didn’t go to Girl Scouts either. But I love nature and learning about how to go on in it. 👍

Great tutorial, thanks.

THANK YOU! I've understood and used basic fire skills for years. The way you presented each, and especially the thermal imagining, was new for me, and my understanding is FAR more solid now! I can't wait to try this out in my backyard. Also, I've pretry much failed to help my kiddos understand fire building. (We're all a little impatient lol) I really think this'll help them both, and I plan to test that this weekend 😁🤞🤞 I'm going to enjoy your vids😊

I like to use two logs with about a 6 inches diameter, I set them up parallel to each other with the gap pointed toward the prevailing wind. I put my tinder bundle between the logs and lay twigs like your log cabin fire. As the tinder and twigs burn, I add more and larger twigs, log cabin style. Once I get a nice bed of coals, I add bigger pieces. By then, the two main logs are burning well and I fill the gap with medium sized pieces. As the main logs are consumed, I push them closer together and add more twigs. Long lasting and easy to cook on and maintain.

Here is a fire making tip from an old man. A lot of people advocate digging a shallow fire pit.....I advocate building a fire mound, not a pit. Why, number one it provides better ventilation and more importantly, if it rains water does not flow into your fire and fire pit. I have left my campfires at night by burying a round under ash and coals and cover the throw down grill with my gridle. I have seen it rain all night and get up the next morning and still be able to bring it back to flame. Even if it goes out, at least my firelay is not flooded.

What an outstanding tutorial: a meticulously scientific approach, allowing us to note with confidence the conclusions reached and put them to work in the field. Subbed straight away... keep 'em coming, comrade.

My father taught me to use the Log Cabin and the Reverse Fire fires since I was maybe nine or ten. It's how I've always done it, actually exactly like I did it tonight. I usually use corks wrapped in newspaper as my little firestarter, it slow burns very nicely and helps the kindling catch. Great video!