Starting a fire
Keeping warm, especially at night, is crucial to surviving outdoors; not to mention fire is both entertaining and provides security from any curious wildlife.
It's important to put some thought into the tool you are going to use depending on your situation. In this article we will discuss the pros and cons of various tools we can go over a few best practices when getting ready to go on your adventure.
Presuming we are focusing on recreational camping over survival, there are a few key things to consider when preparing:
First, you'll need to assess your skill level and experience starting a fire. If you are reading this, we'll assume that you've either never started a fire or have only started a few. In that case, you will want to think about the weather, your gear's waterproof rating, and whether or not you will be going on or in the water with your gear: notice a trend? Good, it's not coincidental. Under ideal conditions starting a fire is pretty easy, so you want to make sure that you are always thinking about the worst in order to make your outing the best!
If water or moisture is in the forecast, I would suggest learning to use a fire steel and packing some kind of tinder very carefully to protect it. Alternatively, pack some pre-made fire starters and some water proof matches in a Ziploc bag or water tight container and toss them into your go bag or vehicle. Normal matches and a lot of lighters don't stand up well under wet conditions and you don't want your tools to fail when you need them most.
If you don't think water is going to be a problem, or storage space is tight, a Zippo or standard Bic lighter will do the trick 99% of the time. You will, however, need to have an understanding of how to find tinder in your environment. For optimum results, preparation is key; take your time finding a good tinder, tree lichen or birch bark are traditional go-to's, you can also take the time to feather dry branches and seek out the smaller dry twigs on the bottom of any conifers (considering the location).
After you have collected your tinder, get them ready in order from smallest to largest, you're going to have to act fast, especially during the initial phase when you are trying to get the fire to catch and spread.
Find a dry spot, light the smallest of your tinder and begin feeding the larger sticks at a slow but steady pace until you know the fire has enough fuel to sustain itself for a while. From there, just feed the fire to your satisfaction!
Pro tip: If you are planning to cook, make sure to roll and move your logs often to ensure the coals break down evenly; a larger fire is best in order to have a lot of coals to cook on, but you may compensate via distance from the flame. Beware: fire produces more dark rich smoke while coals are cleaner and leaves a only a mild woody flavor to your food, if any flavor at all.