My experience with the log cabin method reduces the flame and smoke aspects of a bonfire, and keeps it at a steadier, more even burn rather than the quick, higher heat of larger fires. We mostly used it for cooking.
Again, I’m sure that with deeper knowledge of fires someone could get better results. But for consistently made fires that were good for cooking, and didn’t burn through fuel as quickly as a teepee fire would, the log cabin method was easiest to consistently reproduce. We’d usually cook using a Dutch oven, so coals were more important than flames, and high flames were often not allowed at the sites we stayed at.
My experience with the log cabin method reduces the flame and smoke aspects of a bonfire, and keeps it at a steadier, more even burn rather than the quick, higher heat of larger fires. We mostly used it for cooking.
Again, I’m sure that with deeper knowledge of fires someone could get better results. But for consistently made fires that were good for cooking, and didn’t burn through fuel as quickly as a teepee fire would, the log cabin method was easiest to consistently reproduce. We’d usually cook using a Dutch oven, so coals were more important than flames, and high flames were often not allowed at the sites we stayed at.