The Ultimate Firewood Test - Which Wood Burns the Longest?

Have you ever wondered what the best firewood for Camping, Bushcraft & Survival is? We test 8 different species of firewood and light them all at the same time! Which one will burn for the longest?
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[@12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon]

That shot behind you and your pops sat down eating good food and enjoying nature hit me emotionally. The time we spend with our parents is so precious. You two have a great relationship, and a couple of hearts of gold. Loving the content Mike.

[@electrician1602]

Nice comment mate and you’re spot on, enjoy our parents while they’re with us.

[@bobbyfischer6786]

Life in the old fella yet

[@lewisp3954]

yep me and all bonding over a Hot dog cooked on a fire youve made is priceless loved it .

[@BBQDad463]

Thank you for this video. I am 72. My Grandfather often told me that Oak and Ash were the twin champions of firewood quality, and I have never found fault with either, even if only moderately well-dried. I believe that your demonstration has proven their worth conclusively.

[@northernembersoutdoors1045]

Great experiment. It's interesting because ash and oak are the last of the trees to produce leaves in the spring, hence the saying... Ash before Oak in for a soak, oak before ash in for a splash. Meaning if ash leaves open before Oak it'll be a wet summer but if oak leaves open first it'll be a relatively dry summer. Enjoyable watch, thanks

[@EzeAdventurer]

Love the chemistry between you and your dad. He's such a legend, and testament of how great of a father he is and has been. Beautiful.

[@markvanlaren6467]

Great little experiment guys. Your dad is a hoot. Lots of fun.

[@finbarscanlonwolf]

I'm almost 100% certain. You're the only channel I've watched that has done this. ❤️👍👍🇮🇪

[@TAOutdoors]

💪🏻

[@glorfendell2967]

Great vid! So much fun. I love when Dad comes along. Of course oak was going to win all along. Thanks Mike and Dad!

[@malinlewendon]

I love how you are going around checking all the temperatures and your dad just says “Ooo that's hot” 😂😂

[@TAOutdoors]

😂

[@Catherine1151]

😂 and your Dad calling it like a horse race

[@Catherine1151]

Also: Mike - there's one burning hot behind me Dad - I think it's your coat

[@richardchartrand5340]

I never had a Dad growing up, Graham is truly a blessing I love the adventures you guys have together.

[@murphychris9811]

your dad is just like my dad they just know things about things that no one ever asked to no its great

[@mads_ittmann1823]

hahaha, I can second this with my dad. You can ask them the most random thing about anything, and they'll figure it out or know just a straight up answer.

[@Sally-nse2]

I cannot tell you why but I had forgotten how much I so enjoy the videos that you do with your dad Largely because they often entertaining, informative, interesting and very useful. Please tell your dad he’s not allowed to ‘beg out’ at any price unless he’s sick😆. I have really missed him.

[@audiotechlabs4650]

When I lived in Missouri,USA, we burned oak. If you were smart you would stack a few cords of stove length(16”) for a couple of years and burn that during the day and have some green to “bank” the fire at night. Make sure there were a thick bed of red hot coals to put the green oak on. With any luck and a stove that seals well to let the night wood burn slow, the fire and heat would last most of the night. Great test and as always great to see dear old Dad! Hi Graeme.

[@JSMCalder]

8 fires!! That’s got to be, definitely pyromania hahaha Great video chaps

[@margaretbarclay-laughton2086]

Nah boys will be boys 😂

[@kittvt]

We heat primarily with wood we harvest from our own land (southern VT, USA). Oak and ash both provide a ton of BTUs, as does black locust. Cherry and birch (paper birch in our area) are second tier. Fun to watch this!

[@Jld1021]

Hands down the warmest bonfire is this warm moment between father and son!

[@andywilliment581]

I think oak longest, birch hottest and pine quickest. Great video, always good to see you both out together.😎🇬🇧

[@Lazarus-aap]

I prefer Ash over Oak. The reason why there still was oak left, is because i didn't burn well... it smoked the most as well. Oak might be better in a stove and/or mixed with other wood.This is also my experience when i worked at a woodworker where we built furniture and heated the workshop with wood. Awesome experiment though. I am kinda jealous you have a woodland to have 8 campfires burning and having a good time with your dad! I love it

[@gabriellec7096]

I always enjoy the videos you do with your dad. The relationship you guys have is so beautiful ❤️

[@DMZwerg]

My uncle owns a sawmill and thus it generates slabs with bark on it. He would keep as much oak slab for himself for burning all winter, then various pieces of bark and sawdust for kindling, likely a bit of pine, birch, or willow to supplement the kindling (I think birch or willow when it was an indoor furnace as less issues with the resin in the smoke). No real surprises for me that pine & willow were a close run

[@markramsden1772]

That's a really interesting video. I follow/watch a few different outdoor channels and non have done a video like this, its a really good idea. I am a tree surgeon and I am quite surprised by some of the results. Great video

[@ArielleViking]

Great to see your dad back out with you. This was fascinating, thought that the pine would burn up quickest. Gladiated I love it. ❤

[@Heilansodger7536]

Looks like a great time, having fun with dad there …..memories for ever

[@chipper841]

As much fun as you both are having and your audience also having fun watching you two.... It's a great idea to see how all those different woods will burn! Appreciate the humor and the knowledge!;Thanks guys!👍👍

[@jonathanluce9130]

Very entertaining, I always use oak and ash in our log burner so your results are good.

[@hannakinn]

Always love to see you and your Dad, you make an awesome team.

[@bdctrans70]

Love this! Well, I smoke with oak at a low temp, and I use various hardwoods in my fireplace. For me, I can get the oak to be the hottest burning and the longest burning. The fastest will be the willow and the pine.

[@andylambi5531]

Hi guys, I think oak will last the longest. Although pine will burn pretty hot. We live in Cyprus and you thinking it's hot here, it is in the summer months, but we live in the mountains and we depend on wood for warmth for the winter season. Love the videos keep up the great work you both do very well in what you both do.

[@lukedukeoutdoors5110]

Dry seasoned Ash is hard to beat. One of my favorites to split an burn. 💪👍✌️

[@erikallan8984]

That was the greatest call of a non-horse race!!😂😂😂😂😂

[@brushfyre2705]

this was brilliant!!! what an awesome idea and very informative. you two are the best.

[@Mumbles274]

This is your best video ever guys. I love your bond and humour and of course the content is awesome. Well done!!

[@FidoHouse]

My guess: Pine hottest (and shortest) Oak longest .... this was fun! Thank you for doing this. Impressed by the Ash and Birch.

[@BruceGeorgePeterLee13]

your dad reminded me of my grandad. A very precious gentleman ❤️

[@flamintasty]

My two favourite Scientists, both with a degree in arson around 😂

[@mattshaffer5935]

No peek here. I’d rate pine the hottest burn and oak the longest burn. Best regards and thanks as always! Well done! For me I guess 1 out of two ain’t bad 😂

[@johnvanpolanen3589]

Excellent father and son experiment . Very interesting test !

[@ATinyPlace]

Over here in Puerto Rico I found that spanish lime wood that is properly dried is super dense and makes a long lasting hot fire and makes some nice coals

[@devilsknight]

I couldnt think of a more scientific way possible! Testing and observation is the scientific way!

[@TheMercian01]

Brilliant, reviews are always useful but a big comparison test like this is fantastic.

[@blademan175]

I had to keep 3 fireplaces burning in our house in the mid 70’s every winter in Pa. Went through 9 cords of white ash. Love how it splits. I smoke meats now with live oak as it is available everywhere in Florida, and it was the wood used for main timbers in ships due to its strength. Cheers from across the pond!

[@beancampingpodcast7926]

Great diversity for the channel - this is why it's one of the best in the world. Great job guys 👍👍

[@davidrosenberg5453]

Thanks gents for the video and experiment!! Very helpful and interesting!,

[@TheSaneHatter]

Lady Celia Congreve's "The Firewood Poem" repeatedly extolled the the virtues of ash wood as early as 1930 (apparently building on much earlier folk wisdom in the UK). But I can also attest that, here in Texas, we've certainly done a lot of barbecue over oak!

[@bertgriffin3624]

TA, this is nice to see.

[@janemillard1754]

I love it when Dad’s in the vid. 🔥

[@trinaholland9749]

I love uour video but i really love when yoir dad is in them. I can see you two have a very special bond❤

[@condor1961]

Another great video from you guys. You even make burning wood interesting and fun. You two are amazing people, I love watching your videos whatever you do. I don't need to say keep up the great work because I know you will. You are both legends. Thanks guys. ❤️❤️👍👍

[@T_B]

Cool video. I love y'all doing stuff together!

[@Jesus4444me]

Love your videos and especially love the videos of you and Dad! You 2 are my kind of Ant & Dec!!! God bless!!! ❤️🙏🏼

[@MartinJames389]

OK, at 3:42, I'd say the Ash will burn hottest and the Beech or Oak the longest. But it may not be that simple. I wouldn't be surprised if the Pine hits the highest temperature, but only briefly, whereas the Ash will sustain a decent hot burn until it's nearly done. I say this because the Pine is likely to be the most resinous, producing a hot flare but not sustaining it. I hope you'll be taking temperatures several times, and not just once for each. Depending on the wind direction, some fire piles may be in the lee of others, or surrounding objects. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oh well, I was surprised at the Silver Birch. I didn't think that would last long. As you said, the Beech didn't have a fair shot. I have found it to be an excellent burning wood. I spent a winter with a wood burning stove at around 330 metres in the Pennines (cold!). I found Beech was the stuff to keep the fire in overnight. There wasn't much of it, but a Beech log, split just in two, on very low air, would do the trick. Oak might have done the same, but I didn't have any. The "wisdom" was that the fire wouldn't stay in overnight with wood, only coke would do that, but I found Beech would.

[@OutdoorPrepper2025]

That was a good little experiment,im glad you both had fun as usual,im sure your dad is the long lost chuckle brother 😆😅😂

[@BartBuzz]

This was a feel-good episode watching you and your Dad having fun in the woods. Such a blessing for both of you. BTW, I picked OAK for the win. My experience with oak in wood stoves made it an easy pick. It's such a dense wood and always has a clean burn.

[@jennifertucker107]

You guys are so much fun to listen to.

[@binkolney196]

We need more of your Dad ... he's a hoot ... and I agree ... it's so alien to light a fire from the top

[@snakeeye814]

We have, on family land in North West Pennsylvania, Red and White Amereican Oak, Black Cherry, Sugar and Hard Maples, Silver and White Birch, Ash, and Beech for firewood choice. (naturally downed trees only) White Oak seems to be our family favorite for heat and duration. Red Oak and Beech come in a tied close second. We don't burn much Birch, but it's definitely a dense, long burning wood. We also have pines, hemlock, American Poplar, Locust, etc. that we'll saw lumber out of. Locust is used mostly for in ground posts. Some springs, we'll tap a few sugar Maples and make syrup. I know I'm forgetting more than a few species. Mostly because we don't have a use for them. We also have Quaking Aspen (absolute garbage wood) I'd like to see a video on ease of hand splitting on equal diameter and length sections of different woods. White Oak is a bear, so stringy. Ash is a dream.

[@motagrad2836]

Most wood you can split either right after you feel and cut it or shortly therefore. Except Willow. Willow is so wet you can't really split it as the splitting maul will just sink in. So my father's "trick" for splitting green willow was to wait until it froze solid and then split it. Then you could stack it to speed drying

[@josephkerley363]

Where I am in Alaska, Birch is the wood of choice. It burns well and hot.

[@SmokeyDukems]

This is so dope and great knowledge to have. But even better you got to spend time with your dad and make memories that you can go back and watch

[@darrellpidgeon6440]

Such a great tribute to the scientific method. Would be a wonderful entry in a journal.

[@hannieuwenhuize]

I'd love to see what's on the trailcams!

[@BethNitch]

Loving Dad's sense of humor

[@rosesevers5181]

Love this one with your dad… great experiment 😁

[@DebbieDunigan]

I think oak - that was fun 😊

[@jtdrake826]

Brilliant as always l love graeme in the videos dont stop guys.

[@lynnebaker9672]

Great video love you guys keep them coming

[@ronandanne1]

What a great idea for a video!

[@bradh74]

I thought that Oak was burning pretty fast in the beginning, that was surprising since Oak is known as the best firewood for your stoves plus the BTUs it puts out. If you left those trail cams out in the USA like that they would probably turn up missing. People have started bringing ladders and cables so they can lock them high in a tree! Ridiculous right? Have a good year!

[@GeorgiaRidgerunner]

im in the united states state of georgia literally my entire life ive been told pine isnt a good firewood cause it burns up too fast and that oak is the best because it burms slow and makes a lot of heat during my 12 years of heating a house solely with wood ive found that what the old timers said seems to be true and now i see this video that confirms what the old timers say thanks for an outstanding video gentleman

[@RomeoDelta-gw7dd]

Very enjoyable video to watch. Good show gents

[@robertr4193]

Nice experiment on the different wood burn times and heat.

[@nopelindoputraperkasa5869]

Nice sharing Vidio...Very inspiring and useful ...God Bless You Greeting from Indonesian traditional gold prospecting 🇮🇩💗😍👍👍🙏

[@hansesselink9386]

Nice to see somewhat science video. Just good fun but with a serious toch to it. Suprising to see silverbirch beat beech. Oak and ash on a tie. Nice. Lovely content once again.

[@D11Alpha]

In Orange County, California a cord of wood used to be 1/3 Eucalyptus, 1/3 Orange, & 1/3 Avocado. Eucalyptus burns very hot. I'll go with Euc as the hottest

[@Peteablokeoutdoors]

Brilliant video gents 😁very interesting and great humour 😂 thoroughly enjoyed it 👍🏻👊🏼

[@stevo9099]

Me and my misses were gobsmacked when we saw who your dad was I said that's the fisherman we watch TA fishing hang on TA outdoors brill

[@donnabrooks3223]

Love all your videos but especially the ones with your dad.

[@Sirilere]

This one was great fun! Thank you for sharing.

[@1967AJB]

Brilliant video, I can’t believe I’ve not seen this done before!

[@Druforithe]

Pyro Pullen Sr & Jr 😂 🤣 🔥

[@robertlee8400]

Ant hard wood is the best kind to use for a fire , it will burn a lot slower & hotter .

[@graceygrumble]

Great experiment. Fun!

[@fishingbrigade]

Absolutly epic Video, seeing you guy´s together again on a video is awsome . Love from the Fishing Brigade from Scotland

[@Mr.kakaBushcraft]

That was very interesting.

[@allanmason7544]

really enjoyed that vid both

[@chiefredbird7315]

VERY KOOL VIDEO... i prefer oak. Great smell and taste

[@jgn2112]

Fantastic video! Another idea: use your thermal imager to see which fire configurations direct heat in one direction most effectively. I've always wondered that and you almost read my mind with this video!

[@theahalme]

This is a great topic! I wanted to know. All I ever hear is soft & hardwood, hardwood best. Pine didn't do as well. Quite a bit of difference. ✌️😎👍💫🌼🕊️🕊️🕯️✨🙏🌹👒

[@BinManSays87]

Silver birch impressed me to be fair, which is handy because it's errrrrrrverywhere around here

[@phila1714]

That's a great experiment for sure or reason to cut and burn wood outdoors but something I always thought about! Love your channel thanks for the vid

[@celticgoddess81]

I think oak will burn the longest followed by cherry (the one marked eucalyptus). Hottest ?maybe hazel.

[@jonm4989]

‘But ash new or ash old is fit for a Queen with a crown of gold’ . Taken from the firewood poem by Lady Celia Congreve.She obviously knew her firewoods.

[@riuphane]

This was interesting and fun, even if it wasn't very scientific or definitive. Would also be interesting to see how much the "seasoning" affects this as well, but that's a 4 year project...

[@DorothyMarks-Tango17]

What an interesting experiment! I"m not sure that winning or loosing is the way to think of it.... more what purpose of the fire you want it for... so a slow burning fire for heating - or use in a log burner - would be best with the oak, ash or birch, but if you wanted a quick fire that turned to coals for cooking on, you might choose the pine or hazel...Perhaps then also you might want to select the one with the aromatic smoke for some cooking :-) They all have their purposes

[@07scsu]

I think the birch will be the fastest oak will burn the longest. I think birch will also burn the hottest. But, I haven’t cheated, so, I’m not sure. But, I know the resin in the wood helps it burn faster and hotter. Over time, oak or another hardwood might reach consistently higher temperatures over a longer duration.

[@kingrafa3938]

Love this video ❤ Father and son tandem!

[@1shooter402]

Your Dad is Hilarious! Making great memories!

[@geraldfitzgibbon7428]

Ash hottest. Oak for longest but not to hot Lads that was so fun. Great job

[@m9ovich785]

""Crackin" Great video You two....

[@cameronpage2878]

Fantastic experiment 👏🏼 Loved it 🪵🔥

[@Kropikovo]

Fun and interesting!