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The Best Family campfire tools
Summer 2024
Strictly speaking, you might not need a campfire while you’re camping this summer. You have your stove for cooking. You’ve got your layers of clothing, tent, and sleeping bags for warmth at night, and what’s more, it probably won’t ever be cold enough for the chill to be a factor anyway. As for illumination, you have headlamps and lanterns and flashlights. So no, guess you don’t need a campfire at all, really.
But do you want to have a great campfire crackling away anyway? Our guess is yes. After all, is there anything else on earth quite like staring deeply into those flickering amber flames as they undulate and dance, vaguely calling to mind the long and winding journey of humankind itself?
A good fire is the anchor point of a fine campsite. To make the best campfire possible without all that much work, try some of these campfire starters and fire tools that will help you get a strong blaze going fast. Just always practice campfire safety, keeping water, sand, a shovel, or a fire extinguisher on hand, and make sure you follow all of the fire rules of an area closely, because fire safety rules are not there to ruin the fun, but to keep you, others, and nature safe.
family campfire tools
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Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 Fire Pit
If you love a good, crackling campfire but hate having woodsmoke billowing in your face, this highly efficient and highly portable fire pit from Solo Stove has got you covered. Its clever design maximizes airflow and heat while minimizing smoke thanks to the efficiency of the burn, and thanks to a removable ash pan, cleaning up after your fire is easy, too. It’s a great fire pit for woodland camping where you want to create the safest fire possible, and it’s great for use at home, too, as you can stash the Solo Stove 2.0 in the garage when the hangout session has wrapped. We know, because this is a literal description of our Solo Stove which is currently sitting on a garage shelf awaiting the next good, cracking fire that will be pleasantly low smoke.
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Pull Start Fire Firestarter Tool
The name of this unique product is literally what the thing is: you pull a string and start a fire. A fire that burns for 30 minutes and with enough concentrated heat intensity to stay lit in high winds and even in rain. With a Pull Start Fire, you can get a blaze going even without preparing proper kindling and even with wood that’s a bit damp. It makes lighting a campfire (or firepit or a fire in your home fireplace) easier than ever, and in a survival situation where you need a fire for heat, light, cooking, and more, these things will be veritable lifesavers. Or actual lifesavers.
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Billy Buckskin Fatwood
Fatwood, for the record, is not actually made with “fat” as many people think – there are no animal products involved here, just pieces of pinewood rich in naturally flammable sap that had concentrated near the base of the tree. Add a few pieces of this stuff among your kindling and light them up with a fire starter, lighter, or match, and you should get plenty of heat to get the logs going. And you can always add more as needed.
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SOL Fire Lite Fuel-Free Lighter
That’s right, no butane or propane or kerosene needed here, this is a plasma lighter. It creates such an intense little field of heat that it can light a candle in about a second, a piece of fatwood or a fire log (which can be a great low smoke choice for campfires by the way) in a few seconds more, and that doubles as a flashlight. You “fuel” the lighter up by connecting it to a battery or outlet via USB cable, so it’s an almost unending
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Zippo Lighter
Their flames may not burn quite as hot as a torch or plasma arc lighter, but that plucky, dancing flame will burn for as long as you need, even in gusty winds, and your Zippo will last you a lifetime, as you can replace just about every component if and when needed. Plus there is the nostalgic charm factor here — that whole “Yes, this is your grandfather’s lighter” of it all.
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Benzomatic Trigger Start Propane Torch
Screw this easy-to-use little piece of hardware onto the top of a propane cylinder, push the button, and you will have a jet of searing hot flame that will immediately light up a fire, get a grill going, and that can even be used for modest industrial applications, like soldering, melting the ice of a padlock, loosening stuck pipes, or even an emergency weld fix. And yes, beyond being useful, this thing is just fun to use.
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SOL Mag Striker with Tinder Cord
In most cases, you’ll be using this handy fire starter only if your lighter or matches fail or go missing, but you could use it all the time: it’s rated to start more than 100 fires before its ferrocerium rod (AKA flint) wears out. The Mag Striker has a thick, sturdy grip that easily fits in your hand — even when you have gloves on — which means you can use this fire starter even after most of the magnesium has been shaved away. We do recommend getting familiar with usage in safe, stable conditions, like your backyard, so you can put this fire starting tool to proper use without a learning curve when it really counts.
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Outdoor Element Firebiner
This compact carabiner belongs on hand with everyone who wants to be properly prepared out there, and not just because carabiners are handy for clipping things onto packs, belt loops, or gear lines. And not only because this carabiner has a little blade built into it that’s perfect for cutting cords or fishing line. What really sets things apart here is the fact that the Firebiner from Outdoor Element has a flint and wheel set into it that can create a shower of sparks, helping you get a fire going out there in the field.
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Zippo Typhoon Match Kit
These thick, hot-burning matches will blaze intensely for about 30 seconds each. And you can count on that long, intense burn even if you accidentally dropped the Typhoon Match Kit in a lake or left it sitting out in the rain all night, as the packaging is completely waterproof. As it happens, even the matches themselves are effectively waterproof, too: you can briefly submerge one in water as it burns only to have it blaze back to life once pulled back out of the liquid. And yes, we have tested them multiple times and they really do this! It’s… pretty cool.
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StaySafe 5-in-1 Fire Extinguisher
This compact fire extinguisher belongs in your kitchen when you’re home, in your glovebox when you’re driving, and close at hand when you’re camping. It’s easy to use, reliable, and can bring peace of mind every time you camp, as it can quickly extinguish a campfire or a malfunctioning camp stove.
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TONYKO Fire Blanket
A good fire blanket can quickly smother even the hottest blaze. Whether the campfire rages out of control, the stove tips over and the propane is leaking and aflame, or there is some other fire related emergency at your campsite, these blankets allow you to cover the flames and suffocate them fast. And they’ll save your kitchen at home, too.
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Rumpl NanoLoft Flame Puffy Blanket
To be crystal clear, this is NOT a fire blanket like the kind you’d use to smother a fire quickly. Yes, it could probably extinguish a smaller campfire just fine, but that’s not what it was developed to do. This blanket was designed to keep you warm and snug while also keeping you safe from any errant sparks or embers escaping from your campfire or fire pit (or home fireplace, too — yes, we use it on the couch as often as at the campsite). The blanket features a proprietary, fire-resistant material on its exterior that resists singeing and burning, so you and your apparel will be safe even beside a lively fire.