The Paradox of Fire basically means the more you need fire, the harder it is to make fire. One of the basics ways of learning how to start a fire even with the paradox against you is by understanding what fire prefers. Here is a list of what fire prefers and some tricks in getting it started.

Fire prefers warmth – Having a warm spot where the heat can build is key. Laying down sticks to keep your fire off the cold floor is one trick. Blocking the cold wind can help as well.

Fire prefers dry materials – Moister can kill a fire and make it extremely hard to start. Some tricks for this is to split wood and collecting the dry center. Also, having an idea of trees around you can help in finding natural resins that will ignite even when wet. Such as pine resin or birch bark.

Fire prefers to climb – Fire likes to climb and build upward. That is why the Teepee fire lay is the most popular. It allows the fire to climb straight upward into the peak, which builds more heat and drys everything faster the closer it gets to the top.

Fire will always prefer the inner fibers of any wood – so split wood or carved wood will always burn better. Some tricks to this are by making feathersticks or curls that are thin and have a large amount of surface area. This will expose the most amount of fibers of the inner wood and make the fire grow at a much faster rate.

When it comes to Building or Making a fire those are skills that we will talk about in future posts. This is just to get you familiar with what it may take to get the fire started. Always carry Sure Fire to make sure that no matter what the situation you will always have a flame in any emergency.