How to use a fire starter

Are you planning to go camping with your family and friends but do not anything about making fires? Do you feel like you are unprepared and need a lot of training to start a fire? Or, do you think getting a fire starter is expensive?

Well, good news for you, it is actually very easy to start a fire and it is very cheap too. Most basic fire starter kits go for less than $10, which is I think more than affordable and is the right price. In this article, I will show how to use a fire starter to make a fire for your camping.

1.) Find the Proper Location

In order to make a fire, you must remember to find a proper location first. It is especially important in a forest because of one slip-up can lead to a substantial forest fire.

• Find a place free of wind or even just breeze. We are using a small fire-making kit, so if a bit of breeze comes in the start it will ruin it. It wouldn’t matter if you get a bigger fire.
• Remember to always be near a food supply for the fires. Fires love little sticks and branches, so if you find enough you can put it in the fire to make it bigger. Make sure you are not close to a lot of wood areas but close enough to some trees where you can get branches from. Also, the sticks and branches need to be dry, fires hate anything wet or have a hint of water.
• Most important of all, you can only start a fire in a clear area. We recommend always checking above you to ensure that you do not have branches hanging over the future fire pit.

2.) Prepare a place to put the fire in

I recommend digging a pit for the fire in your desired spot. Also, make sure that the pit is pretty big for the fire because you don’t want it to get out and create a bigger mess. Make the hole deep enough for the fire to not spill out but also make it deep enough so you can reach in. Make sure the surrounding area is more elevated looking from where the fire is. That is where we will put all of our other materials.

3.) Getting and Gathering all the Necessary Materials

To make a fire grow big and strong and blossom, you need to provide it with some food. As we all know, fires love dry sticks and branches. You can also put dry dead leaves in the fire to make it grow,

However, I recommend collecting all the leaves and making them into a base for the fire to sit in. Then you should put the dry sticks around the leaves to make a small wall. After that, put the dried branches on top or next to the small sticks. Make sure all these materials you are using need to be in the pit where the fire will be.

If you are looking for an easier path here, I’d recommend our post on the best fire starters.

4.) Try to create a spark

For this fourth step, I will need you guys to pull out the fire kit that I was talking to you about. It might look small but it can do a lot of big things. Now you are all set, you found the best location, you made a nice pit to put your fire in, you gathered enough materials to make the fire, and now its time to just light it, right it easy, wrong, you need to keep this in mind, it is a bit hard to use a flint in steel to light the fire. This is using a magnesium fire starter to light a fire.

It does not matter about how quick you light it, it matters about how much force you put into scrapping it and making a spark. You have to be very patient with this. It will take at least 5 tries for a beginner. But don’t worry, in the end, it will be all worth it. The spark will go on to the material and the dry leaf base you put down in the pit and you will see a fire. However, you have to help it grow and develop into a bigger flame.

Optimally, you have matches that will allow you to easily start the fire. If not, there are easy strategies you can use to start a fire without matches.

5.) Help the Development of the Fire

In order to help your fire grow, you can feed it smaller sticks and dried leaves, but that only works for a bit. If you see a small fire in the pit and you have put a lot of materials to make it grow, it is obviously not the leaves’ fault. You just have to show the fire some love and start blowing slightly and gently at it. Make sure you never blow really hard or else the little fire will just go.

Alternatively, you can use fire-starting sticks.

6.) Maintain the Fire That you Have Created

Finally, this is the last bit until you get your magnificent fire. Now you can put all those dried leaves and extra sticks yo wanted to use before. But, make sure not to put all at once, slowly and slowly put one stick after another. With leaves, I think you guys should do 4 at once so it makes an impact. After that, you should get a brilliant fire. Enjoy. You deserved it.

Most important of all, make sure to always drench the fire with water after you have finished.

#7: How to put out the Fire

Now that you’ve created a fire, it’s now time to put that fire out. The most important thing to remember here is that you need to do more to put out the fire than you might expect.  You should make sure the entire area is completely soaked with water. For more info, make sure to read out the piece on how to put out a fire.

Summary

Now you guys know how easy it actually is to make a fire in the forest just with a small fire kit. Now, you can use this on your camping trip to where ever you need a fire. You can now impress your friends and family on the trip. Always remember that the location of where the fire needs to be lit is the most important thing. If you mess up and do it in a different location especially in the forest, there can be dire consequences. So, always keep that in mind.

Happy Camping!

Sean's an avid camper, kayaker, and RVer. He loves spending time finding new trails and campsites to take his family and friends.