Primitive Fire Making – 6 Ways To Make Fire Without Matches

In a survival situation being able to start a fire can mean the difference between life and death.

Hopefully your bug out bag or survival kit has the fire starting tools that will help you start a fire quickly and reliably. But what if this gets wet, lost, or used up?  Then you will need some primitive fire skills to build your fire. Primitive fire making is a bushcraft disciplinethat uses simple tools and natural materials to create fire.

By being able to make fires quickly and effectively in any weather conditions, you will be better prepared for emergency situations.  In this article I am going to show you how to start a fire using primitive skills as well as compare and contrast the various methods to help you decide which one is best for you to learn first.

CONTENTS [HIDE]

• Primitive Fire Making Techniques
  • Flint and Steel
  • Fire Plough
  • Hand Drill
  • Bow Drill
  • Pump Fire Drill
  • Fire Piston
• Bonus Method: Fire Starting Tools You Can Depend On
• What is the Best Primitive Fire Making Method?

Primitive Fire Making Techniques

Flint and Steel

This is the easiest of all bushcraft fire starting methods. All that is required is a flint and a piece of carbon steel (such as your survival knife). Flint and carbon steel should be a part of every wilderness survival kit as it will allow for easy primitive fire starting in virtually any conditions:

1. The friction formed by striking the steel against the flint will form sparks.
2. You want to strike the steel against the flint with a loose wrist. It may take a bit of practice to get the technique down.
3. Have tinder ready to ignite as the sparks start to fly from the flint.
4. Gently blow on the sparks that land in the tinder or char cloth until it ignites.
5. Make sure you have your kindling nearby and ready to add to the tinder once it catches.

This method of bushcraft fire starting is relatively easy to execute. It requires the least amount of physical strength and energy to perform and can be done with only two items. We recommend the SurvivalSPARK Emergency Magnesium Fire Starter as a trusty flint and steel tool. However, if find yourself in a situation without carbon steel or a flint available, which is why it’s important to know as many primitive fire making techniques as possible.  This will better perfect your wilderness survival skills, preparing you for all situations.  Here is a video that shows you how to find flint in the wilderness:

Fire Plough

This is the simplest form of primitive fire making using only natural materials.  It is essentially an optimized way to “rub two sticks together” with the base board being one and the plow stick being the other.

Start by procuring a flat piece of hardwood at least a couple of inches thick to use as your baseboard.

1. On the flat side, cut a straight line down the center using your survival knife.
2. Hollow out this line to create a shallow, thin groove, about ¼-inch wide.
3. Find a softwood stick, at least 1-inch thick. Use your bushcraft knife to carve the end of the stick to a rounded point, with the tip being small enough to fit into the groove on your board.
4. To cause enough friction to generate sufficient heat to ignite a fire, we will now rub the two crafted parts together.
5. Applying continuous force, rub the stick through the groove in the wood, starting at one end and going toward the other.
6. This will require a bit of strength in order to create the friction necessary to form a spark.
7. As the stick rubs against the baseboard, wood will slowly shave off.
8. The friction you are causing will create heat and tiny embers, which will ignite the wood shavings.
9. Have your kindling ready and, as before, gently blow on the sparks within the tinder to ignite a flame.

The fire plough method of primitive fire making is simplistic in design, allowing it the versatility to be applied in virtually any location. It’s an ideal wilderness survival tactic due to sheer simplicity.

Nonetheless, it does require quite a bit of physical force and energy to create the spark, someone who is weakened by starvation or exposure may have difficulty getting the fire plough to work. As with all primitive fire starting methods it is essential to practice in order to perfect the technique.  Here is a video demonstrating the fire plough method:

Hand Drill

A hand drill is a bushcraft technique that is simpler to build than the bow drill, but it will require greater energy, patience, and skill to implement. All that is required is a drill and a fireboard.  The stick being used for the drill is spun between two hands (instead of using a bow to spin the drill) to generate enough friction to create embers.

1. In the same way as the bow drill’s drill was constructed, find a softwood stick and carve one side to a rounded point.
2. Cut a small hole in the softwood fireboard, about an inch from the edge of the board.
3. Cut a v-shaped notch connecting the hole and the edge of the board, with the point of the v connecting with the hole.
4. Fill the v-shaped notch with tinder. Position the point of the drill into the hole on the fireboard.
5. Place both palms flat on either side of the drill. Press your hands in firmly, and rub them back and forth.  Apply downward pressure as you spin the drill for added friction.
6. Continue to spin the drill in the fireboard until smoke and embers form.
7. As with the bow drill once the embers start to make the tinder smolder gently blow to develop a flame.

This method is easy to construct in a pinch, making it a valuable bushcraft skill. Be sure to practice often because it can be difficult to implement.  Persistence and endurance are required to make it work.  Here is a video showing the hand drill fire starting method:

Bow Drill

This method is more complicated to build than either of the previously mentioned methods. However once a bow drill is built it requires less exertion to create a usable ember. Lets take a look at how to build a bow drill fire starter:

1. Start by finding a piece of hardwood, rock, or bone that contains a divot or shallow depression. This will serve as the socket that the drill rests in.
2. Next, find straight stick that will serve as your drill. The drill will need to be a piece of hardwood about ¾-inch thick. One end should be blunt and the other end will be chiseled to a rounded point.
3. Make a flat piece of softwood, at least 1-inch thick, to use as a fireboard. Cut a tiny hole into the board, about one inch from the side, barely big enough for the tip of the drill to rest in.
4. Cut a triangular notch connecting the hole to the side of the board, with the point of the triangle connecting to the hole in the board.
5. Find a bendable, green stick to craft into a bow.
6. Tightly tie a piece of sinew or paracord to the bent ends of the bow.
7. Place your tinder into the triangular notch in the fireboard in step 4. This is where the sparks will form.
8. Place your foot firmly on the fireboard to hold it in place. Loop the bowstring around the drill and place the point of the drill into the hole in the fireboard. Grab your socket from step 1, and place the depression in the socket on top of the drill to hold it firmly in place.
9. Pull the bow back and forth rapidly. As you do so, this will drive the drill into the wood, creating friction.
10. As the embers begin dropping into your tinder nest, gently blow until it ignites.

Although a bow drill is more difficult to build than a fire plough it should create fire faster and with less effort.  If you are able to make your tools you can use them multiple times, making your investment pay off again and again.  Here is a video demonstrating the bow drill technique:

Pump Fire Drill

The pump fire drill is the most difficult to construct of all the primitive fire starting tools.  This is due to its more mechanically complicated nature.  This is compensated however by requiring nearly no effort to generate embers and a fire once the pump fire drill is constructed.  Lets take a look at how to build one:

1. Find a round piece of hardwood and cut a small hole in the center. Using sinew, cordage, or paracord attach a sharp rock or arrow to the end of a hardwood stick.
2. Drill a hole through a rock at the same width of the stick, and push the stick through the hole, with the arrow resting about one to two inches below the rock. The rock should fit snugly, without moving.
3. Find a slightly curved piece of hardwood and drill a hole through the center, the same width as the stick.
4. Insert the curved piece of wood onto the stick, an inch above the rock, so the bow in the wood is facing upward.  It should fit loosely so the device will easily rotate inside of it.
5. Etch two notches on the ends of each side of the bowed wood so that a string can be tied around easily. Tie a piece of sinew, cordage, or paracord to connect the edge of each side of the bowed wood to the tip of the stick, in the direction away from the arrow.
6. Grab the bow wood as a handle. Press the arrow to the hole in the firewood and spin the device to wind it up.
7. Allow the device to unwind itself. As the arrow is driven into the fireboard, embers will form.

This bushcraft fire starting technique requires almost no effort to create a fire and is great for people of smaller stature and strength. However, the pump fire drill itself will take some time to build so it should be practiced or built ahead of time and then brought out when needed.  Here is a video showing the pump fire drill technique:

Fire Piston

The fire piston is a primitive fire starting technique that is a bit more complicated to make, requiring the use of hardware to build.  The fire piston uses the pressure created by quickly ramming the piston down a chamber to generate enough heat and pressure to ignite a piece of charcloth or other tinder.

1. You will need a piece of copper or strong plastic pipe about 10 centimeters long. Sand the ends so they are smooth.
2. Plug one end using a brass end cap, piece of metal, or wood. Glue the cap on so it fits snug.
3. Take a 10-millimeter thick wooden piston and cut it so that it is a couple of centimeters longer than the tube.
4. Insert the piston into a power drill. Run a file on the end of the piston, a couple of millimeters from the end and run the drill until the file carves a smooth indented line around the piston.
5. Insert a 10-millimeter rubber ring around the ring in the piston. Drill a 5-millimeter hole into the end of the piston on the side with the rubber ring.
6. Apply a thin layer of glue to the end of the piston to clog the pores of the wood. Drill a 10-millimeter hole into a cylindrical wooden knob and glue the bare end of the piston into the knob.
7. Fill the hole at the end of the piston with charcloth.
8. Lubricate the rubber ring and insert the piston into the copper tube. Forcefully push the piston into the tube quickly, pulling it back out immediately.
9. Do this repeatedly until the charcloth ignites, then transfer the ignited charcloth to your tinder.

While the fire piston method does require some effort to build, creating a fire with it is incredibly easy.  Although it can’t be built out in the woods with simple tools it is still useful to learn.  Once a fire piston is built it’s a light weight and compact addition to any fire starting kit.

Bonus Method: Fire Starting Tools You Can Depend On

While primitive fire starting is a huge asset in your survival skill set, being prepared with the right tools can make your life a lot easier.

I recommend the SurvivalSPARK Emergency Magnesium Fire Starter as mentioned above. It is a fire starting tool that you can count on getting a fire started quickly in an emergency situation.

The other interesting survival fire starter worth checking out is the Everstryke Pro Waterproof Emergency Lighter which integrates a wick and striker wheel in a small waterproof housing.

What is the Best Primitive Fire Making Method?

In an ideal world we could just go out and master all of these 6 techniques and be ready to build a fire no matter the circumstances. However not everybody has time to master all these survival skills. What I suggest is picking one, or 2 at most and practicing it until you can create a fire using it in your sleep.  Picking which method to learn comes down to several factors including:

• What resources are available
• How much time you have
• How much energy you want to expend

Feel free to try out all 6 methods to find which is the best for you.  Once you have that figured out practice, practice, practice.  The time invested improving your primitive fire starting skills will pay huge dividends if you ever need to start a fire without matches.  Always remember, Chance Favors The Well Prepared.

Source: https://www.thebugoutbagguide.com/primitive-fire-making/

How To Light Birch Bark With A Spark

Do you have 5 Ways to Make Fire?

I would put the ability to make fire right behind water, shelter, and food in the list of most important things in a survival situation, and before food and shelter in some cases.  Since being able to start a fire is so important, are you really going to rely on only one or two ways to do it? I think you should have at least 5 fire starters in your Bug Out Bag or in any survival preps for that matter.

Be sure to notice that I am not talking about different types of tinder, like cedar shavings, fire log, paper etc. I am talking about 5 ways to actually make fire, to get that first spark. Without that, the rest really doesn’t matter. Updated Topic: 5 Ideas for Fire Tinder

1. Matches

No surprises here. Check out Stormproof matches, I have tested these things and they are pretty tough to beat.  If you go with regular matches there are two important things to remember about your matches.

1.They need to be waterproof. SurvivalTopics.com has a good article on how to waterproof your matches.

2. You need to store matches in multiple places. Even if you have a pile of waterproof matches, if they are all in the same bag or box and you lose them, that’s it. So use a couple of empty film canisters or an element proof Loksak bag and store matches in several places. (But not in the handle of your knife, which I explain here: Survival Knife)

2. Lighters

Notice lighters is plural. You need several lighters. It might be a good idea to get one waterproof and windproof lighter and a couple of cheap gas station lighters.

If you are going to buy a nice lighter like that one, you should carry some Butane refill fluid and it will last you 5 times as long as any of the throw away lighters.

3. FireSteel and Scraper

A firesteel and scraper, or what used to be a flint, is a tubed piece of metal, usually steel or magnesium, that creates sparks when you run the metal scraper down the tube.

A firesteel and scraper is important to have for a couple of reasons. First, it works even if it’s wet. So if all of your other fire starters got completely soaked or ruined for some reason the firesteel will still work.

Cool ones that we have tested include:
1. BlastMatch Fire Starter
2. StrikeForce Fire Starter
3. Sparkie Fire Starter (Can use with only one hand)
4. Aurora Fire Starter (Personal Favorite)

Also, it will most likely outlast all of your matches and lighters put together. Many firesteels advertise 3000 strikes, and some as many as 7000.

4. 9v Battery and Steel Wool

This is one of my favorites that I think should be in every survival gear set up. If you take a 9v battery and simply touch both poles to a piece of steel wool it will catch fire. Here’s a quick youtube video showing this: Steel Wool and 9V Batter Fire

I don’t consider this in the fire tender category because it is the steel wool itself combined with the battery that actually makes the fire.

Two things to remember: The finer the steel wool the better. Also, it only takes a tiny bit of steel will for this to work. Just enough to cover both poles of the battery.

5. Rub 2 Sticks Together

The most cliche survival tactic ever, rubbing two sticks together. I am not going to go into all the different ways you can make fire with nothing but wood, that is a whole different article. Just know that you should have at least one other way to make a fire without any tools at all.

Know any other ways to Make Fire?

I am interested to hear if our readers have any other good ways to “make fire” that are easily stored for survival situations?

Be Safe

Keep some water around in case your fire gets out of hand. The best way, when in the bush, is with a Collapsible Bucket: 6 Great Uses for a Backpacking Bucket

Source: https://survivalcache.com/survival-fire-starters/

Go down to the woods today - and stay there

Wild camping is a fantastic way to get children out in to the natural world and engage their imaginations. So whether you're interested in a back garden campfire or getting lost in the forest. Jo Schofield and Fiona Danks offer a guide to finding a campsite and building a shelter, and then show you how to make fire and get cooking.

Building a one-person leaf hut

It only takes a couple of hours to build a well-insulated and waterproof shelter using nature's ready-made materials - you don't even need a knife. This shelter is designed to conserve body heat and will even keep out the rain. The smaller it is, the quicker it warms up.

Choose a site - ideally a tree with a fork or notch about 1m (39in) off the ground. Make sure there are no standing dead trees nearby. Prepare the ground by taking a few minutes to clear away sticks and stones. Find three long, reasonably straight fallen branches. Place the end of the strongest branch into the fork or notch, and the other end on the ground; this is the ridgepole. Our boys wedged their ridgepole between the trunks of two trees growing right beside each other. Place the other two branches on the ground parallel to the ridge pole but wide enough apart for someone to lie between. Collect masses of dead sticks and line them up along one side of the frame to make a wall. The closer they are together, the warmer and more waterproof the hut will be, but don't let them extend beyond the top of the ridgepole.

Do the same on the other side, but leave a gap of at least 50cm (20in) near the tree trunk. This will be the entrance. On each side of this gap push two forked sticks into the ground. These will support a roof over the entrance, constructed in the same way as the rest of the shelter. Cover the whole shelter in fallen leaves, starting at the ground and working upwards. If you have a tarpaulin, use it to carry the leaves to the shelter. The thicker the thatch of leaves, the warmer and drier you will be.

A well-made leaf hut lasts for months, so in order to leave the wood as you found it, dismantle the shelter before you go home.

The DIY tent

Our families celebrated the summer solstice by camping out. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, so our DIY tent just had to keep off the dew. Once the shelter was up and we had installed groundsheets and sleeping bags, we gathered round the fire on rug-covered straw bales for a feast of curry and smoked fish, washed down with beer and elderflower cordial. Under that DIY tent we could smell the damp earth and hear all the night rustlings, and the following morning we watched the sun come up, accompanied by the dawn chorus.

What you need

Camping like this doesn't require expensive gear and gadgets, just a few basic tools and some simple equipment: an axe and bushcraft knives; large tarpaulin or sheet of plastic; rope or paracord; groundsheet or sleeping mats or both.

Cut two poles of hazel, about 2m (7ft) long. Sharpen one end of each pole. Make some tent pegs out of shorter lengths of hazel about 25cm (10in) long, sharpening one end and carving a notch in the other. Choose a suitable location for your shelter on level ground. Push the sharpened end of one of the poles into the ground and hold it in place. Push the other pole into the ground 2m-3m (7ft-10ft) from the first one, depending on the size of your tarp.

Fasten a length of rope between the poles, tension it and tie it securely on to each pole, creating the ridge. Attach two guy ropes from each pole to secure them firmly in place. Slide the tarp or plastic sheeting over the ridge until there is the same amount of material on each side. Attach short guy ropes along the sides of your DIY tent, and secure them in place with pegs.

How to go wild camping

Camping wild is a wonderful way to experience the natural world and, at its best, it makes little environmental impact. But with increasing numbers of people wanting to escape into the wilderness, it is becoming more and more important to camp unobtrusively and leave no trace.

Why do you need shelter?

Before you make your shelter, consider the weather forecast and what you need the shelter to do. Does it need to keep you warm or cool? Does it need to keep you dry? Does it need to keep you safe, or keep insects and other creatures away? Even in summer the ground can get cool and damp overnight, so perhaps you need to make a bed to prevent heat loss. Sometimes you won't need a shelter at all; there's nothing quite like sleeping under the stars on a warm, still night.

What sort of shelter?

Don't over-complicate things. Shelters should be easy to construct and they must do the job you want them to do, using what's around you or a tent or tarpaulin you have brought with you.

Finding places to camp

Wild camping is not permitted in many places, particularly in crowded lowland Britain. Wherever you are, find out about organisations responsible for managing wild spaces, and contact them to find out their policy on camping and shelter building. For example, it's fine to camp wild in remote parts of Scotland, but in England you must ask the landowner's permission, except on some large estates and national parks. Camping is about getting away from it all, sleeping outdoors, experiencing the elements and making do without modern conveniences. A busy, fully equipped campsite seems at odds with this, so seek out smaller, more remote sites with easy access to open spaces and perhaps beaches. Better still, find a campsite with no road access: walking in makes a real adventure and you may be surprised by how little gear you will make do with when you have to carry everything on your back.

Locating your shelter

Soon after we had pitched our tent one evening, it began to rain, and continued raining all night. Poking our heads out the next morning, we found that we were surrounded by water; our tent happened to be on a slightly raised piece of ground, but the rest of the low-lying marshy field was flooded. Finding the right spot to camp is the first step to guaranteeing a good night's sleep. Choose a discreet campsite with privacy and minimal impact on others and the environment. Try to use an area where people have obviously camped before rather than creating a new site. When camping in woodland, avoid standing dead trees, which may fall on a windy night. Avoid animal runs and burrows, and possible sources of biting insects, such as marshy ground. Make sure you have most protection on the windward side. If you make a fire, do so downwind of your shelter. Always consider what impact you might have on the natural world. Avoid damaging plants. A good campsite is found, not made - altering it should be unnecessary.

Other ways of wild camping

If you don't feel confident about wandering off into the middle of nowhere to camp wild, why not try it out first by joining a trip led by others or by contacting an organisation that runs courses? We found the Wilderness Gathering, held on an English farm over a late summer weekend, particularly inspiring.

Organisations offering camping expeditions in the UK include the Woodcraft Folk, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, the Scouts and Guides, Forest Schools or the John Muir Trust.

Some outdoor centres offer opportunities to have a go at bushcraft activities. It's worth finding out what conservation organisations offer - for example, local wildlife trusts, national parks and in the UK the Woodland Trust, the National Trust and the Forestry Commission.

Safe, low-impact fires

"White man make big fire, sit far away - black man make small fire, sit close." The old Aboriginal saying reminds us that you only need a small fire for warmth, cooking and a cheerful glow.

How about a fire in the garden? Fifteen-year-old Jake had invited a crowd of friends round for a party in the garden and felt it would not be complete without a fire.

They lifted turfs and topsoil from an area about 1m (39in) square, leaving it to one side ready to re-lay later, and made a fire on bare soil from wood from the garden.

After a big fry-up the following morning, they dowsed the fire until the ashes were cold. They then mixed and loosened the ashes and soil before replacing the topsoil and turfs and watering them. Although the grass completely recovered after a few weeks, we would only recommend this for rougher areas of garden.

At a bushcraft gathering we saw many small fires being made in a field, but because they were made in a low-impact way, there was no sign of them once all the turfs had been neatly replaced. To improve the recovery of a sward after a fire, make the pit larger than you require and place overturned turfs all around the rim to stop the surrounding grass from being scorched.

Fire without matches

We suggest that young people only try this once they have mastered making a good fire using a match. There are many different tools and techniques for fire starting, all of which produce an ember to ignite fine tinder. Making this ember into a fire involves the following: before you produce the ember, prepare a tinder nest - some fluffy material in a bundle of dried grasses. Once the tinder nest is ignited, lift it in cupped hands and blow softly until a small flame appears. Place the burning tinder on a stone or piece of bark and continue to blow until it is burning well. Now transfer this into a prepared fireplace and gently build a tepee of kindling over it, building up your fire slowly.

Jake tried making fire using a hand drill, one of the world's oldest and most widespread friction methods. He made a long, smooth hazel drill and prepared a notch on a base plate, and then twisted the drill between his hands. Despite great determination he didn't succeed; it is difficult to maintain the friction for long enough. It works best in hot climates with very dry wood. Make a long drill as straight and smooth as possible - rough bits can cause blisters.

Make the base plate or hearth as above, from the same type of wood as the drill, and carve a small notch. Place an ember tray beneath the hearth, as above. Rotate the drill between your palms with a steady downward pressure, working from top to bottom. Spit on your hands to improve your grip and help maintain the friction.

Agnes had made fire by rubbing one dry stick against another along the grain of a piece of wood. To do this, carve a flat surface into the larger stick and then start to move or "plough" the drill along the grain, creating a groove and gradually increasing your speed. The theory is that this produces tinder and then ignites it, but it is not as easy as it sounds.

Cooking methods

Cooking straight on the fire

For cooking, you need a bed of hot coals; flames just blacken food. Light your fire well ahead of time; it takes a while to build up the hot coals. Make sure you have a supply of dry firewood close by. Having built up your fire, use a log or spade to drag a load of hot coals from the middle to the edge; this bed will become your "cooker". Keep the main fire stoked up to create more coals if you need more heat later; you can also increase the temperature of your cooker by fanning it. Make sure your cooking pots are solidly placed on the coals, possibly supported by logs on each side.

Using a potholder

A potholder allows for more even distribution of heat than cooking directly on the fire. Some metal potholders have a chain with which to suspend the pot over the fire; the height of the pot could be varied according to needs. If you don't have a metal potholder, make one out of three sturdy sticks and a chain or piece of strong cord.

Making a dutch oven

We put a cast-iron cooking pot in the heart of the fire and scraped burning wood and ashes all around it to make a Dutch baking oven. The bread we baked was a little burned on the bottom, but we could have prevented that by placing another smaller pan inside to help spread the heat more evenly. Try using a Dutch oven to bake loaves of bread, vegetables, biscuits or even cakes.

Cooking on a metal grill

A sturdily placed grill provides a convenient surface to cook on. Either place the grill over two logs, making sure it is level and stable, or make your fire in a trench and place the grill directly on the ground over the top. Another handy piece of equipment is a double grill with a handle; you can sandwich bacon or sausages inside the grill, which is easily turned over, so you're not likely to lose any supper in the fire.

Cooking on a stick or a spit

Roasting marshmallows on a stick is always popular. To cook bread dough, meat or fish, try using peeled green wood skewers. We rolled this bread dough into a sausage shape and wound it round a cooking stick, which we held over hot coals, turning it occasionally to ensure even cooking.

A friend told us she has cooked sausages on green sticks pushed into the ground beside the fire and tilted towards the heat. Other than turning them a couple of times, you can just leave them to cook. Alternatively, try constructing a simple spit: bang a forked stick into the ground on each side of the fire, make sure the forks are at the same height and then place a third stick across them. You can either hang a pot from this or peel the "spit" and thread your food along it for cooking.

What to cook - basic bread mixture

For a savoury version, add salt and perhaps wild herbs, cheese, olives or sun-dried tomatoes just before cooking. If you have a sweet tooth, try adding honey, dried fruit or chocolate chips.

2 cups of self-raising flour
1 cup of dried milk powder
Up to three-quarters of a cup of water.

Add water a little at a time to the dry ingredients, mixing steadily to produce a non-sticky, kneadable dough that leaves the sides of the bowl and your fingers clean.

Knead the dough on a wooden board, until it is elastic and smooth. Roll the dough into sausage shapes and then wind it around a peeled green twig and cook over the fire for a few minutes. The dough spiral should slide easily off the stick when it is ready. Alternatively, make your dough into bread rolls and bake in a Dutch oven for about 20 minutes.

What to take

There is much conflicting advice, but we feel there are some things you should always carry, and which you may need depending on the season, terrain and length of expedition. Keep your wits about you and use common sense. Know more and carry less.

A few essentials

Water: without it, adventures can be unpleasant at best and life-threatening at worst. A compass: unlike GPS, a compass needs no batteries. A good map of the area. A first-aid kit. A knife.

Other useful equipment

Fire starter, such as flint and steel with dry tinder and matches in a watertight container. Extra clothes and waterproofs. Hats and gloves are particularly important. Children get colder faster than adults, so pack more clothes for them. Sun hat and high-factor sun cream. Torch with extra batteries and bulb or candles or both. Extra food - always take more than you think you will need. Lightweight plastic bivi bag. Sensible footwear, such as walking boots. Waterproof backpack in which to carry your gear. A sleeping bag and sleeping mat; the ground can get cold and wet overnight. Tarpaulin and parachute cord (handy tip: put it in a plastic bottle to keep it neat and untangled) so that you can make a shelter.

Pack for the best-quality experience; if you have a creature comfort you can't do without, take it along - but remember that you will have to carry it. You don't need masses of gear: only take things you will use or which are vital for an emergency.

• Go Wild! by Jo Schofield and Fiona Danks is published by Frances Lincoln, £16.99. To order a copy for £15.99 with free UK p&p go to theguardian.com/bookshop or call 0330 333 6846

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/apr/04/wild-camping