A new trend in campfires has been making waves in the camping community over the last few years. Some call it the “upside down fire,” and it is literally flipping around everything you may think you already know about building a campfire. Most people build a fire at the campsite or in their backyard fire pit by putting tinder and small pieces of kindling at the base of the fire, then stacking larger pieces of wood around that in a log cabin or teepee formation. The tinder ignites the kindling, which in turn burns the larger pieces of wood.
There’s nothing wrong with this method. It’s pretty tried and true and there’s no doubt that it works well. Enter the “self-feeding campfire.” This simple fire building technique is almost identical to the standard method, with the main difference being that it’s upside down. You build a base of the largest logs, then criss cross more logs in a square on top of them, using the log cabin method to leave some space for airflow. Finally, you top the pile with your kindling and tinder. Ignite the tinder as always, and the fire begins to burn.
This is called a self-feeding campfire because the embers from the top fall down and ignite the lower logs, creating a long burning, self sustaining fire. These types of fires can burn for several hours without needing additional logs added to keep it going. There are numerous videos making the rounds demonstrating building an upside down campfire and showing how long they can last. This technique can keep your fire going through the night without anyone having to leave the warmth of their sleeping bag in order to tend to the coals. Give it a try on your next camping trip and judge for yourself!
Check out this video for a quick tutorial on building your next self-feeding campfire!
Featured Image from Timo C. Dinger/Unsplash
