Few things define the experience of camping more than a campfire. The warm, crackling hearth in the pitch-black wilderness automatically conjures images and sensations in our minds, even, I bet, as you’re reading this. The orange-amber light of the fire casting shadows on your face, boisterous campfire songs on a summer evening, cooking hot dogs and marshmallows over the open fire, inevitably dropping those foods into the fire and watching them burn into a crispy mess, then bumming half of your friend’s hot dog… they’re memories that we’ve all had at some point.
Humans have been building fires longer than we’ve been able to read and write– it’s almost something that’s ingrained into us. Where humans have gone, fires have followed; ancient hearths and communal fires date back more than 300 000 years. But fires have their downsides as well. As the great philosopher Smoky T. Bear once opined, “Only you can prevent forest fires.” Open fires, dry summertime conditions, and random sparks aren’t a good combination – and more than a few destructive fires have been started by careless campers. Fires may be cozy and comfy, but they can also get too hot to handle!
In recent years, some environmentally conscious campers have abandoned fires in favor of other, more practical solutions. Chief among these fire-alternatives is the humble camp stove. Hailing from the earliest days of the 20th century and tested in the trenches of war, the portable metal camping stove runs off a supply of kerosene. Some later models use propane or another flammable fuel to get the job done. From a fire hazard perspective, cooking stoves will win every time – there’s no chance of a stray spark igniting an out of control brushfire, for instance. Rain, snow, and sleet do little to impede the insulate fuel supply, guaranteeing heat and warmth in all but the soggiest of weather. On the other hand, kerosene stoves can be cold and somewhat impersonal: few people have tried to hold singalongs over the glow of a kerosene stove.
Which one is the more environmentally friendly model? The answer might surprise you. On the surface, it seems that the clean-burning kerosene stove holds up well against the smoky smog of the stone-age campfire, which gobbles wood and plants. But look at the bigger picture: you don’t need much more than some dirt, wood and stones to make a campfire. A kerosene stove, on the other hand, requires metal, which must be hauled out of the ground by machines, processed in factories, assembled in Third World Factories, and shipped to your local Arcteryx by way of eighteen-wheeler. One has an immediate effect on the local environment, the other has a subtler effect on the world climate.
So next time you’re going camping, which should you bring? Quoth Smoky, “Balance in all things.” (Okay, well, he never actually said that, but who’s keeping score?) Campfires certainly embody the traditional ideals of camping, but that’s not to say that kerosene lamps don’t have their own advantages and appeal. Ultimately, it depends on the needs of your trip. But whatever you do, don’t pee on a kerosene lamp.