Wildwood Survival website

SURVIVAL
Shelter
Water
Fire
Food
Clothing
Fishing
Hunting
Traps
Snares
Tools
Stone
Flintknapping
Tracker Knife
Cordage
Containers
Furniture
Lights
Hides
Pitch & Glue
Winter
Health
Lyme Disease
Vision
Native People
Emergency Prep
Navigation
Teaching
Young People
Practicing
Music
Humour
More
Wilderness Mind
Site Disclaimer
Booklist
Forums
Contributors
Sitemap
Guestbook
About this site
Use of material
Privacy Policy
HomeSurvivalFireBowdrillIn the Winter

Bowdrill in the Winter

Photo by Allan "Bow" Beauchamp

Overview:

Making a bowdrill fire when it's warm and sunny out, and when your abilities are unhampered by fatigue, snow, and cold, is relatively easy!

But then add the factors of snow, cold, wind, and perhaps darkness, and it's an entirely different story. Much of this discussion applies to other fire-making methods.

  • Snow: One has to be very careful that snow does not get mixed in with the nice coal that you're creating with your bow drill. It can get spilled onto your fireboard by your bow when you are stroking away with it. And you need a good base to place the whole apparatus on, so snow doesn't spill over the edges and cover everything.
  • Cold: You may need to have your gloves off for some of the time. Your hands may become rather cold, when they need to manipulate the equipment or the newly glowing coal.
  • Wind: A wind in winter has much more impact on you and the fire-making process than in warmer months. Wind chill can become a major factor.
  • Fatigue: Tromping about in the winter can be more demanding than in the warm months, due to the deep snow, and you may be carrying more equipment. Thus you may be fatigued before you even attempt to make a fire from bow drill.
  • Equipment: Your equipment will be cold, and so you have to heat up the sawdust (to make a coal) more than in other seasons.
    Also, your equipment has to be of better quality, as it has to perform better than usual (since you have less slack in your environmental conditions to play with).
  • Stress: You will likely need a fire much more in cold weather than in the warm weather. So you may be stressed out worrying that you "have" to get fire. This can effect your results.
  • Darkness: It gets dark early in the winter. If there's no moon, and/or it's cloudy, you may have trouble seeing when you are trying to make a fire. On the other hand, the snow cover almost always helps as it is a lot better at reflecting what light there is.
 
 
 
"Extreme Fireboards" #1 - Feb 11, 2003 - by Allan "Bow" Beauchamp

"Extreme Fireboards" #2 - Jan 9, 2004 - by Allan "Bow" Beauchamp

Making a Bow Drill in the Winter - by Allan "Bow" Beauchamp