This is a great backpacking tip! John from IntenseAngler shows us his version of how to build a smokeless campfire. There is nothing worse than smoke in your face, or the smoke following you around when you’re just trying to relax and enjoy the warm campfire. As we all know, there are three things that allow a fire to burn at its maximum efficiency – oxygen, fuel and heat. The typical way we build a fire pit is to dig a hole and put a ring of rocks around it.
Here is how John’s version smokeless campfire differs from a normal fire pit. First of all, don’t dig a deep hole. Keep it shallow to allow air to flow below it. This allows more oxygen to flow under the fire. Next find some rocks for the fire ring. Make sure you get one larger rock with a flat surface on one side. Then ring the hole with average size rocks, leaving a gap in front of the fire ring at the opposite side of the flat rock. This allows the oxygen to flow under the fire, creating a better burn. The large flat rock works as a backstop for the smoke allowing it to flow in one direction and not swirl around and follow you. I’m definitely going to try this method of building a smokeless fire pit on my next camping trip.