Fire Test - The Norseman's Challenge

Like most people that enjoy being outside, I tend to focus my “inside” time on pursuits that make my “outside” time more enjoyable. One of the ways I do this is by watching videos on Youtube about bush craft, self reliance, hunting, backpacking, and of course the countless gear reviews that go along with them. In doing so I feel that I am better prepared for my chosen activity, but watching the videos and never actually trying the things they are teaching really does me no good. For example, if I watched a video on how to make pancakes on the trail then 2 or 3 months later go on a 4 day hike with all of the supplies I needed to make pancakes but never tried to make them on my hiking stove at home first I would probably end up hungry or eating a lot of burned pancakes on my hike.  

The same is true for bush craft skills. If you never practice them at home before you need them what makes you think you could depend on them to save your life if you are stranded or injured in the backcountry. That is one of the reasons I decided to try the “Norseman’s Challenge” that Wilderness Outfitters Archery presented to one of its Pathfinder School classes recently. I did not attend the class, but had already watched the video Norseman had posted on the Fire Test a few weeks earlier, and thought it was a great way to hone your fire building / self reliance skills. Like any test, there was a time limit and some rules:

From start to finish the test takes 25 minutes.

1. You had to start with a Ferro rod (or less), water, and a GSI Glacier Cup, a canteen cup, Guyot Designs SS Bottle, etc.
2. You had to start a sustainable fire with in 5 minute.
3. By the 20 minute mark you had to have 2 cups of water at a rolling boil.
4. By the 25 minute mark you had to have extinguished the fire and erased all traces of it.

Sounds easy right? That’s what I thought too! I had a sustainable fire in less than 2 minutes and had my water on to boil… no problem! This was going to be a breeze! I had it all planned out, use small sticks and twigs they burn quick and would be less to put out and hide in the end. The only problem was they burned too fast to produce enough heat to get 2 cups of water to a rolling boil; in fact it never really came to a boil at all. I took it off the fire at the 25 minute mark and chalked it up to a good learning experience. I did take about 2-3 minutes to extinguish my fire and hide all traces before I left, again it was good practice. It was fun and I will be trying it again soon…. I really hate to loose…lol. Who knows, some day I may need to do that to save my butt. Granted, I doubt I would be trying to hide from some enemy soldier or something like that but I could be hunting or hiking in the winter and fall crossing a stream. God knows you only have a few minutes to get dried off before hypothermia starts, and putting something warm inside your body helps to keep your core temperature up where it needs to be. Well that’s it for now, check out the link below for my Fire Test / Norseman’s Challenge video or check out the videos posted here on my blog. Get outside, try something new… I think my next attempt might be with a bow drill….. No Promises.

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