Learn essential outdoor fire and heat skills, including campfires, stoves, fire lays, lighting and maintaining fires, fire safety and staying warm.
Cold hands can make outdoor activities uncomfortable and can make simple tasks much harder. Whether you’re hiking, camping, taking part in a Scout activity or spending time outdoors in winter, knowing how to keep your hands warm is a useful practical skill. Your hands are particularly exposed to cold weather, and once they become very…
Cold feet can turn an enjoyable outdoor activity into a miserable one. Whether you’re hiking, camping, taking part in a Scout activity or simply spending time outside during winter, keeping your feet warm and dry is an important part of staying comfortable and reducing heat loss. The good news is that keeping your feet warm…
When you’re outside in cold weather, staying dry is one of the most important things you can do to stay warm. Rain, wet grass, splashes and even your own sweat can leave clothing damp. Once that happens, your clothing may not insulate as effectively and you can start losing body heat more quickly. For Scouts,…
Staying warm outdoors isn’t simply about putting on more clothing or sitting next to a fire. Your body is constantly producing heat, but it is also constantly losing heat to the surrounding environment. Understanding how that happens makes it much easier to stay warm when camping, hiking, taking part in Scout activities or spending time…
Knowing how to dress in layers is one of the simplest ways to stay warm outdoors. Whether you’re hiking, camping, taking part in a Scout activity or simply spending time outside during colder weather, a good layering system allows you to adjust your clothing as conditions and activity levels change. The aim isn’t necessarily to…
Extinguishing a campfire safely is just as important as lighting and maintaining it. Many fire-related problems happen because people assume a fire is out before it has actually cooled, rush the final checks or use an inappropriate method. For Scouts, learning about common mistakes can help develop good habits and reinforce the idea that responsibility…
Water is often the first thing people think of when they need to extinguish a campfire, but it isn’t the only consideration. The right way to extinguish a fire depends on the type of fire, the location, the fuel being burned and the equipment available. In many ordinary campfire situations, water is an effective way…
A campfire can look finished long before the ashes are actually cool. Ash can contain hot embers that remain capable of causing burns or reigniting nearby material. This makes dealing with ashes an important part of properly finishing a fire activity. For Scouts, understanding hot ashes is a useful way of learning that fire safety…
Putting out a campfire is only the first part of extinguishing it safely. A fire can appear to be out while hot embers and ash remain underneath. These can stay hot for a surprisingly long time and may be capable of reigniting if they are disturbed or exposed to oxygen. Knowing how to recognise when…
Cooking over a campfire is a useful outdoor skill, but a good cooking fire isn’t simply a large fire with lots of flames. The aim is to create and maintain a steady, controllable source of heat that suits the food, cookware and cooking method being used. A well-maintained cooking fire can make outdoor cooking much…
