This is a thread a long time coming...

With five trioxine bars, 100 vaseline impregnated cotton balls, a can of Coleman fuel, Quick-Tabs soaked in Kerosene, my last roll of T.P., the Money section from the paper (what do I need that for?), a squeeze bottle of lighter fluid, Magnesium bar and Double mill Bastard file, and the last of the gas siphoned out of my truck, my 70# pull PSE compound bow (that's how you make a fire bow, right?) I think I ought to be able to get a fire satarted. Now, where did I put those matches....

Now, both the tipi and lean-to style fires have their advantages. The tipi is a bit easier to light, but the lean-to is much better to cook over. So, here's what I do...

I take the largest log that I have available and lay it on the ground, preferably parallel with the wind. If you don't have any large logs available, you can accomplish the same affect by piling several moderate logs on top of each other.

I then build a small tipi fire in the center of the main log, as close to it as possible. This fire is usually less than 1ft. tall and I feed it for afew munites to establish a good coal bed.

As that fire is burning, I build a lean-to over it and begin laying horizontal logs around the rest of the perimiter of the fire. When the lean-to is burning, I'm then able to lay horizontal logs accross my main log and onto my perimiter logs directly above my fire.

This has worked very well for me in the past. It's a combination of the tipi and lean-to and I think it's the best fire if you plan on camping/cooking. Once the coal bed is established, it doesn't matter too much how you add fuel, as long as you don't choke the fire.

thoughts and comments?

--Luke