The Swedish torch originated around 1623 and was used by Swedish soldiers so they could have a source of heat without traveling great distances for wood. It’s a great survival technique for fire because it only uses one piece of wood and takes a small area to get going. It also burns very evenly and has a flat top and base so it is stable and easy to use for a stove as well. That’s why it’s my favorite type of fire to use when camping.

To make one you just need to cut an X into or completely through a log. If you have a saw you can cut a piece of wood about one foot to a foot and a half tall depending on how much of a fire you want and how tall your original cut of wood is. You can use the saw to cut an X in the wood about two thirds of the way down the wood. This creates a gap that you can fill with kindling to light.

If you don’t have a saw that you can use for this then you can split the entire piece of wood in an X shape with a hatchet. Keep the four sides of the wood close you want just enough room between each piece of wood to place kindling in. Pile the kindling inside of the X shape all the way to the top and light it from the bottom.

Once lit it will burn evenly and the flame shoots right up to the top. It’s a good way to get heat with minimal space and low light. You can also take four small twigs and place them on top of the burning log, then place a skillet or pan on top of those twigs and you have an instant stove.

Remember not to place the pan directly on the torch because that will cause the flame to smother a bit and cause more smoke and less heat. The twigs serve to prevent that and allow the air to flow naturally through the wood and the heat will rise right up to the pan.

The Swedish torch isn’t as popular for camping and is used more for garden lights and small gatherings these days. So you can use this same technique at your next barbeque or even in a backyard camping trip with your kids. Because the torch burns vertically and the fire pit is only as big as the circumference of the log so there is very little clean up and the fire is also very easy to contain.

Just like the Swedish torch, a fire log can be used for heat, decoration, and a stove. However, a fire log is used more for decoration because of the tools needed to create one. You can pre-make fire logs and take with you camping, but it isn’t as practical.

To make a fire log you will need a drill with a couple of drill bits the first should be about an inch and a half by about 10-15 inches long. The second bit should be about a half inch and should be long enough to drill from the side of the log to the center. A fire log burns much longer than a Swedish torch and is a little trickier to use as a stove because you will need thicker twigs to set on top of it to prevent the flame from being smothered.

You start with the larger drill bit and drill from the center of the log right down as far as it can reach. Then you use the half inch bit to drill from the side of the log to the center. The trick is to drill just above the lowest part of the first drill hole you want to make a path that leads to just above the bottom 1/4th of the original hole.

Once you have both holes drilled push a wick in from the side of the log until you are sure that a good portion of it rests at the bottom of the center hole that we first created. Next you will need to melt some wax and pour it down the center hole from the top of the log until you see that the wax is even with the side hole.

After the wax dries you light the wick and the fire will start at the bottom of the original hole burning up to the top. This will burn for a very long time and if you want to get creative you can drill additional holes into the log that reach the center hole as well. This will cause light to shoot our from those holes, but it will take away from the burn time. This isn’t very practical for camping and is more suited to a decorative fire at a backyard gathering.

As with any fire make sure you take care to fully extinguish it once you are done and never leave any embers burning before you leave. You should also cover the remaining ash and any left over wood in dirt to ensure it will not catch back up and burn once you leave the area. Remember kids forest fires are dangerous even in the winter, just ask smokey.