[yukichan]

This may be an unpopular reply, but splitting fire wood sounds like you're going to be making an open fire. Open fires are a danger to your health:

http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-fireplace-delusion

> "The unhappy truth about burning wood has been scientifically established to a moral certainty: That nice, cozy fire in your fireplace is bad for you. It is bad for your children. It is bad for your neighbors and their children."

http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/healtheffects.html

> "Smoke is made up of a complex mixture of gases and particles produced when wood and other organic matter burn. A major health threat from smoke comes from fine particles (also called particle pollution, particulate matter, or PM). These microscopic particles can get into your eyes and respiratory system, where they can cause health problems such as burning eyes, runny nose, and illnesses such as bronchitis. In addition to particle pollution, wood smoke contains several toxic harmful air pollutants including: benzene, formaldhyde, acrolein and methane."

[john_b]

Open fireplaces are mostly used for decoration, not heat. The heat transfer characteristics of a traditional stone open fireplace are rather poor. Most of the heat escapes upward through the chimney, which has to be sized large enough to prevent the smoke problem you mention from becoming noticeable to the inhabitants. Depending on the fire's temperature, much of the heat that does make it into the house is due to radiation, not convection.

For fireplaces-as-heating-systems, rather than fireplaces-as-decoration, closed designs like these are more common:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N6cx8wcRWuU/Uay6KyIgGTI/AAAAAAAAEk...

http://www.jushistone.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/firepla...

[untothebreach]

Every winter, myself and a group of ~15 others hike out to a 3-walled cabin and usually spend 3-4 days there, hiking and generally enjoying the outdoors. It is about as rustic as you can get, and with the temp getting down to -20F this past winter, being able to quickly cut and split firewood is important (you know, to survive the night...).

Needless to say, I will be starting a pool to buy one of these axes this year...

[dfc]

I do not know if it is going to be an unpopular reply but it could be a naive reply. Firewood can also be used in wood burning stoves. Furthermore what do you and Prof. Harris recommend for camping trips?

[yukichan]

I simply commented on the evidence of dangers from smoke on open fires. I haven't anything else to say. If the comment doesn't apply to you feel free to ignore it.

[darkarmani]

> I simply commented on the evidence of dangers from smoke on open fires.

But you haven't quantified the danger. Sunlight is hazardous to your health along with internal combustion engines. Neither of those links quantify the danger, so it doesn't really provide any information. Maybe the danger is so low that the stress relief a fire provides is less than the danger the smoke creates? The net sum could be negative.

[dublinben]

Open fires are banned in many places where people go camping. If you must cook food, you should use a gas or alcohol stove.

[dfc]

I wonder if this is a European thing? Most of the places I have hiked/camped in America allow fires. What do you do for heat and beast repellent?

There is a neat rule in some Scandinavian countries (I think it is more than one country but I forget the name of the rule so I cant look it up) that ensures people's right to hike across private property. I can imagine that a prohibition on fires would come in handy.

[micro_cam]

Lots of places in the US have bans on fires though some are seasonal. You can't build a fire above 5000 ft in much of the cascade and olympic mountain range because the small alpine trees can't stand up to wood gathering.

Many national parks and forest either restrict fires to metal fire rings or ban them out right during the height of wild fire season and, in southern California, some of these bands are now year long as wildfires can be so catastrophic.

Warm clothing and sleeping bags works well for heat, never had an issue with beasts other then bugs (head nets work for that) and i've spent a lot of time camping in remote spots populated with bears, wolves, mountain lions etc.

[maxerickson]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam

edit: It isn't the same, but in Michigan, all navigable water is a public right of way. I would assume similar rules exist in other states.

[dfc]

There was a neat corner case with easements/rights-of-way and water from property class that I would constantly screw up in hypos. I obviously bombed it on the final but whenever I hear it I always think it is interesting. I think it is something to do with waterfront access to property that is otherwise inaccessible.

[wiml]

Possibly the situation where a public resource or right of way (eg. a lake) is completely enclosed by private properties (eg. a developer or HOA acquiring all lots which have any of the lake's shoreline)?

[Benji_San]

Both articles seem to tackle the problem merely from the perspective of middleclass suburbans who want a "cozy" fireplace. An open fireplace is more of a decoration than a effective way of warming your house. Warming spaces with wood still a very viable alternative and can be cheaper than electricity if you have proper a stove in your house and a reliable and cheap source of wood.

It's not a viable solution in a city but definitely among the better ways to stay warm if you live on the countryside.

[agarden]

The people who split a lot of wood are those who heat their house with wood. Open fire places are for ambiance. If you actually want to heat your house, you use a wood stove, which is closed.

[sp332]

It still pipes the smoke outside, where it will affect you and your neighbors (though to a lesser extent).