Whether outdoors or inside, we need and use fire for heating of food and ourselves. The need is a core part of human existance and survival, and often under-appreciated in the modernised world.

Here’s a quick run down of our best tips and tricks, from what we like to call “firecraft”.
Many things will create a glowing ember, and provide ongoing fuel, but some are more reliable, findable or portable than others.

We at Trex Explore enjoy taking living back to the basics, whilst maintaining some comforts, in order to rekindle that appreciation of fundamental skills and needs. We encourage and support you to experience it too.
We’ll stuff our pockets with kindling whilst on a hike; revel in the self-satisfaction of building and lighting a fire from scratch; savour campfire food tinged with smoke; and then enjoy those following moments staring at the flickering flames, feeding a fire with new fuel.

Four basic ingredients and a handful of other guidelines and tips.

• Sparks (without a traditional match)
  Ferrocerium rods and steel strikers are always a favourite, but need reliable tinder to catch the spark (see next heading!).
  Electrical shorts using a battery and wire-wool, feels like something of a cheat as it’s very much man-made, but works well.
  Friction between wood, usually as bow or hand drill, is the most naturally-sourced but does take more work to prepare and use.

• Tinder
  Recycled-paper tissue, possibly due to its slightly-coarse texture after processing, is good for catching a spark and steadily glowing, requiring some work.
  Thistle fluff, flares up well, as initial flame, but needs catching by secondary tinder, and only available at certain times of the year.
  Hemp twine or similar natural fibre (including cotton wool), is particularly useful to carry for many purposes and reliable for catching a spark, to create a decent few seconds of flame.

• Kindling
  Pine or birch twigs, burning quick and hot and still good in damp conditions.
  Wood shavings, plenty from fresh dry sticks, cut long and thin.
  Bark pieces, ideally from pine or birch where sap content is high.

• Accelerators (in case of poor fuel, or poor conditions)
  High-strength alcohol, such as isopropynol, often carried with a spray delivery.
  Beeswax (or even lip-balm), applied to tinder in advance, or carried.
  Natural resin, collected where it has already oozed from trees of the pine family.

• Campfire Tips
  Always clear the ground back to soil and if possible build a psudo-hearth fire surround with stones to contain the fire; being careful to use dry stones to avoid risk of shattering.
  Consider your fire position and base, to ensure safe location versus shelters and surroundings - don't let sparks set fire to anything around you!
  Cook tinned items, after opening, by simply sitting them in the coals, when enough embers have formed.
  Rocks, sat alongside the fire can collect plenty of heat, suitable for heating water or being carried as a form of bedding-heating (but be very cautious of singeing!)
  Other foodstuff can be cooked on the stones alongside the fire, suspended in a fireproof container or via some form of grill.
  Add fuel as needed to sustain your fire, being conscious of keeping it a manageable size, within your constructed hearth.
  Break up embers as you finish with the fire, to disperse the heat; be cautious that the rocks and ground can maintain heat for hours, so ensure it is cool and will not reignite before leaving the site.

Enjoy building and using a fire. Respect and be proud of your ancient firelighting skills!
We'll show you how - most overnight Trex Explore outings include firecraft.
https://www.trexexplore.co.uk/book-in