Get cosy this winter with a warm, crackling campfire. Whether you’re looking to warm your hands up, relax and unwind, toast marshmallows or share stories, campfires are a great way to stay connected to nature and bring each other together.
We’ve put together all the campfire essentials you need to enjoy the colder weather to its fullest. Carry on reading to unlock all our favourite 6 campfire essentials you need.
How To Prepare For a Campfire
Although in TV shows and movies it might seem like campfires can be easily set up, having a checklist of campfire essentials can ensure you’re prepared with everything you need. Here’s our top 6 campfire essentials that’ll help keep your prepared for a campfire:
6 Campfire Essentials:
1. Backpack
We’re not expecting you to carry all 6 camping essentials in your hand, which is why we recommend introducing a high-quality backpack to keep your camping essentials secure. Especially if you’re hiking to your perfect campfire location, having a sturdy bag like our Fraser The Rucksack, will provide you with 32L of space for you to comfortably get in all your necessities.
This purpose-built backpack makes even the heaviest items easy and comfortable to carry thanks to the ergonomic foam padded shoulder straps and back panel. Choose from two stylish colours; Moss and Graphite Grey and feel prepared for a campfire.
2. Firewood
Keeping your campfire a light can be high maintenance, which is why it’s crucial to have plenty of firewood in your campfire pack. We’d specifically recommend hardwoods like oak, maple or walnut to slow down the burning and help make your campfire last longer.
You might want to store this firewood in our Utility Pouch Roll-Top so you can easily locate your wood and prevent any wood chippings becoming loose in your bag.
3. Lighter and Matches
Unless you want to rub two sticks together, having a lighter or some matches is an essential to a campfire. Not only will it allow you to quickly get the campfire started, but it also allows you to quickly rescue it, if it starts to go out. It might be handy to keep these secure in an easily accessible pocket or utility pouch for you to grab out, hassle free.
4. Blanket
Elevate the comfort while sitting round the fire with some blankets. Not only will you they give you’re an additional layer to keep nice and snug, but they’ll work as a nice seat, if you don’t have room or budget to get camping chairs.
5. Cooking Utensils
Whether you’re planning on cooking a main meal or just some snacks, cooking utensils will give you the flexibility. The main cooking utensils we recommend you packing are the following:
- Long metal skewers
- Cooking spoons
- Pots and pans
- Tupperware
- Cutlery
As these items can take up a lot of room in your rucksack, we’d recommend packing these utensils in our packing cubes. Available individually in small, medium and large or altogether in our Packing Cube Set of 3, these packing cubes help you pack efficiently and are the perfect solution for those looking for extra organisation
Packing cubes also come especially handy when separating dirty utensils away from any clothes when packing up the next day.
6. Marshmallows
One of the most important campfire essentials has to be marshmallows. A campfire isn’t a campfire without toasting marshmallows or making smores. Simply pop your marshmallows on the end of your metal skewers and enjoy!
How To Build a Campfire
Now you’ve got all your campfire essentials, you now have everything you need to build a campfire. Follow these step-by-steps on how to build a campfire:
1. Choose a Safe Spot
Pick an area to start your campfire, where you’re free from any camping gear that could catch a light, dead branches overhead and dry grass/bushes. This will ensure you’re starting your fire in the safest location possible.
2. Dig a Dent into The Ground
Once you’ve found a spot that’s safe enough for you to start building your campfire, we recommend creating a dent into the ground. This will act as a stabiliser when you build your campfire and help collect any of the ashes.
3. Have a Bucket of Water Handy
Before you start your campfire, it is important to have extinguishing tools, such as water that you can rely on if the fire starts to get out of control or if you’re finished with you’re campfire you don’t have to leave it unattended.
4. Gather Tinder and Kindling wood
Gather together any leaves, dry bark, twigs or branches and place them in a pile. This will be used as a starting point of the campfire, as it will help catch a light quicker than the firewood.
5. Stack The Firewood
Over the tinder and kindling wood, stack the firewood round in a shape of a teepee shape. While making this shape, it’s important you leave space in the direction of the wind, so air can flow through.
6. Light Your Fire
Bring a piece of tinder close to the match or lighter and wait until it catches fire. Once it’s caught fire put it down and wait for the rest of the wood to catch light. You might want to light multiple tinder wood to speed up this process, but be extremely careful when doing so.
7. Add Firewood
Keep close attention to your campfire and when you notice the wood starting to disintegrate, carefully add more firewood to the pit.
How To Put Out a Campfire
When you’ve finished toasting your marshmallows, telling stories and are ready to go bed, it’s important to put out your campfire correctly so you can prevent forest fires, protect the wildlife and ecosystem.
Here’s how to put out a campfire safely:
- Wait until the flames are burnt down
- Spread the firewood and tinder wood down
- Douse the campfire with water
- Rough down the firewood and tinder wood down
- Repeat until the fire pit is cold
- Apply sand or dirt as a an added safety precaution on top of the fire pit
If you’re looking for more ways to embrace the outdoors, check out our guide here:
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