“Surface area is the key to a hotter
fire,” says Daniel Leavell, an assistant
professor in Oregon State University’s
Department of Forest Engineering,
Resources and Management. He explains
it this way: If you had to choose between
an 8-by-12-inch log and 32 quarter-inch
sticks with an equivalent volume and
moisture content, you will have a much
easier time igniting the bundle of sticks.
That’s because the bundle’s surface area
is nearly 4.5 times greater than the sin-
gle log’s. That means you can spread outthe sticks to create the necessary influx
of oxygen to start and feed the fire.
Once your fire is built, surface area
remains just as important of a fac-
tor. Many people make the mistake of
only adding large logs once their fire is
going strong. This results in a fire with
less surface area to catch on, which
burns cooler, and cooler fires are less
efficient. The fuel they don’t consume
becomes smoke. Save your eyes from
the harsh sting by feeding your fire
with various sizes of logs.power bank with two USB
ports and connects to Bio-
Lite’s app, where you can
change the brightness
and color, transform it
into an alarm, and even
program it to turn on or
off when you leave your
campsite.- BEST FIRE PIT
BioLite FirePit $250
We haven’t tested a more
feature-rich portable
fire pit than BioLite’s. Its
removable battery pack
powers a three-speed fan,
which pumps air through
51 jets, helping quicken
the burn and cut down
on smoke. Plus, its USB
output lets you charge
devices—during our test-
ing, it provided a full dose
of juice to our dying infra-
red camera in a little over
an hour. After the f lames
wind down, the inner
grate and ash drain help
with cleanup.
The Hidden Math of Fire-Building
Ask outdoorsmen and -women whether it’s better to build
a log cabin or teepee when starting a fire, and you’re
sure to get a range of vehement responses. But the
secret to a roaring blaze isn’t structure, it’s numbers.26GE
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