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Fieldcraft Firestarters

I pack more than one. Not only are there waterproof matches in my ruck,
a bic in my pocket, but also a magnesium/firesteel combo, magnifying glass
in my first aid kit and a wad of steel wool that can be ignited with the battery
from one of my electronics.
 
Big +1 on what Justin Amateur said, he pretty much covered it. I also used to make some little field-candles to throw in the bottom of my buttpack. I'd cut up newpaper into 2" wide strips and roll them up into little logs, then tie them off with cotton twine leaving a few inches of tail off of the knots; then dip them in melted parafin (wax) and let them cool. They kept pretty much indefinitely and provided a nice "stable" fire to get damp kindling going.
 
I had a magn/flint starter and have multiple lighter and matches, but picked up a couple ferro type rods with strikers and a couple pieces of some high resin starter sticks. Also like cotton balls with vaseline, and have used waxed pine cones. Was just wondering what works for some, in less than ideal circumstances. Tested my new set in wet cow shit and a puddle of water. Lit both times.

Eric
 
An ax or hatchet. No matter how hard its raining, how wet it is, most wood is dry in the middle. Spit it, make shavings and use it. The finer the shavings the easier to get started. Start with find, work your way up in layers. After a bit, even wet wood will dry out and burn. Try to get coals before adding wet wood.

When I use to teach Arctic Survival, I wouldn't let people use paper, dryer lint, etc. They had to use what ever was in the woods. If you don't want to or don't happen to carry an ax or hatchet, you can do the same with a pocket knife. Find a good stick, break it, then start whittling. When you get to the dry insides, start making your shavings. The wet outside shavings you had can be added as the fire get going. Wet shavings dry out and burn faster then big chunks, adding to fuel to the fire.

Don't get hung up on the ideal you have to pack a bunch of paper, lint, or other fire starting material to get a good fire going quick.

In most of cruising, hiking, cross country skiing, trips I never carried anything but a pocket knife and I'm never without a fire.
 
kraigWY said:
An ax or hatchet. No matter how hard its raining, how wet it is, most wood is dry in the middle. Spit it, make shavings and use it. The finer the shavings the easier to get started. Start with find, work your way up in layers. After a bit, even wet wood will dry out and burn. Try to get coals before adding wet wood.

When I use to teach Arctic Survival, I wouldn't let people use paper, dryer lint, etc. They had to use what ever was in the woods. If you don't want to or don't happen to carry an ax or hatchet, you can do the same with a pocket knife. Find a good stick, break it, then start whittling. When you get to the dry insides, start making your shavings. The wet outside shavings you had can be added as the fire get going. Wet shavings dry out and burn faster then big chunks, adding to fuel to the fire.

Don't get hung up on the ideal you have to pack a bunch of paper, lint, or other fire starting material to get a good fire going quick.

In most of cruising, hiking, cross country skiing, trips I never carried anything but a pocket knife and I'm never without a fire.
Click to expand...

This, its not so much on what is used to start a fire, you have to know how to get the fuel source first and keep the fire lit. I leave an ax at home and prefer just a good fixed blade knife and/or a Sven saw or a 12" piece of chain saw chain with webbing loops on each end for the hands, lighter and is easier to saw wood than chop it.

Just about every pocket or pouch has a Bic lighter, I also have a blast match with fire starter and a magnesium bar.
 
45.308 said:
I leave an ax at home and prefer just a good fixed blade knife and/or a Sven saw or a 12" piece of chain saw chain with webbing loops on each end for the hands, lighter and is easier to saw wood than chop it.
Click to expand...

I used to carry a little hatchet on backpacking trips, but soon realized that a decent sized knife and a folding saw really is a more potent combo. I have a Corona brand saw I got at lowe's or something for like 20 bucks and it weighs very little but cuts deadfalls into camp wood like a madman.

I also keep one of the blast match/Mg bar things in every vehicle and bag that may get taken off the pavement. More reliable than even a bic lighter, which I also keep an ample supply of. I've been meaning to learn how to use a hand drill but just haven't made the time yet.
 
Fritos are the ultimate survival tool as you can eat it, light it, and use it for bait.

flaming_fritos.jpg
 
The axe/hatchet adds a lot of weight and can be substituted for a sturdy fixed blade. I agree, though, that the starting method is secondary to the ability to get a good tinder and kindling bundle going.

I keep a tube of cotton balls covered in petroleum jelly beside my ferro rod with striker. One cotton ball in petro-jelly will burn for several minutes and requires minimum effort to light. It will also burn in wet conditions.

You can use your sturdy fixed blade to baton through thick standing deadwood if needed.



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What I allways have in my pocket is a bic lighter,and a pocket knife,99% of the time that all I need,but if you find your self,like I have in an area with nothing but alder,and cottonwood,(Kodiak Island)soaking wet,and its been Raining for a week,some form of firestarter can save your life,In my pack,I Keep a candle,and another BIC I use Intertube still for a scope cover when Im hunting in wet weather,I keep one of these in my pack,it will burn for a long time,also the old Army heat tabs are really hot,I dont know if these are still available,but they are really good ,I still have a few.Green alder will burn in the rain,once you get it started and will make hot coals,cottonwood...forget it...,so know your fuel,where I live now, we have sage brush,and Greasewood pretty much in the NW its not too hard to find somthing that will burn,I usuallly do the Shavings with my pocket knife wherever I am,remember small ,and dry,get plenty of good small fuel rounded up before you start If im in the forest,Ill allways grab some pitch,it just makes it easy...
 
The thing about Kodiak Island, the rains forest of the Coast, and most of the rest of Alaska is its covered with Sitka Spruce. These spruce trees pretty much all have dead branches protected by the tree itself. As wet as it is, its always easy to gather these dead branches which make excellent tender, you don't need anything else but a match or Bic to get it started.
 
All very good info but as stated the best fire starter is knowledge and practice. However one of my favorite to carry is cotton balls coated in petroleum jelly with a ferro rod. I really like the Exotac stuff especially the Nanostriker:

Exotac Fire Starters
 
I always throw a small thing of hand sanitizer in my pack. Its mostly alcohol and burns extreamly hot.
 
kraigWY said:
The thing about Kodiak Island, the rains forest of the Coast, and most of the rest of Alaska is its covered with Sitka Spruce. These spruce trees pretty much all have dead branches protected by the tree itself. As wet as it is, its always easy to gather these dead branches which make excellent tender, you don't need anything else but a match or Bic to get it started.
Click to expand...

Not alot of spruce, on the south 3/4 of the Island...but I totaly agree,if you're in the spruce...your home free! If you're on the coast, you can always find some crabline,or a bouy,to set on fire...that said I saw a couple guys use up all of there matches in a spruce patch,one of them had fallen in the water crossing on a beaver dam,hypothermia was setting in,they lacked skill,but fire starter would have helped them.I just did what you said,grabed up a bunch of the smallest twigs from the underside of spruce,and got the guy thawed out.
 
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Just a thought. A simple bic lighter is cheap, always works well, lightweight, and lasts a very long time. I vacuum seal a few of them with the vacuum sealer we use in our kitchen. They take up minimum space and add very little weight. Bottom line up front: they just simply work well. For less than 10 bucks I can have five of them ready to go in no time at all. I would say they last just as long as many other "more primitive" methods do. I love to practice my field craft when I am out in the woods as much as the next guy, however, when it comes to getting the job done in a hurry...this method is hard to beat. Start with very small wood shavings and your fire will be burning hot in no time at all.

Just a thought. Anyone have any thoughts on my method?

Thanks,
Rob
 
Surprised no one has mentioned a "pitch stick" yet...
Click to expand...

When I was growing up wood heat is all we had, pine "pitch sticks" are what we use to start all our fires. Wood cook stove and fireplace. We were not well off and even used them as flash lights. Part of our wood stockpiling consisted of gathering kindling pine.
 
What Justin said. But Added a oil soaked piece of cotton with magnesium shavings in it as tender. Lights first time every time.
 
Ferro rod, and Vaseline soaked cotton balls.

If you lose your cotton balls, you still have the ferro rod to make fire. Where I am we have a ton of pinion pine. These things have layers of sap on them. If I have no cotton balls, I will take grass or dry shavings, wrap it around the sap, and spark it. Once it get going, that sap burns for awhile.
 
If you're in a rush to produce fire, there's one thing most of us carry in the woods
that is often forgotten when it come time to produce flames, spray on bug repellent.
Grab that can of Deep Woods Off and spray it across a lit match or Bic, instant blow-torch.
Can be used for getting those wet shavings going, personal defense and as intended as a repellent.
I believe in reading those MSDS sheets provided by the manufacturers, bug spray is about 70% alcohol.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/sfpssD6MzW8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Some times it's good to be a bit of a pyromaniac...
devil10.gif
 
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What do you guys think about those fire pistons...damn auto correct.
 
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Fire piston for those who've never seen one...

Fire piston - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I was given one, tried it, it works. Very small amount of very fine tinder is ignited
and turned into an ember which is quickly dumped atop more very fine tinder and gently blown into flame.
It's now sitting in a odds-n-ends box in my garage because my Bic is the same size and more useful.
 
I stumbled upon tinder-quick and they work really well with a metal match. Fray the end a bit and it really takes off. They weight almost nothing.
 
I pack 3 road flares. They will light wet wood & maybe get you found if lost & the work right now without having to dick around in the cold & dark. I store them in a ziplock. About $1 or so at any truck stop.
 
Kotex
small light come prepackaged waterproof, easy to light and burn like the desert sun
 
I have a magnesium fire starter, and they're easy to use and light to carry. Everyone should have one in their backpack along with a small knife or multitool for camp work, and for striking the magnesium striker. A lighter of course, but don't always count on it when you need it.

In addition to that, there's also an abundance of turpentine reeking sap from huge evergreens here, and it doesn't take long to collect a large ball of this stuff and it's VERY flammable. That in combination with small bit of magnesium or possibly just the flint from the lighter and you're good to go, you're guaranteed a fire and FAST. This is my preferred method.

There's another way of making a fire using an MRE heater, but it typically requires certain ones (magnesium wafers preferably) and it's not exactly a preferred method.

Rubbing two sticks (a bow) done that before, and let me tell you, it's some hard work. Not made better by having virtually everything damp and soaked. This is my least preferred method.
 
i have some store bought gelled gasoline some montana fire started basically the same thing some fatwood picked up from a stump to ignight these things i have matchets ferrocerium rod a traditional flint and steel i made a magnifying glass i also carry at lest 3 lighters on me at all times im a smoker with friends who like to steal em
 
Things I carry in my pack:
1. Magnesium fire starter
2. Wind Proof lighter
3. Copenhagen Can (pretty Water proof) with Dryer lint to start the fire
4. A couple of fire pitch sticks (light weight), the kind you use to start stove fires. Helps build the flame from the lint.
5. Small piece of magnesium wick, just in case
6. Knife to shave bark or cut small sticks

This combo works for me and is very compact and light weigh
 
In addition to other items ( box lighter, lint etc) calcium carbide lump on miners grade in water proof container just add a few drops of water to a rock to produce acetylene gas. When I lived in Alaska and North West used it often to get tinder going
 
Tampons are a fantastic source of tinder. They also have many other uses. They are small, light, waterproof, and dry.
 
Cotton balls soaked in Vaseline and a Bic lighter. Also have magnesium /flint striker as well. You can never have enough ways to make fire!


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