Are you planning a camping trip and need to know what to bring along to start a fire? I’ve recently gotten into making grab-and-go emergency kits for my bug-out bag, and I decided to make a fire starter kit to make camping a snap! This post will tell you what to buy ahead of time (and where to find it), what to gather, and how to start a fire for your perfect camping trip! It includes a free digital download to take with you on the road.

What to Take With You

Before you even leave on your trip, make sure you know how you’re planning to start your fire. If you want to make your own fire starter kit, here are some supplies you should definitely include:

• Strike Anywhere Matches – matches should obviously be in any fire starter kit, but be careful they don’t get wet – $6.90 for a box of 300
• Small Plastic Bags – so your matches don’t get wet – $6.09 for 500
• Lighter – just in case, take a lighter with you – $5.99 for a pack of 5
• Magnesium Fuel Bar – makes for great fire-starter – $5.15 for 1
• Trick Relighting Birthday Candles – these candles won’t go out in the wind so you can hold a flame to your tinder for longer – $6.26 for a pack of 10
• Cotton balls soaked in Petroleum Jelly– this makes a great super-charged tinder if you’re having problems getting your fire to light- $5.00 for two packs of 100 + $1.69
• Altoids – eat a tin of Altoids to use the empty tin as storage for your supplies – $5.84 for 1

Psst! All of this costs over $40 just for supplies to make a fire! If you want to save some money (and storage space in your pantry), check out the Road Trip Soul store (coming soon!) for fire starter kits that cost less than $20. 

What to Gather For Your Fire

Once you’re ready to start gathering fuel for your fire, you should look for the following:

1. Tinder – small materials you can form into a little ball of fire starting goodness
2. Kindling – medium-sized materials that will easily catch on fire once exposed to a flame for a prolonged period of time
3. Fuel Wood – larger materials to keep your fire going

All of your wood should be dry and brittle to make sure it easily burns.

How to Start a Fire

Now it’s time to start your fire!

1. Build a ring out of stones at least six feet away from your tent or any trees or shrubs.
2. Bunch your tinder into a small ball in the middle of the ring.
3. Stack your kindling over the tinder in the shape of a small teepee so that as the flames and heat rises from your tinder, it will catch the kindling on fire.
4. Using one of the methods above, light your tinder on fire. Blow gently on it so that the oxygen feeds the flame.
5. Once your kindling is burning, stack the fuel wood around the flame in a log cabin pattern to allow air flow between the wood. Enjoy!

And there you go! Do you have any other tips for people who are trying to start a fire? Leave a comment below and let them know. 🙂 – Lindsay

 

Free Digital Download!

Click here to download and print this infographic for your next trip!