Never Fail Camp Fire Building

[thefranzbecker]

so this is what santa does for fun

[Tacmarksman]

I think it's better to baton with a knife of split with an ax. That way you can get the driest wood at the center of a log and that's the stuff that will catch.

[ppclicpl]

IS that Grizzly Adams???lol..Kidding..Thanks for the Video.

[puffinlittle]

Greetings, I saw this a couple of years ago and then lost you in the YTb. This is the BEST explanation of starting a real fire. I sort of used a similar run but you have it easy to explain and for folk to REMEMBER.

The only other thing that I always do as well is to be certain that there is enough tinder and kindling in my shelter or under cover for the first fire of the day. I live behind the Redwood Curtain of coastal California and it can and does get and stay damp even in summer. thanks

[TheVideoGamer5x]

This is pretty good

[CBeard849]

There's always your beard to light up if needed!

[carrysmith2008]

I USE THE SAME METHOD WHEN I GO CAMPING,BUT I ALWAYS TAKE SOME BBQ FLUID,IN CASE THE WOOD IS DAMP OR ITS WINDY......GREAT VIDEO MY FREIND, REALLY ENJOYED IT

[SuperDeltaRomeo]

hello Santa,nice vid

[Daniel1234ification1]

Can you cook over it???

[naturalwater]

Nice Eureka tents I see in the background. My Timberline has lasted me since I've been camping in the scouts. Best tents I've ever used. Keep up the Videos, THEY'RE GREAT!

[xXAngellessXx]

what happen if you dont have matches?Rubbing battery against steel wool or use some reflection of the sun using glass?

[micmoable]

I've used a cigarette lighter to light some leaves and then place twigs on the burning leaves--then add some bigger pieces and then the biggest pieces

[MegaRoodypoo]

great video, nice music choice as well! hats off to you sir!

[cindycrop]

its santa........camping!! :)

[ilovebanannas]

You're Amazing!

[bigmac53able]

Extremely well done! "Firebuilding for Dummies", your parameters for size and length are good in explaining to green horns what to look for. Good voice, also.

[Bladerunner55217]

we can't have camp fires here in southern california :(

[kitsurubami]

@Bladerunner55217 been in a hella long drought here in texas too :( it hurts me extra bad because i love practicing friction fires and such.

[Bladerunner55217]

@kitsurubami Yeah that sucks. I have all ways been fascinated with building camp fires. I remember the first time I went camping the boy scouts had thsi 10 foot fire going and I was in awww lol.. My favorite fire I like to build and I learned about it from a book . Is the back log fire. Where you make a wall of medium sized stick supported by 2 large stix on each end then make a fire in front of it. That heats up the wall of wood. Super cool.

~Tony

[SlackerSlayer]

@Bladerunner55217 "I went camping the boy scouts had thsi 10 foot fire going and I was in awww"

That is just grand standing waste and the real teenagers coming out of the scout masters. But they are fun to build and watch. The biggest one I've seen was in Northern Ireland the night of July 11th 1970. A fuel oil tank was too close to the heat, enough to get the fire dept to cool it off as the fire raged. Nailed together to about 20 feet high, the flames were hUGe.

[Bladerunner55217]

@SlackerSlayer yeah I never joined the boy scouts . My mom was my only parent and i never had the chance to find where to look up on how to join the boy scouts. We did not have a computer back then. Bu I was amazed about the grand standing camp fire that was so big . I enjoyed that night so much just watching them from afar.

[SlackerSlayer]

@Bladerunner55217 I was in a different world when I could have joined. I did actually attend one cub scout meeting, but then I heard they wanted me to do ?what? for these merit badges?? Seriously?

[Bladerunner55217]

@SlackerSlayer lol

[smathe3]

good stuff.

[allanisfresh]

thumbs up if you think the song is all calm and has life , lol

[FrkKatharsis]

Nice vid. Going to make a fire tonight

[verizonsucks1324]

This is so helpful! Thank you!

[samtheman1234567able]

WoW i am going camping soon And i never though i would ask myself the right way to start a fire..........Thank you so much 4 posting this every day thing such as fire.

[flintknappernick]

If you live in the east, poplar bark and dead pine needles work a like a charm

[BAAAASJE]

I prefer cotton balls for tinder :P

[SurvivalEagle]

great instructional Clarke. The notion of fire building with a nice pile of tinder and some loosely laid kindling without "building the taj mahal" is lost on a lot of outdoorsmen. thanks for reminding us

[rochellearek]

Thought this was an excellent video! off to try to build a fire! thanks Clarke =)

[luvsun226]

"You don't wanna start a fire, and go around the woods to find fuel." Epic win.

[FakePriest]

No offense, but you look like Santa Claus :D

[tapout606]

Thank you sir

[GutterColin]

i admit that i didnt have everything before we started. and it was out by the time we got the fuel wood XD

[Broylestoys]

This is a great video! Thank you for sharing. <3

[journeyousglory]

Thank you very much sir, I feel helped.

[ksavannah12]

i started building fires a few years ago by trial and error...i know what doesnt work.... this is the way i have concluded, how to build the best fire.....it works very well.....

[HBC258]

Great info. thanks

[natho369]

Just stay indoors on your computer

[arifgegar]

@RUSSSELLLLL you so retard dude

if you lost in the jungle how on earth you gonna to fine lighter fluid

[ajvidman21]

Great video Clarke!

[I3leed4959]

thanks man now i know how to make a real fire to show my friends

[deadwinter1971]

Thanks for the fire, Mr. Bearded Prometheus!

[SpartanPaxton]

i dig the music

[edantes2008]

Thanks for the video.

[lolxwaitxidontxgetit]

im 14 and i made i fire with one match and only paper as my tinder and fuel for my wood, and it was a beastly fire.

[BiebersBiotch]

@lolxwaitxidontxgetit Congrats, your not a retard? That takes absolutely no skill, but still. Snaps for you..

[Hauntedgoat1997]

Thanks for showing us this santa

[mitkovche]

You should've added a part explaining how to leave the fireplace when you go home

[shadibmx]

thanks



[TheWhyer]

Nice and informative video.

Great beard too!!

[Instafire1]

Just use Instafire and you won't need to prepare ahead. It's by far the easiest way to start a fire! It floats is windproof and literally anyone can start a fire. It is also light weight and insulates so you can burn even on snow and ice, we even light it in our hand on our website. Check it out!

[Instafire1]

Just use Instafire and you won't need to prepare ahead. It's by far the easiest way to start a fire!

[jivejimbo]

wind i face shelter problem

[alecaf89]

Thanks for posting, you look like a happy man.

[runescapeplayer911]

5/5 that mans is lvl 99 firemaking lol

[zoranzo117]

@runescapeplayer911 not funny

[SDSpike]

Great practical video. No tape measure or other tools needed in mesauring things out but your body. btw measure of the kindling length described here is a cubit. Does Noah's ark ring a bell?

[Edwardo1993]

Thank you for the video, this is obviously an old, very well known method of starting a fire. I'm going camping tonight with a few friends and i just hope i can find enough dry wood to start a fire. But if i can't i'll try my best with some wet wood. It's worth a try as we really need a fire going. Thanks alot clarkegreen!

[letitgrow11]

the moral of the story is DRY WOOD ,

[hypermonkey13]

@letitgrow11 I think the moral of the story is ENOUGH WOOD, I've lit fire with pretty wet wood before, There is always a dead tree nearby with enough drywood to get it burning which drys out the wet wood.

[ssdeathbomb]

Thank you for this video.

I feel way more confident in starting my first fire than I did before I watched the video. I am going to have a great camping trip!

[rb1003]

Thanks man i forgot how to light a decent fire, as i have failed at scouts in the recent weeks.

[cdltpx]

YOu didn't fail if you have learned something? You uncovered a weakness as a result you have corrected it and will have mastered the survival skill of fire making. One of my favorite things to do is make a fire it eems to draw all in the family from our media infeted lifestyle to a premetive pastime that never gets old. Nothing will ever be a failure when you are learning.

[T1meW4st3d]

Well put my friend, there is something ancient and intuitively attractive about a wood fire outside.

[132reytjuh]

5/5

great video man

but will this also work with a swedish fire steel? or do you need other tinder then?

please respond

[TECHDECK2112]

@132reytjuh i realy dont think he got sufficent tinder but yes you would need better and more fine tinder

[MoreCleanFun]

@132reytjuh Yes, you'll need something finer for the firesteel to work. Like dead grass or brittle weeds crushed up a bit, lint, cotton balls, etc ...

Personally, a bic lighter weighs about the same and produces a perfect flame hundreds of times for around a dollar. You'll be happy you brought it.

Save your sparks for when civilization falls apart and you can't get lighters anymore.

[survivingwilderniss]

i know that bic lighters are nice but i just like to do it the real bushcraftway. i have nothing against people who use lighters but it's just not really my style

[EddieTLawson]

@132reytjuh

you'll need finer tinder,

like wood shavings for example.

[Asgardt]

@132reytjuh You probably already haven an answer by now, but if you use a firesteel, you need much smaller and more fibrous tinder (i.e. roughed up cloth/birchbark, dry grass, dry moss, etc.. as long as it's dry and fibrous).

:)

[reptileboy1000]

good vid and well spoke so clear

[francescaloves2hike]

Well done video! Thanks for posting.

[ballm0use]

dammit I've tried this five times and failed in rainy conditions. Like he said, it needs to be bone dry. It won't work when slightly wet.

[928bravo]

I once threw a coconut sized stone into a campfire. About an hour an a half later, the rock started to explode. Many loud explosions kicked out smaller sized, very hot smaller rocks everywhere. Any ideas how or why that happened?

[ChristianScherwin]

Some rocks are porous and contain water. When they get heated, the water contained in them will start to boil and the pressure causes the rock to explode. This can also occur with air pockets.

[928bravo]

The old wet rock in a campfire trick. Thanks for sheding some light on what happened that night. One other time, I was useing a long stick of bamboo to stir the fire when one of the segments of bamboo over heated and exploded. Wet rocks and bamboo = campfire nonos.

[Airsoft9eleven]

@928bravo

your rock was wet and the water started to boil and explode

so never put rocks in to a fire unless you 100% no its not wet and even if its not wet you shd still keep a distance

[Nighthawk961]

5/5!

[coolmike1989]

5 Stars!

[sexyskatersam]

wait! were NOT building a nuclear powerplant? hahaha

1:25

[DCAARLK1]

5:22 - 6:08 This time range makes a long story short for quick and easy to understand instructions.

[musclemaggg]

good video ,.God Bless

[ripperu]

i dont even no the man and i like him :)

also seems very educated

[tissotmotogp88]

great video man, and great tips. enjoyable to watch

[djtblizzle]

What about in the middle of the spring... not many dry sticks around for tinder...

[megakuli]

wow your great. thanks for the tips.

[KonstantinKuehn]

take some of the outer bark of birch trees and scrape the bark into a powdery goodness and it will light from just a couple sparks due to the oils in the bark!

[dinotastic127]

you r a very good tutor. kudos to you and thanks for the help. probably the most helpful video iv seen

[bestSVMS]

or another way is to cheat, since its a campfire anyway

just get lots of kindiling, or some fire starting stuff

and just light that, and skip the tinder

or if you have lots of extra space, bring alon a torch, and skip tinder, and you have to get less kindling

[LaneMaddox00]

sweet man that really helped

[invisiblegoalie]

if i had 50pcs of tinder(thumb to pinky length length),

will there be a difference if i used 100pcs tinder (half the size)?

just asking.. great video though! :D

[eclipsegreen]

This guy is awesome. Great video. Straight forward and useful. And he actually lights the fire! So many noobs on here just show you how to stack the wood. Keep these kind of videos coming. Oh and bad ass toque and beard too.

[puffinlittle]

Greetings,

I like your vid. It is great that you show ways to remember each size and amount. Don't really care what you call it just tell someone, " to get this much of dry wood this size." I also like the attitude that, "anyone can start a fire." Get folk to practice. Builds confidence and interest. Teach folk to be safe and give it a go. They will learn while having a good time.

pax,

[TheDomsta1119]

he says "ruffly" and "doesn't really matter" alot, but great vid!!

[adio387]

cool vid santa

[bean432]

nice video but your final fire with the fuel wood doesnt look like it wud last long, it just seems like scatered bits of flame like many of my failed fires lol

but it was relly helpful thanks.

[luvu2luvme]

not sure about the terminology used, maybe its different in the states,who cares ,as long as it doesnt cause confusion, love the vid,good advice about collecting all you need before you start your fire,,when you put the fuel on though ,its best to lay the logs horizontal an build a pyramid up,the fuel lasts longer this way,  o ooo ooooo ooooooo

is the side view hope this helps a bit more thnks for the vid'

[clarkegreen]

I use the term tinder in this video - some think that I am wrong. The whole point of the video is actually building a fire with a minimum of fuss, not arguing over terminology.

[kensho3]

tinder would be grasses. if you had one match only would you use sticks? I don't think so, babe.

[clarkegreen]

Perhaps there are grasses somewhere that burn long enough and hot enough to kindle a fire. But you are totally off the mark - tinder is whatever gets used to start the fire. I have built many fires just as the video shows - one match or no matches.

[boolykbol]

@clarkegreen I don't have match.I only have lighter for making fire.

[maximillianof98]

@clarkegreen shall i say the "tinder" clarke showed in the video is refer as "kindling" to most other people/video. so clarke is able to skip the tinder (dried grass, birch bark, cotton, cat tail down...) because he used a match. this is the advantage of using match/lighter, make life easier than using a firesteel.

[survivingwilderniss]

@kensho3 you can also say that in a normal way. you could also say: hey i think you made a mistake. isn't tinder meant to be grass and stuff?

and you saw him lighting the thing well so stop hating on people who try to help other people out!

[0takop]

Great video, Clark. 5 * material, sure enough.

It never ceases to amaze me how some would rather argue over semantics of terminology in a video instead of absorbing the lesson the video offers. I like to think of myself as the latter.

[LibertyNiko]

great tutorial man

[AIphanoob]

Santa i want a bike

[Nikodem9]

i love your videos there very usefull thanks for posting

[datbullshaad]

good job man. you made it sound simple even for the city slickers lol.

[reidio69]

yeah lol i thought he was gonna tell how to light the fire without a match or something

[HelmerandRawlins]

Nice video and good explanation of terminology. I always seem to go with a tipi style setup and I like putting together a fuel structure (before I even light the fire) using small or medium fuel logs so that the early stages of the fire start to heat and dry the fuel above.

Where I go camping they don't let you bring in your own wood and while I know my home kindling is free of bugs, I play by the rules. This means I must chop kindling from fuel logs and it's normally semi-damp.

[mindgame22]

thx man!!

[marcd1979]

Great video. Very instructional, I'll try it out tonight on our camping trip.

[Firepalm1234]

I just have one comment. (it's just a pet peeve) Tinder is the fuzz that catches very easily and kindling is the small sticks all the way up to the large logs. I believe it comes from the old tinderboxes carried by people traditionally, where inside would be charcloth or other fine fuzz that they wanted to keep very dry. Though I suppose you could argue that the very small sticks that you are using are the smallest thing in the pile, and therefore the tinder...Great video!

[courtjester24]

thats how its done! listen to this guy.

[BarronNevermore]

thanks alot

[nick11927]

i want to go out and start a fire now

safely of course lol..

[StormFlip]

Great vid.

So far its the first how to make fire video that was logical and was also made by someone with experience.

[MontyB94]

im australian and if you manage to find some dead Lantana grab a gum tree branch and start swinging at it. That works nicely for kindling/tinder

[sevenedges]

soak a cotton ball with vasoline. it makes you jump to the large stuff instantly. His large pile of wood sucked but maybe that is all he had. I go by the if you think your going to need a 4x8' pile get five times as much.

[PerianArdocyl]

This looks great for getting warm. What about a small one for cooking? Does one just use less wood?

[harry1995]

made me wanna make a fire=) helped a lot

[benenleander]

nice video !!!

[DriverInc]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

[philbiker3]

Who needs tinder when you have an esbit tab! Ha ha ha just kidding. No, but really!  Esbit tabs are awesome.

I usually pick up tinder from the forest floor.

[barneybros]

look how long the title is on the first related video lol

[TAYLOR439]

Great Video Thanks for Posting

[jthomp3120]

thanks

[memmnock]

A very informitive vid there ole timer ;) Good going !!

[NardDieHard]

hey nice vid were u out camping cause it sure looked like it thanks cause i thought kindling was the bigger wood. ANYBODY ADD ME AS A FRIEND SEND A MESSAGE TO BE MY FRIEND

[ZKOSS1]

Nice video.

Q. Could you ever stick a couple pieces of crumbled newspaper under the timder and kindling? Would that be appropriate?

[philbiker3]

You could, but the problem with newspaper is that it is so big and flat that it can wreak havoc with air cirulation, you often end up burning the newspaper and then having the tinder and kindling not catch! It's easier to just light the tinder directly.

[GreenManalichi]

I usually send my daughters out looking for wood for the camp while Im putting up tents. They normally bring me back all kindling LOL

[speedbmp]

Thanks for this video. I understand how to do this now. It always seemed so mysterious before.

[clearskyblue]

Nicely put together like the music!!

[dude340]

Excellent video. You seem like a very friendly person. Thanks!

[fishcontrol]

Excellent. Very informative!

[dominic2014]

Nice vid.

[wasatch45]

Good info, though a little too long.

Thanks

[sivazh]

Very good video. I like how you have guides for thickness and length for everything, very good rules of thumb and easy to remeber. Sitting around a campfire enjoying coffee, food and friends is such a pleasure.

[onewaga]

gd vid though if r useing any method but a match u will need afinner tinder and use what u said was tinder as kindling.

[StealthSamurai7771]

This really helped me!!! Thanks!

[johnnyboy922]

the first thing you said about not having wood ready is soooooo true i always make that mistake like ill get the tinder but then ill forget the kindling and ill have to go runn and grab some very good video