Grocery Store Campfire - Review.

"McMike" (mcmike)
05/26/2015 at 13:19 • Filed to: fire, tutu153

We bought one of these a few weeks ago at the supermarket. We burned it the other night, and this is what I think of it.

It set us back about $10.00

Here goes nothing. It’s rated “HT” for heat, apparently.

Following the directions, I lit it with one match. It also said not to put directly on the ground/cement, so I grabbed a few bricks.

It’s kind of cute. After lighting it, I realized that those ashes needed somewhere to go, so we grabbed a cheap disposable pan from inside.

This is actually kind of clever. The star shaped slits go all the way through to the bottom, and it burns from the inside out, pulling air in from the bottom.

At this point, I wanted to see if it was portable. Veto from Mrs McMike.

So far, it looks like we’re getting $5 out of $10 worth. Ambiance is good, heat is low.

Wait, value is going up - heat detected.

Heat is happening - legs retracted.

Value is now $6/10

Now it’s burning on the outside.

Value now $8/10, and shit’s on fire, yo.

Ooops. Raise you hand if you saw THAT coming.

Saturday night campfire - plan B. Had to run and grab something to put it in.

$10/10 would burn again.

We usually build bigger fires for larger groups of people in a fireplace !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! but sometimes just want to sit outside for an hour or two. We saw this thing, and thought it might be good for that. We got almost an hour and a half out if it. Towards the end I grabbed a log or two from our pile to keep it going.

I think it’s great for what it is. It’s easy to transport, easy to light, and since outdoor fireplaces and chimineas are so readily available, it makes sense to have this product to go with them.

I just hope people actually put it in a pit instead of using the brick method I used and Gleb suggests. He says “You can burn it everywhere” None of the videos I found online of this thing showed it really burning - only the early cute versions.

I mentioned in a reply below that I had gloves, tongs, and quickly had it in a proper place to put the burning longs once they fell all over my driveway. My fear is that some people may not.

Maybe it said in the instructions, I don’t know since I didn’t read them.

DISCUSSION (18)

Jayhawk Jake > McMike
05/26/2015 at 13:25

The picture before the collapse I thought ‘this looks like it might be getting out of hand...’

CalzoneGolem > McMike
05/26/2015 at 13:26

I was always curious about these things thanks for this it was informative and will save me $10.

Alfalfa Romeo > McMike
05/26/2015 at 13:28

What is it, exactly? It looks like just a log with a hole down it, is there anything else?

TheHondaBro > McMike
05/26/2015 at 13:28

Note to self: never give McMike access to fire.

McMike > Jayhawk Jake
05/26/2015 at 13:32

That’s exactly when I started thinking, “Not sure how much longer this thing is going to stay together... “

Next thing I knew, it fell apart like a sliced apple.

Kinja'd!!!

A little earlier, I found one of their videos online, and it (or others) never hinted at it falling apart.

WiscoProud > McMike
05/26/2015 at 13:34

I saw those on a camping how-to site about a year ago, and now every grocery store by use has them. I often wondered how they would be for a small fire in the backyard. Looks like a small fire pit is definitely needed.

WiscoProud > Alfalfa Romeo
05/26/2015 at 13:35

Basically you take a birch log and cut three intersecting cuts in the middle with a chain saw. You then cram some fire starter material into the cuts and you're good to go.

McMike > Alfalfa Romeo
05/26/2015 at 13:36

That’s it. There was a fuse-type material that ran down the center. It pulled air from some slots on the bottom. It caught pretty quickly, so I’m sure it’s kiln dried.

McMike > WiscoProud
05/26/2015 at 13:39

I posted a few videos in one of my replies here.

One video shows it in a pit, the other shows it on bricks. NEITHER of them show the collapse of the fire.

I have gloves, tongs, and a fire pit (that one was actually my neighbors, it was smaller) and grabbed them all to correct it.

I hope someone doesn’t put this on a deck or a pier, then burns their house down.

WiscoProud > McMike
05/26/2015 at 13:42

No kidding. The ones I've seen were advertised as "fire starters", so I presume they're designed to work in pits. That being said, a cheap metal fire pit seems like it would do the job.