If you don’t plan ahead you could find yourself in an awesome camp spot with no way of building a campfire for the perfect night under the stars. I found myself in just that scenario last summer. I even had s’mores fixin’s ready to go. What a shame, I thought…until I remembered about the trusty charcoal chimney I had stashed in the rig. 

For anyone who has used a charcoal grill at home, a charcoal chimney is the absolute best way to get the coals started. Most models hold the coals in a bulky cylinder with a handle, which is just fine for home use. When space is limited, like in a tiny home on wheels, collapsible is best. I had just bought a collapsible version myself and jumped at the chance to try it out. Our camp spot was a relatively popular weekend camping area, but since we were there on a weekday we were surrounded by vacant camp spots (and associated campfire rings). It took a couple of trips, and a bit of a walk, but I was able to track down an armload of partially burned wood, some small wood scraps, and a bunch of quality charcoal. 

In a matter of minutes I was able to light the charcoal in the chimney and have a marshmallow-ready fire! Seriously, it was the fastest, hottest fire I’ve ever built. Pure magic!

Side note, I have yet to do it, but another reason that I chose the collapsible charcoal chimney was for the small grill grate on the top. With very little effort (and fuel) you could have enough hot coals to grill a couple of dogs. I’ll have to try it out and let you know how it goes!