LTT – three points that give you the best firewood
Follow our three simple points (abbreviated LTT), and you will get wood that provides even and good heat, without too much smoke:
SLOW BURNING – Choose birch or other wood that burns slowly and doesn't crackle too much. Avoid spruce and aspen.
THIN WOOD – Use wood that has been split into thin sticks (about 2–4 cm thick). This will give you nice flames that don't smoke much.
DRY – Fire with dry wood, unless you intend to send out smoke signals... The wood should be so dry that two pieces of wood struck together make a sharp sound. Stack the wood correctly and get a good, hot fire To get the fire going, three things are needed (at the same time): Fuel, oxygen and heat. You can make a fire in several different ways. Pyramid fire and pagoda fire are two types of fire that burn well in a fire pit.
Pyramid fire
The pyramid fire is used as a base for lighting most types of bonfires. The fire is built from the inside.
- Start with a small, airy pile of kindling in the middle. You can use birch bark, wooden sticks or a few kindling briquettes.
- Place three small logs of wood leaning against each other to form a pyramid. Continue with slightly larger logs of wood.
- Position yourself so that you are shielded from the wind before lighting the fire.
- Once the fire is well-established, place some larger pieces of wood on the outside of the pyramid.
- Once you have a good amount of embers, feed the fire from time to time with thin pieces of wood.
Pagoda fire
A pagoda fire is versatile and can be built sparsely or densely:
Sparse pagoda fire – perfect for cooking because it burns quickly. This allows you to get started cooking the good stuff faster:
- Place two pieces of wood (approx. 4–8 cm thick) parallel, at a proper distance from each other.
- Place two new logs across the first layer.
- Make a small, airy pyramid in the middle.
- Light the fire before continuing to stack the logs two by two across each other, like a log house, in two more layers.
- Feed the fire from time to time with thin logs.
Dense pagoda fire – a perfect winter fire that burns more slowly. The fire warms frozen hands and children's cheeks very well.
- Stack four layers of wood across each other (in the same way as for a sparse pagoda fire, points 1 and 2, but with four parallel wood logs in each layer).
- Make a small pyramid on top and light the fire.
- Feed the fire gradually with thin logs. Feel free to continue stacking the wood according to the same pattern.
Proper firing when cooking over an open fire
Outdoor cooking should be fun, so it's a good idea to build a fire the right way.
If you follow our three points regarding firewood and stack it correctly, a lot will take care of itself.
It is wise to wait until you have a good fire going before you start cooking. This will take longer in the winter. Remember to feed the fire with thin logs from time to time.
