Upside down fire The best fire you'll
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- In this video I will show you how to build an upside-down fire also known as a pyramid fire. Now before you get all crazy the fire isn't "actually" upside-down, it simply burns from the top down. Unlike traditional fire starting methods taught by the Boy Scouts and military that rely on the log cabin or tee-pee method the upsidedown fire has some very useful applications.
Here are some of the benefits and best use cases for this type of fire.
1. Cooking - as this fire heats up it will consume itself from the top down allowing it to stay very hot considering the fuel it consumes is below it.
2. Fireplaces - due to the nature of the fire burning top-down it generates an immense amount of heat and does not require tending.
3. Windy conditions - although it seems counterintuitive this fire does very well in high wind conditions.
4. Snow and ice - with snow on the ground you want the heat of the fire to be removed from the frozen ground.
5. NO BABYSITTING - my most favorite aspect of this fire is not needing to babysit or mess with the kindling or logs. This give your more time to worry about cooking or visiting with friends. Check out this video for a side-by-side comparison of the pyramid fire verses the tee-pee fire: • Video
6. Very hot! - because logs are not covering the fire and the coals are top this fire burns hot.
Here are some of the downsides to this type of fire.
1. Wet wood - because the fire is on top of the pile the heat does not dry out the wood below it effectively. If the fuel wood has been left outside it will burn very slowly.
2. Raining - again since the fire is started on top if it is raining with any type of vigor you will have a bad time, try instead the tee-pee method.
3. A lot of fuel - In order to enjoy this fire for an evening of trouble free maintenance you'll need a number of logs witch is hard to come by in some cases like backpacking.
4. Emergencies - again because this fire needs fuel if you are in an emergency situation you might not have the time to properly gather the wood. When it is life/death situation get something going quick with what you have, a tee-pee fire with twigs would be a good first options.
5. Very hot! - because logs are not covering the fire and the coals are top this fire burns hot, so do not park your tent right next to this fire. Make sure to try this fire out before you burn down your campsite.
The fire in this video took place in a state park that does not allow for outside wood. I apologize if that offends the extreme flat landers arm chair quarterbacking from their couch but I won't be ticketed over a simple demonstration.
Now this is how you create a bonfire that not only sure to impress your friends but give you lots of s'more making capabilities.
Watch the EchelonMedia Outdoors videos here on this playlist: • Upside down fire Th...
Not bad. Have to tried putting a little dirt between the logs. This prevents coal from reaching the way bottom and catching the bottom on fire therefore defeating the purpose of this long lasting flame. Adding a little dirt between the crevasses will make sure each layer burns out completely then the next layer will catch on fire. This causes some smoke, the flame will not be as big, but in return your fire lasts crazy long. Build it high enough and you got yourself an all night fire. Much love and once again, great video!
Nice vid dude,in all my years of camping and bush fires I've never made an upside down fire so next time I go out will be sure to try it thanks for taking the time in posting.
Unlike some of the rest of you, I actually went out and tried this in my fire pit... And it works really well! I was impressed! And I have a decent amount of camping, kayaking experience and even took a survival course. Have done it several times now. Very efficient, low maintenance, long lasting. Maybe not the best for cooking, but in a survival situation would keep you warm a long time before you needed to add more wood. Great video!
It worked well for me. These people are criticizing something they dont know about. Thank you sir for this video.
I tried this method of making a fire today and I find it really good and it last for a long time. I stacked six logs in a pagoda system and lit it on top with tinder and kindling. Thanks for sharing and I think this is the best method of starting a fire you can think of as long you have decent logs to build with.
I am a Native American Hunter/Outdoorsman/Survivalist that has been in Leadership roles for 2 Tribes and I Enjoyed this video. I make what most people call "Tee Pee" fires over a bed of wood similar to this video. As for bringing "store bought" wood, WHY NOT?! It's a form of conservation similar to buying store bought salmon instead of killing wild Coho. This is a happy soul I would enjoying sharing a fire and stories with. Too many griping "arm-chair" outdoorsmen that are jealous posting here.
We tried this recently in Wyoming and it worked great. I think the key is that the wood we used was all dry. There are many ways to build a fire and now I have another method when the conditions are right.
My Dad, a WWII Vet, learned this during the war, he taught it to me, and I've been using it for a burn all night warmth fire ever since. It really doesn't last all night, but you can catch some decent ZZZ's before you have to stoke it again. I generally keep a second pile of wood to recreate a second one, but it doesn't last as long, but still longer than a teepee.
Well that does make sense then.
I gotta admit, when I first noticed the "gas station wood" I thought to myself "that crap wood is good for demonstration, but not for actual camping" and you certainly proved that wrong!
I couldn't find a comment if I'd posted one before, butt his works so well that I must give it credence again. Thank you. Told friends about it, but they won't listen because they're dumb. I love it.
I did this twice while camping this week. It worked GREAT for me. I set the tinder on fire and that was it for getting the fire going. I started the fire first and by the time I had finished dinner prep, a good fire was going.
I enjoyed your video very much. I am a Bushcraft instructor and have worked everything from kids camps to being a wilderness consultant for the Discovery Channel and I think this is a brilliant fire design. An added plus is when building a fire on wet ground. This method allows the fire to heat much better as it doesn't wick so much moisture from the ground. Great job, and you have such an easy uplifting manner about you, another very good trait. Thank you.
I've been using both methods - top down and bottom up - the combination works VERY well. :)
This is awesome. Thank you for posting it. I have been making this fire in my wood stove and it works great! It doesn't actually burn any longer than my regular fire - probably because of the kind of wood I burn - but it burns HOT. Maybe because the flame is closer to the roof of the stove? Anyway, it heats up my house much faster and the stove top gets much hotter, so it works way better for cooking. I love it! And to those folks who have nothing better to do than watch UA-cam videos and insult the people who made them, I have two comments: (1) try it before you knock it; you might actually learn something, and (2) get a life.
I began a Tepee man, but I believe I have been converted. I always liked a pyramid, and I always liked seeing things from another angle - it always works better that way. Thanks EM. I will take this with me and turn it into good campy happiness!
Brilliant, an excellent demonstration of this method. many are correct that if you NEED a fire quickly this may not be the best option, but otherwise its absolutely effective. starting the fire is my first priority at camp, using this method I can build, and start the fire, and by the time I finish setting up camp and unpacking the fire is ready to be used for cooking, illumination, and warmth. And will burn well into the night. I use this method in my Biolite stove and get an 1:23 of cook time.
I have used a combination of the two methods for a long time, and I find it works best to have that (up-side down) as a base and a small version of the traditional teepee method on top. This way you get a base that builds to be hot coals and the teepee on top that has a heavier stick covering to help keep cinders from the tendering from floating off, and starting other fires in the area, from the wind.
Thanks for your video! here's a little trick for your style fire- which we do all the time!!...take a ziplock bag and put about 10 pieces of the self starting charcoal briquettes inside, place them between layer 2 and three of your logs and light the briquettes- fast, clean , easy and no tinder required....thanks again!
As as a boyscout we tried about ten different types and always challenged ourselves to use just one match. Once I discovered the log cabin style fire it was all over! It's truly THE BEST.
When I was in Boy Scouts this is always how you'd make your fire. This way the fire on top drops onto the bigger stuff below... A small log cabin or tipi on top will make a better starter if the wood was a little wet or if there was some wind.
makes sense, the whole idea of making a good fire is letting the fire breath better, especially when starting a fire. Also the hot coals will land on the fresh unburnt wood. I like it! Next project is using paper bricks for fuel, like books. GOOD JOB here.
Thank you for the demonstration! I'll have to give this a shot. We use a wood stove for heat during winter, and a slow burning fire would help us tremendously.
But you haters are pathetic. Oh no, he had the nerve to build a campfire differently than you! How terrible! Not everyone uses a fire for the same thing you use one for. Your arrogance is astounding! So what if he buys wood? So what if his family uses a campground?? At least they are out enjoying the outdoors, not at home, on the sofa watching TV.
Thanks for the support for the best way to start a fire, especially in the house and in a woodstove because it preheats the flu I've done a multiple times in open fireplaces wood stove inserts and stove freestanding wood stoves and it works perfect every time instead of smoking the house up and spending an hour babysitting the fire putting a twig on here and there and another piece of wood and another piece of wood you can light one match walk away and come back I call it fire and forget!!!
I have buily alot of fires in my time, but this is the first time I have ever seen one built like this. This is pretty neat!!
Thanks so much for the great video! This is such an awesome fire! Once I lit the top starter fire, I didn't have to touch it again. Totally maintenance free fire! Set it and forget it. All I had to do is sit back and soak up the warmth!
Thanks for the post. I can't wait to try it...I was laughing that I have been building tee pee fires for 35 years and 3 of those were in the Special Forces. I never thought about doing it another way but this way seems to makes sense, a more efficient use of resources. I never heard of a rocket stove before reading this page, so thats were I'm off to now. I dug it man.
Lived in the mountains most all my 50 years and the one tool that is always with me even hiking is my beloved self igniting propane plumbers torch.
Good video!
I do this sometimes while camping.
When i decide to get some sleep I build a stack like that next to my current fire, and shovel up some of the hot coals on the stack, along with some branches.
It will keep you warm for a few hours, while you can still use your old fireplace to get heat, for instance brush away the hot coals and build your bedding on, and get some nice heat from underneath or just build the fires on opposite sides of your bedding.
I like it. I started teaching that method 2 years ago on my website bplite. It is the most efficient way to build a fire. For small wood stoves I stack my twigs verticle and top light. My folding woodgaz stove comes with a video showing the procedure. I first learned of this method from a Canadian company that makes residential wood burning stoves. Thanks for sharing this technique.
I can’t wait to practice this all by myself. I took notes so it shouldn’t be a problem.
I use this technique myself. Recently did an 8 day BWCA trip with my wife and used a hybrid method of this fire type. Very limited by the designated fire pits that they require campers to use, hence the hybridization. I made a short video about it and also referenced yours, I hope you don't mind.
Improvised Survival Video 3 Reversed Dakota Fire Hybrid
I have never tried to build a fire like this. I always build my fires in the traditional tee pee manor with the smaller bits of kindling on the bottom. I will have to try this out just for fun the next time I go for a camping trip to see if it works out better for me. Thanks alot.
Cool vid. Thanks for mentioning the various times at which the fire was burning. Will def try this next time I'm out camping.
I have seen millions of ways to build a fire, and I thought I was pretty damn good at it, thanks for this video, you owend me on this one.
I've built plenty of campfires, so I was a little skeptical, but I'm gonna try this. It looks like it will really give a long lasting fire. Thanks for the tip!
When i was a kid a friend of mine's father would start a fire in their wood burning stove in the fall and keep it going till springtime.. Good video
Nice video! They really are great fires. I like to start with halves then move to quarters, then eights and so on. I find there is a smoother transition from level to level.
yup! made one at the beach about a week ago, now my friends love em.
What a cool idea. I have always stacked the wood for fires in more traditional ways, but I am going to give this a try. It seems as though it will be very efficient, so I am going to find out for myself. Thank you for this interesting idea.... and right when I have a bunch of dead-fall to burn.
Good idea ! I will have to try it this way next time I go camping . Thanks for the video and pretty cool !!
I think it's great the way he successfully crammed 1 minutes information into 9:20.
Great work! Going to try this in our fireplace at home tonight. Thanks.
Everyone one on here is such the best outdoorsmen ever shut up do things how you like and make your own videos if you know so much.
This is definitely the best fire I’ll.
Excellent presentation of this firelay. Nice job.
There should be a requirement to read the content included beneath the title of the video before being allowed to post comments. In this case, so many of commenters with nothing better to do than be negative would see that you covered all the cons of this firelay very well, and explained why you used the firewood bundles that you used.
I like to use this method when getting a fire started for dutch oven cooking, where I need good coals quick as possible. I make rectangle shape fire and use more square type cut wood so I leave about three fingers space between them so the kindling fire falls between them. The triangle split wood will have this space already. Flames up quick and makes a good bed of burning coals. I have never had to restart this type of fire......great!!
Great video!!! I will definitely try this next time I go camping!! Thanks!!
Had never tried this before until viewing this video and I have to say it worked very well. Thanks for sharing.
...definitely thinking outside of the box...educational...thanks for sharing.
Pretty kewl. This will def be useful for me. Start the fire bout 1pm, go off and do some gold pannin, then come back a few hours later and its ready to cook on.
I always chop my own wood , Its sad seeing wood in plastic bags ,
GADFLOW State park, not allowed, otherwise I would have.
+EchelonMedia I don't understand why they can't bundle firewood with some string or rope like they used to do. Single use plastic is so very bad for the environment.
+abba dabba Enviroterrorist are like watermelons. All green on outside but commie red to the core.
GADFLOW I totally agree
The reason that the wood is restricted to that cut locally is to try to limit the chances of infectious diseases carried by some insects in wood brought from farther areas.
I can it the "Fire and Forget" method, because you can light one match l and walk away come back an hour later "oh yeah, I should check it," and put your second log on the Fire an extra log whatever.
It works in wood stoves works and inserts.
I mentioned it one time to a friend he said well I want to fire right now I don't want to wait an hour so he proceeded to build his log Cabin fire and smoke the entire house up to the point we had to open the windows and the doors. The nice thing about this is it preheats the stove flue pipe. You have to do that anyway you can light a bunch of paper somebody but it makes that happen and it heat rises so it causes draft which increases the chance of the fire succeeding.
There are many ways to build and start a fire for many different conditions. This is fine if you want a long, slow burning fire at a campground or in your back yard and have seasoned, dry wood and the weather is fine. Any scout could build a better fire in a damp forest and be cooking on it long before you could using this method. Having said that, I may try this next time I want a slow burning fire to sit around. Thanks for sharing it.
Good technique it does work well. Thanks for taking the time to share
Awesome video. Thanks for posting! I'll have to try it next weekend with my favorite (and only) nephew.
it's amazing how people posting on the internet are good at everything!
That's a pretty cool way to make your fire last a whole lot longer. You should do a video where you time the different techniques to show what the burn rates are.
Thats neat man, thanks for sharing, Ive been an outdoors person all my life, hunting fishing, camping ect. but Ive never seen this. I like it because it will burn slow and long especially if you used some green wood on the bottom, as the coals filtered down slowly it would eventually lite the greener would and insure a lot of coals even a day or so later. I like it.
Cool video , thanks for the info I am going to try it this coming week-end when my cousin and wife come up here in central Michigan .
The type of wood and how tightly you pack the layers together makes a big difference.
I use both types of fire building. For a quick stop cooking session you can't beat teepee fires. If you want a fire to last a while so you can sit around it, and not have to maintain it as often, then this method is better. We call them drop fires. I agree with him, its a good method, but both methods have their place.
well at first i thought it would fail but .. i eat my words. well done man i would have never tried that method
Thanks for the video. I'll try it next weekend!
Thanks for the video, i will try your methods of making here in rainy sweden!
I thought it was a cool fire and wanted to share it. I had no intention that it would get so much attention.
Great video!
A hybrid of a tradition setup with some logs under it may be the best for fast startup and a longer burntime.
I'm going to try this out tonight nice tutorial.
YES, I love making these in fireplaces, burns hot and don't have to mess with it.
That's kinda neat, I'll have to give it a try.
Hey that was pretty cool. Thanks for sharing. I'm a city boy just checking out how I would do things if I were in the wild.
Cool man thanx showing me something new.
Im impressed
Okay, I see yr concept, the complete burning of the wood with less ash is interesting. Might get going faster as a teepee/usd hybrid (an 'hourglass' fire?), with more wood on top. The fire needs to hold its heat to get going, so some shelter from additional wood on top would give that shelter and airflow both at once.
I have lay my fair square(no pun) of fire across the land, and I really think its badass. There are places here in the southeast that it wouldnt work. There is a lot more humidity here, but the next fir I build will be this one. I like it, a lot.
I have never tried this method, but will give it an honest go before I slam it or praise it. I always start my fires with a teepee or lean-to. Once you get your bed of coals, with any method, it doesn't matter. Have a good day.
I get it! I see how creating the levels keeps the fire going.
We build big fires of that design down at my river cabin. I cut my wood at a custom length for my fire pit and I get an a very hot and even camp fire. My cousin started building that style fire about 25 years ago and we have stuck with it. When we have parties people always comment on how great our fires are. A good fire can be the perfect panty dropper as we have discovered over the years, Hell it even gets my wife in the mood and she is one icy bitch.
That's pretty cool man. I'll have to try it out this weekend.
This is a good idea if you want the fire to last a long time with very little wood added. I think I will use this next time I go winter camping, I really don't like to stay awake all night feeding the fire :p
top burn fire from the Swedes, we complete our yearly family reunion with a top burn fire, but our wood is 5 foot logs on the first two layers then a little shorter for the next two layers etc, until the kindling pyramid on top , burns all night and no one has to mess with it
Wow, I've never found any of those pre-cut seasoned logs wrapped in cellophane when I go camping. I have to cut and use the damp stuff I find in the woods. I believe I'm going to have to stick with the good ole right side up fire to kind of dry out the wood as it burns from the bottom.
Love that idea if you could enclose it the lower smoke would burn off on the way up giving you more of a smokless fire
i am going to give it a try this weekend. Good video man
Love your comment, People should be more positive to those who are active and doing rather than tossing out negative comments.
i been ta 3 county fairs and aint seen nothin to beat it! she looks good too
Why is it called an upside down fire?
It's just a standard fire on a log base. Heat still rises and fire doesn't have a problem spreading.
its the same as a downside up fire but with a log base.
WHOA THATS THE BEST FIRE I'VE
Very cool. I will have to try that.
Interesting concept. I have been teaching fire-building to students of the outdoors for over 40 years and I never saw this type of fire before. Building a fire from the top down flies in the face of physics. Heat always rises. That is why fires are built from their base upward, adding successively larger fuel as you go up. In a Survival/SHTF situation you want to get a fire going as fast as possible. The Boy Scouts, the military, and others have taught fire-building from the bottom up since forever, because the heat of the flames at the bottom can heat up and even dry out the larger materials placed above the flame. You may not have some nice logs that are so conveniently available at the convenience store. You may have wet materials, snow on the ground, a rainstorm, high winds, or all of the above. You lit the fire at about 3:30 in the video. At 8:00 you state the it has now been about 20 minutes since the fire was lit. At that point, you have 2 layers of your stack of logs burning. That's great if you have the time. A bottom-up fire (whether teepee or log cabin style) would have been burning 2-3 layers of logs in half that time - providing heat for cold people and creating a layer of coals for cooking that much faster. This fire will produce a large supply of coals, which is the best way to cook on a wood fire. But to wait the time required (20 minutes - you have got to be kidding!) to get the lower materials burning in spite of physics may actually prevent you from getting the fire going in less-than perfect conditions. You can't rely on always having perfect fuel, perfect weather, or perfect anything else. Check out Murphy's Law. Just because you can make a fire this way does not mean that there are reasons to add this type of fire to my repertoire of fire-building.
sargemsb survival vs enjoying a great fire are two different things. in one case you are trying to get as warm as possible as quickly as possible and would want to start a bottom up (cabin/teepee) fire that consumes everything as quickly as possible. this fire is for enjoying a nice hot long lasting fire. i've built these on the north shore of lake superior with the snow, wind and waves. it did great once lit. but if you don't have a lighter or few matches you wouldn't want to risk it. the wind on dry tender makes a nice fire very quickly and because it is self consuming (top/down) it lasts a very long time without having to mess with it.
For a fire you can enjoy for a long time, I guess it now makes sense. I'll give it a try next time.
hey man, its kool. I luv the outdoor life of camping. I will give it a try. Thank you
great video bro. i'll try this one out. i was always do the opposite putting the smaller pieces in the bottom.
An upside down Pyramid??? Looks exactly like a normal Pyramid to me.
i love this way. I finally stop smoking up my cheminy. slow start with almost no smoke
swedish torches are awesome!!! you can help them get going with a bit of pine resin :)
Upside down fires rock, use themem for parties, wood stoves, and in the field.
I do this in my fireplace. I use trailer flooring from demolition of semi box-trailers. A stack of 1.25 inch thick 12-inch wide 20-inch long 9 pieces high, then a tinder fire on top. Advantage: light and ignore. No open doors after the tinder is going. Slow controlled burn, top down. Up to 12 hours; now this is not in a stove you can regulate the air in! I have a 5-year supply, from wrecking 140 shipping containers. The absolutely finest firewood (oak) and it has no chemical treatments!
AMEN!!!! Great Job!
idk i personally like the reverse fire its easy and burns well i just like to put a log cabin on top of the debris for security
The Tepee method tends to work better for me in particular, since it requires the same amount of tinder but lights quicker because heat rises. With this method, sure the tinder and kindling gets more oxygen, but it burns too slowly for just a couple of days at a camp out. I say this because at a camp out you don't wanna need to watch the fire all day and night due to a slow burn. I do agree that this "upside down fire" lasts very long, but a tepee can also last just as long if you do it right.
Interesting technique. Looks a bit slower to start but gives good combustion over time without a lot of shifting as the wood burns down. Camera technique was pretty bad, though. Get a tripod to make your shots steadier. Turn the camera of when you move it. You will like the results a lot better.
Cabela's tent + nice babe = great camping!
Damn this guy is good he should get a patent on that cuz he just invented fire. Whoopeeee!!