From basic crumpled paper and dryer lint, to waxed volcanic rock and recycled thermoplastic, there's far more than one way to spark a warming blaze, and it seems there's always another just around the corner. The new Firetent from Canadian firm Coast Shape Design is the latest to float across our desk. It skips fancy materials in favor of basic cardboard, cotton and wood, but it packs into pocket-sized box that builds into a mini-teepee fire like a 3D puzzle. The entirety of the packaging and contents are combusted in the process, leaving nothing but a little ash behind.
Graphic design studios don't always develop and launch their own products, but the Firetent is a simple, straightforward design born out of experience. Coast Shape got the inspiration for it after a backpacking trip along the notoriously wet Western Canadian Coast. After a downpour snuffed out the opportunity to start a fire, the cold, damp, semi-miserable night led to reflection on just how integral a roaring campfire is to the outdoor experience. Back at the office, the Coast Shape team set to work creating a fun, simple fire-starting tool easy enough for both adults and (supervised) children.
The slide-open Firetent pack houses 11 basswood pieces that secure together into a miniaturized teepee fire formation and a pair of cotton balls. Users simply snap the pieces together, rip up the cardboard packaging, stuff the ripped pieces and cotton balls inside the teepee, and light the cotton to start the fire. They can then build a larger teepee of kindling and logs around the fire-starter bundle.
Unlike other fire-starting tools we've seen out and about, the Firetent isn't inspired by reality television-grade wilderness survival or novelties like starting a fire that floats on water. It's really just about the simple communal pleasure of sitting around a fire with campmates, warming chilly extremities, and roasting up hot food to enjoy with company and conversation.
Two of the first things we tend to want to do when we arrive at camp, at least if it's close to dark, are sit down with a drink and start a fire. These activities are often at odds, but the Firetent looks like it could make for a natural order — snap the Firetent together while enjoying a beverage in your camp chair and you have a neat, easy means of getting the fire going moments later. You'll still need to pull the firewood bundle out of the car (or rummage for wood in the forest), but at least you'll have that first drink in you.
Coast Shape Design is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to raise money toward launching the Firetent. A pledge of CA$10 (US$8) secures a participant one of the first Firetents to roll out of the factory, and if that sounds like too much money to burn on a single fire, Coast also offers packages that drop the price to CA$8 (US$6.35) per Firetent. Deliveries will begin in June if everything goes according to plan.
Source: Kickstarter