Like many “best” questions, this is highly subjective. Let’s talk about the main factors that might go into your decision on what type of firewood best suits your needs.
Indoor vs. Outdoor
Depending on where you’re having your fire, we can narrow our focus on hardwoods or softwoods. Generally speaking, softwoods are more resinous and create more creosote buildup, which makes them less desirable, and even dangerous, to burn in your indoor fireplace. Here are a few common species in each category:
Hardwoods
Ash
Oak
Walnut
Hickory
Beech
Cherry
Apple
Softwoods
Pine
Cedar
Spruce
Fir
There are many more species in each, but this should cover the most commonly found from firewood sellers.
What’s this fire’s job?
Timing
Did you just set up camp and need a hot fire for an hour or two before you and your group settle into your respective tents? Or are you hosting an all-night shindig around the firepit during the cool fall months? How long you want your fire to burn and how efficient you want to be with your wood might play into your decision. In the former situation at camp, you may want to light up some smaller pieces of pine so they’ll burn up quickly and you can head off to bed. In the all-nighter scenario you may want to go with an oak or hickory that will burn slow and hot so that you can spend more time entertaining your guests vs. constantly feeding your fire.
Heat
One of the fundamental factors to consider with firewood is how much heat a given species can put out. Wood heat is measured in BTUs and you can find several tables online that provide you with an index of BTUs per given volume of wood, by species. Especially if you’re heating your home with the wood, you may want to look for woods that rank higher on this index: Black Locust, Oak, Hickory, Ash.
Aroma
One of the most memorable aspects of a fire is the smell and each species of wood has its own aroma profile. Again, another area that is highly subjective. Here at ENFD we prefer the smell of cedar wood and might opt for that if we’re having an outdoor fire (we don’t advise burning cedar indoors). Some people say that black walnut has a very repulsive smell, so even if it burns hot they may only use it in a real pinch. We recommend trying all sorts of firewood and determining for yourself what you like best.
In the end, there might not be the “best” overall firewood but there are species that are right for certain occasions. Of course, this is also highly dependent on what you have at your disposal in your given geography. Whatever the case, you should never burn green, freshly cut wood. Make sure whatever you burn is either naturally seasoned or kiln-dried for the safest and most pleasant fire experience. For general purposes, you can never go wrong with a seasoned, or kiln-dried hardwood mix, which is exactly what you'll find through ENFD.