Best Fire Starting Materials

[hiking_and_biking]

We keep emergency fire starting materials on us whenever we go hiking. We've never been in an actual emergency situation where we had to use them, so we've really just had them on us for peace of mind. (But what a wonderful thing that is!)

What's the best emergency fire starting materials/kit you've come across?

 

[CozInCowtown]

Cotton ball saturated with vasaline stored in a ZipLock baggie......and a Zippo.

 

[Malarkey]

To me it is any ferrocerium stick with a tinder-quik tabs or wet tinder cubes. This is dedicated stuff and works really well and under extreme conditions.

 

[oldsarge]

I have the cotton balls with vasaline, some drier lint, and some of those old army heat tabs to get the fire going, as for making a spark or fire, I have a bic, magnesium fire starter, and a Blast match. I also have a small magnifying glass and supplies to build a bow drill.

 

[Barney]

Nice kit oldsarge! Regarding fire, you can never have enough equipment, which is especially true for making fire in wet environments. Very hard, if not impossible.

 

[dinosaur]

At my cabin, if I want to start some damp kindling, I put a stack of it in the stove, cover it with cardboard, place a few paper towels in front of it saturated with lamp oil, open the draft, and light the paper towels.

The lamp oil burns readily and very hot because of the draft. It dries the kindling then sets it on fire. The cardboard surrounding the kindling makes sure the flame blows right through the damp kindling, Then the cardboard ignites and holds the heat in long enough to make certain the wood burns.

 

[ghostdog]

You have been given a lot of good ideas already but I can add some natural materials that the old ones found very valuable in inclement weather. They really work and many can find them in the locales they tramp around in.

Dried birch bark is a phenomenal fire starter. I keep a curl of it, bundling together some dry juniper shavings.

Fatwood from a pine stump is saturated with resin and if you take your knife and shave it into tiny curls you can get a fire going in damp weather. I keep a couple of small sticks in my tinder bundle or you can drill a hole in a piece as pictured below and attach it to your key chain.

I also keep a couple of pure cotton balls in that tinder bundle. You can fray a very small piece and place it in most any tinder. You can spark a flame first time out of the chute usually.

 

[hippieP]

ghost, that looks like a good trick to try out. I might need to try and find some in our town. I know we have usually used the kindling set instead. I guess we are still learning as we go when it comes to the outdoors life.

 

[Lamebeaver]

I've heard napalm works really well.....

 

[ghostdog]

ghost, that looks like a good trick to try out. I might need to try and find some in our town. I know we have usually used the kindling set instead. I guess we are still learning as we go when it comes to the outdoors life.

You'll have fun with it. The birch bark has a lot of oils so it burns like a little oil lamp for a few moments. Find some dry stuff or dry it good first.

Lamebeaver, I love the smell of napalm in the morning...

 

[ejdixon]

Thanks for the suggestions, ghost. Gonna definitely add those in my fire starting kit.

 

[ChadTower]

I have the cotton balls with vasaline, some drier lint, and some of those old army heat tabs to get the fire going, as for making a spark or fire, I have a bic, magnesium fire starter, and a Blast match. I also have a small magnifying glass and supplies to build a bow drill.

Similar. I keep a freezer baggie with smaller baggies in it. Cotton balls with vaseline and dry wood chips in one bag. Paper matches and a magnesium firestarter in another, and a metal match in another with two Bics that have the adjustable flame. Why all in baggies? I like baggies. If I ever need a baggie here are some extras.

 

[oldsarge]

Baggies rule!

 

[Malarkey]

Yup, they rule. But waterproof cases rule more! But, even Micro Pelican Cases are too big for carrying. So, I discovered Witz cases which are excellent for carrying this type of stuff.

 

[ppine]

Oldsarge,

Yesterday on the drive to town, I thought of your line about survival school. " If your survival school was cancelled because of bad weather, you need a new instructor." Ppine 2011.

 

[oldsarge]

Oldsarge,

Yesterday on the drive to town, I thought of your line about survival school. " If your survival school was cancelled because of bad weather, you need a new instructor." Ppine 2011.

That wasn't me who stated that. I think is was Gunny. But you are correct, a new instructor would be needed! Bad weather is the best time to train.

 

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


I carry my own preferred four methods of fire starting, and can also start some otherwise, such as with a mag glass. I also carry cotton ball/vaseline tinder and some Esbit-type tabs + stove.

I've no use for "kits" manufactured by others, which are sold in outdoor-type stores.

Or, you can use the old Indian method...Blazo (actually told to me by an old Indian...tongue-in-cheek, of course). If you're not familiar with Blazo, it is a less expensive but equally as good substutute for Coleman fuel...!!

 

[catspa]

Road flare: napalm in a tube. I know it's cheating, but it's always wet where I live and it's my sworn duty to save a life by any means available.

Parker

 

[Michael]

That wasn't me who stated that. I think is was Gunny. But you are correct, a new instructor would be needed! Bad weather is the best time to train.

A friend took a survival course some years ago, in the winter. The final exam for the class was starting a fire with limited equipment. The instructor waited for a slushy, gross, wet day.

The people in the class ended up needing to build what amount to boats on top of lakes of slush and snow in order to get a platform for their fires. My friend says that it's the proudest he'd ever been to start a fire.

 

[LinuxRacr]

I always carry a magnesium fire starting tool. The first time I used it, one of the sparks burned a hole in my pants.