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OldFingers57
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07/22/2017 08:57AM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
I saw this on a FB group. It is a nonflammable tarp to go over your campfire and protect it in a rain or at night so you can let the coals burn thru the night and have a fire the next morning. It looks kind of neat, not sure though on the cost also worried about safety issues with it. Campfire Defender
 
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PortageKeeper
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07/22/2017 09:48AM  
The idea of using one isn't bad, but the price and weight is. I'd rather scout out some other fabrics and make my own. Even an aluminum hood that fit over the fire grate wouldn't be much heavier than a reflector oven and would be much lighter and cheaper. A carbon fiber mat is much lighter and if one was covered with foil(?) Anyway, I like the idea but there's room for improvement.
 
andym
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07/22/2017 01:21PM  
If it doesn't burn and can be kept from accidentally blowing away then it seems like it keeps the fire safe by controlling the amount of oxygen that the fire has available. I would watch out on windy nights.
 
07/22/2017 03:33PM  
It's not something I'd feel comfortable doing, but I don't make fires all the time anyway, so it's kind of unnecessary for me.
 
Savage Voyageur
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07/22/2017 07:12PM  
I can buy a lot of matches for $250.00, so no thanks. Here's a million dollar idea. How about covering you dry wood with a $10.00 tarp and put your fire out when you go to bed.
 
schweady
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07/22/2017 08:33PM  
Second recent thread that refers to the "difficulty" in starting a fire over wet coals. C'mon people.
 
07/22/2017 11:35PM  
I take a piece of 18" commercial aluminum foil 6' long. It folds nicely and really doesn't figure into the pack load. I generally use half of it to cook the first night meal, the rest of it is used in case a storm blows up while I have a nice fire going .
 
07/23/2017 07:48AM  
quote schweady: "Second recent thread that refers to the "difficulty" in starting a fire over wet coals. C'mon people.
"


+1.
 
07/23/2017 07:59AM  
quote Savage Voyageur: "I can buy a lot of matches for $250.00, so no thanks. Here's a million dollar idea. How about covering you dry wood with a $10.00 tarp and put your fire out when you go to bed. "

Same here
 
Grandma L
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07/23/2017 02:16PM  
quote overthehill: "
quote Savage Voyageur: "I can buy a lot of matches for $250.00, so no thanks. Here's a million dollar idea. How about covering you dry wood with a $10.00 tarp and put your fire out when you go to bed. "

Same here"

What they said... just restart the fire - not usually a problem - you can always keep a small amount of tinder dry by tucking it under the corner of your rain fly to have in the morning or bring some cotton ball fire starters.

Are Gearaholics taking over again? Resist!
 
dentondoc
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07/23/2017 07:34PM  
Many years ago, during a period where I was doing a lot of backpacking, I would occasionally take a trip into an area (e.g., national forest), where building fires on the ground was prohibited. I suppose this was to encourage users to employ camp stoves to minimize the chances of igniting a forest fire. However, there was a provision to use a Fire Blanket. The link provides information on the use of a Fire Blanket, but the short version is that you place a blanket of fireproof material on the ground, place mineral soil, sand or gravel on top and then build your fire on that. I did purchase and use one on a few occasions and they worked well for that purpose. When breaking camp, the fire was doused, the material on the blanket was dumped and the blanket returned to its carry bag.

So, if you can build a fire on top of the blanket, I suppose you could cover your fire and protect it with a blanket (which tended to be about 36" X 36"). However, upon a quick search for this item, I failed to locate a current source. (I guess I'm lucky that I hung on to mine.) I don't remember these being all that expensive ... perhaps $30 (or a bit less).

dd
 
jhb8426
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07/29/2017 08:51PM  
I used to camp with an old timer scout master. At nite he would just shovel dirt over the fire until the flames were gone. In the morning he'd uncover it and there were still plenty of glowing coals to rekindle a fire. Kind of neat, and it impresses people. On the other hand, building a new fire is not that big of an issue.
 
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