Fire Starters

[partyman66]

What kind of stuff do you guys like to use to start fires when camping or in an emergency situation besides the typical lighters and matches?

Basically, what kind of little gadgets(preferably very reusable ones that don't wear out fast, or hardly at all) work well and are affordable and conveniently sized?


There are things like FirePistons, reusable matches, Sunlight Magnification, etc.... and there's obviously various derivations on the flint mechanism.. but what do you guys like the best and find to be the most convenient, reusable and cool?

[SurfingDrunk]

steel wool and waterproof matches.
of a strike/magnesium stick and steel wool.

if you dip a "normal" wooden match in wax several times, it becomes pretty water resistant.

[trump]

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0049001517846a&navCount=8&podId=0049001&parentId=cat20130&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat20075-cat20130_TGP&catalogCode=XJ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20130&hasJS=true

[Tred]

In my SAR pack, I have a few things. Vaseline soaked cotton balls. Magnesium fire starter. Waterproof matches. Windproof lighter. I guess I should carry a magnifying glass.

[SurfingDrunk]

$12 here (http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/brunton-fire-striker.aspx?a=458999), with a neat catalog.
http://image.sportsmansguide.com/dimage/145385_ts.JPG?cell=320,320&cvt=jpeg

or 3 off-brands for $15. (http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/3-fire-starter-sticks.aspx?a=421639)
http://image.sportsmansguide.com/dimage/130541_ts.JPG?cell=200,200&cvt=jpeg

[trump]

$12 here (http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0049001517846a&navCount=8&podId=0049001&parentId=cat20130&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat20075-cat20130_TGP&catalogCode=XJ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20130&hasJS=true), with a neat catalog.
http://image.sportsmansguide.com/dimage/145385_ts.JPG?cell=320,320&cvt=jpeg

I like that one better too. Nice find.

[Tred]

I guess my compass has a magnifying glass.

[trump]

I guess my compass has a magnifying glass.

Just hope when shit hits the fan that the sun is out :D

[SurfingDrunk]

Just hope when shit hits the fan that the sun is out :Dwith the way things are going with Korea, we might need sunglasses and sunscreen- not worrying how to start a fire.

[trump]

Damn, Cabelas is out of SPF 10,000,000! Guess I'll have to get a flame proof suit... maybe I can borrow this guy's: http://www.ttora.com/forum/member.php?u=9842.

[Taco Eric]

I have a Flint Strike.. Have I ever used it? Not yet.

[SurfingDrunk]

Damn, Cabelas is out of SPF 10,000,000! Guess I'll have to get a flame proof suit... maybe I can borrow this guy's: http://www.ttora.com/forum/member.php?u=9842.
they have a fireproof suit at Millers Surplus on 6th! i want it; it even has the hood!

[trump]

they have a fireproof suit at Millers Surplus on 6th! i want it; it even has the hood!

:lmao: I think I saw it there! that store rocks, the one on Craycroft sucks balls!

[TRD4ME / PARKSOFFROAD.COM]

Just have a simple military flint / magnesium setup, the kids both have them also on their hiking belts, and yes, at 5 and 9 they can both use them.

[GOT COPE?]

old flint and steel from boyscouts, much like the pics posted. keep it around in case I cant find the butane lighter.

just as important IMO is a ziplock bag full of dryer lint, a little bit will keep a flame for a minute or two. worst case sub belly button lint or vaseline soaked cotton balls. gotta have something to sustain the spark for a bit till you can get the other stuff burning.

[SAR_Squid79]

Ever since I was a Boy Scout, I've had pretty good luck with the Magnesium Flint Stick. I also always carry water/windproof matches.
The most important thing is that you are familiar & practice OFTEN with whatever kind of firestarter you choose.

SEREvince has lots of experience and some good insight on this matter:
I've used everything under the sun in field conditions, here's my professional opinion of what to carry below (My Job (http://www.gosere.com)). Of course I strongly suggest practicing under field conditions with whatever you decide on before your life depends on it.

1. A lighter or strike anywhere matches in a waterproof container. The drawbacks to the lighter are performance can suffer in extreme cold and higher altitudes. You can overcome the first problem by carrying it in a inner pocket.

2. Light My Fire Swedish Fire Steel scout or mini size. Simple, everything you need is there, and you don't mess up you knife blade. It works great for lighting camp/pack stoves.

3. Ultimate Survival Wetfire Tinder(2-3 cubes). Lights easily, burns long enough to ignite damp fuel, compact and light. Slight drawback is that it needs to be protected or it will be crushed into dust (still works) BUT the package will tear. Leaking the dust everywhere aka tinder ruined. To light with above fire steel, crush one corner into flakes and then direct sparks into flakes.

As for the rest:

Blast Match- skip it, as mentioned it requires a hard surface and generally results in you dumping or crushing your carefully prepared tinder. Also the tiny striker is just glued in and sometimes goes AWOL. It'll still work with your knife, but the Swedish fire steel does the same job better, with less weight and hassle. As far as one handed operation; I can easily light a lighter or match with one hand;)

Magnesium Bar- SKIP IT, it fails as a tinder (flash tinder! no endurance for damp materials). And it's difficult to use effectively with gloves or cold hands.

Fire Paste- it excels at ONE thing. Find a rock near a stream bed, coat with Fire paste and replace rock(it will even work if submerged briefly!). Lure unsuspecting greenhorn into area and exclaim "OMG, It's a FIRE ROCK! These are incredibly rare!" Proceed to light said rock and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Other than that the tube is easily pierced creating a flamable mess. It weighs more and burns faster than the Wetfire or even vaseline and cotton balls.:Wow1: HINT: Practice a few times to get a nice even thin coating that will be hard to spot.

Fire Piston- If you are already profecient with primitive fire making such as flint and steel or friction fires then the fire piston can be a great TOY.

[SAR_Squid79]

MODs should move this to Expedition Tech. :2cents:

[SurfingDrunk]

http://www.zipfires.ie/graphics/firelog.jpg

[hunting-solo]

$12 here (http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0049001517846a&navCount=8&podId=0049001&parentId=cat20130&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat20075-cat20130_TGP&catalogCode=XJ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20130&hasJS=true), with a neat catalog.
http://image.sportsmansguide.com/dimage/145385_ts.JPG?cell=320,320&cvt=jpeg

or 3 off-brands for $15. (http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/3-fire-starter-sticks.aspx?a=421639)
http://image.sportsmansguide.com/dimage/130541_ts.JPG?cell=200,200&cvt=jpeg

hey man that aint 12 bucks. did you fuck the link up?

[gtrotter]

I use signal flares lol...not very reusable, but they aren't bad when you have a huge supply of them. Other than that, I use the magnesium and what bar thing that lights shit on fire.

[terryj5]

1 or 2 Fritos or similar fried corn chips are a great initial kindling. They will not light from a spark but once lit with a flame will generally get the larger stuff going.
As far as the toys, they are pretty much just that. They are however, fun and satisfying to use. I have one of the $6 little magnesium blocks with the flint strip on the side. That with a 4" piece of hacksaw blade on a key chain works great. The toothed side throws a huge shower of sparks and the slight burr on the other side does a good job at shaving the mag.
Once had a 24" Fresnel lens that could be rolled up into a 2" tube. In a good light it would focus down to a quarter sized spot and vaporize a cigarette butt in 2 seconds. Now that thing was really fun.
In the real world, 4 or 5 Mini Bic lighters strewn about in various stages of readiness, some sealed some not, do it for me. In the glove box, center console, knife handle, hiking staff handle, pocket, cooking kit, tackle box, gun belt and so on.

[SurfingDrunk]

hey man that aint 12 bucks. did you fuck the link up?
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/brunton-fire-striker.aspx?a=458999

[partyman66]

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/brunton-fire-striker.aspx?a=458999

I wonder if that Brunton one works better than the traditional Swedish Fire Starter stick because of the serrated edge on the striker.

[CronusTRD]

I make the firestarters shown here, however, I roll a small stack of matches in the middle.

http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/how-to-make-fire-sticks/

[TacoDell]

Kmart has a magnesium fire starter for $2.99
(made in China of course)

You could buy several for the price of some of these listed... :2cents:

[triplefive]

i bought some of this stuff in bulk and love it. Trioxane... http://www.mreinfo.com/images/news/trioxane-large.jpg

Then i have one of these to light it. Blastmatch...
http://tadgear.com/x-treme%20gear/images%20for%20pages/us_blastmatch_340.jpg

here is a video of the blastmatch in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHtqimUoupI&feature=related

[NorcalPR]

Kmart has a magnesium fire starter for $2.99
(made in China of course)

You could buy several for the price of some of these listed... :2cents:

Word. If the match won't do the truck, I bust out a fusee :)

Fire is Fire...

[keylay]

If you're stranded with your vehicle and need to start a fire, but didn't bring any of the above, you could use your vehicles' cigarette lighter or use the battery to make sparks with jumper cables. You've also got mtor oil and a tire to burn.

P.S. This is only for survival, not starting a fire to grill hotdogs.

[96tacomasx]

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa84/walket6678/lighter.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa84/walket6678/gascan.jpg

[SurfingDrunk]

If you're stranded with your vehicle and need to start a fire, but didn't bring any of the above, you could use your vehicles' cigarette lighter or use the battery to make sparks with jumper cables. You've also got mtor oil and a tire to burn.

P.S. This is only for survival, not starting a fire to grill hotdogs.
i had fun with my jumper cables yesterday while i was giving a pal a jump; an iron nail welds aluminum. :D

[Juantabo's Taco]

just as important IMO is a ziplock bag full of dryer lint, a little bit will keep a flame for a minute or two. worst case sub belly button lint or vaseline soaked cotton balls. gotta have something to sustain the spark for a bit till you can get the other stuff burning.

I always save the lint in the dryer, when I was in boy scouts we would do a Klondike Derby where you camp in the snow sometimes two or more feet. They would have all sorts of activities such as fire starting and the lint would allow us to kick everyones butt one match and a handfull of lint and competition is over. Then a year or two ago my buddy ask why I had a plastic container with a flint on the bottom. pulled the lint out of the container and whipped up a fire and now he carries the same setup.

[Buddhadog]

Bic lighters- cheap and reliable for the most part. I also carry one of the Light My Fire fire steels, waterproof matches in a waterproof case and several road flares. Nothing starts a fire faster when your cold, wet and shivering than a fusee- well maybe a flame thrower.

[01 Tundra]

Blast Match works really good for me - http://www.basegear.com/blastmatch.html

And this wet fire tinder will definitely burn in a downpour!
http://www.basegear.com/wetfiretinder.html

[Tred]

Those blastmatches look easier to use than a mag stick.

[01 Tundra]

Those blastmatches look easier to use than a mag stick.

Yeah pretty simple - unfold, hold in on the little button, and push down - it will fire the tinder up first strike (in a rain storm).

[trump]

I do like that Blastmatch. No seperate striker to get lost and would be easy enough to use even if your hands where numb.

[Tred]

Shaving the Mag is a pain. I'll look around and see if I can find a Blastmatch anywhere.

[01 Tundra]

Shaving the Mag is a pain. I'll look around and see if I can find a Blastmatch anywhere.

FYI - The website I posted the link to above was about the best price I could find online at the time and they shipped my stuff the next day ;).

[Tred]

Thanks!! I'll look around on that site to see if I need anything else from there as well. I wouldn't want to spend $20 and have to pay $10 in shipping.

[01 Tundra]

That tinder I linked is some pretty amazing stuff, never used it until recently. I had a bag of dry cedar chips I was using to try to start a fire last time we were camping. It was pouring rain and getting dark and the cedar would start, but then the rain would put it back out. I broke out the tinder and used a small piece, lit it while it was laying in water first strike and got the fire burning finally....

[Mr Tacomi]

That tinder I linked is some pretty amazing stuff, never used it until recently. I had a bag of dry cedar chips I was using to try to start a fire last time we were camping. It was pouring rain and getting dark and the cedar would start, but then the rain would put it back out. I broke out the tinder and used a small piece, lit it while it was laying in water first strike and got the fire burning finally....

I've been very fortunate to have only recently been camping in the rain... we didn't have the fire that night... o.k. once you get a fire going, I'm trying to picture the 'use' of the fire... I'm sure I wouldn't be sitting in my chair in a parka enjoying the warmth of a fire... how do you 'enjoy' a fire in the rain... shelter? (not being funny or sarcastic... just can't seem to form a picture in my mind)

[01 Tundra]

put the easyup over the tentcot and fire and relax

[jkron08]

the blastmatch works great, and so does a 9 volt battery and steelwool. just touch the ends of the battery to the wool, and it starts to kindle

[SurfingDrunk]

I've been very fortunate to have only recently been camping in the rain... we didn't have the fire that night... o.k. once you get a fire going, I'm trying to picture the 'use' of the fire... I'm sure I wouldn't be sitting in my chair in a parka enjoying the warmth of a fire... how do you 'enjoy' a fire in the rain... shelter? (not being funny or sarcastic... just can't seem to form a picture in my mind)
a lean-to/tarp.
obviously you have never watched Survivor!

[Mr Tacomi]

a lean-to/tarp.
obviously you have never watched Survivor!

T.V..... wut?


Me & Comcast... yeah, not the best of friends.

[triplefive]

That tinder I linked is some pretty amazing stuff, never used it until recently. I had a bag of dry cedar chips I was using to try to start a fire last time we were camping. It was pouring rain and getting dark and the cedar would start, but then the rain would put it back out. I broke out the tinder and used a small piece, lit it while it was laying in water first strike and got the fire burning finally....

I can personally attest to the awesomeness and versatility of the wetfire. You can light it, dig it out, blow it out and reuse it. If you are good with it, one piece could last you quite some time.

[Red30]

I keep flares in my tool box, good to use when things are wet. And also have the strike/magnesium stick.

[Naga418]

The most important thing is not what you use, but how to use whatever it is that you choose. Multiple times I have been out and about and have seen people struggle to get a fire started with the gear they bought and own.

I am a flint/mag guy and if I have it I like to use half a beer can with about an inch of gas. Lights easy and stays lit for a long time to get even the wettest logs going. Real tough situations dryer lint works great and is sort of free.

[zidaro]

I have never not started a fire with gas and a lighter. assuming i am camping near my rig.

[pray4surf]

Pine cones make great kindling

:camping:

[dinonno135]

Fire Ribbon $3.99 a bottle at Northern Tools. Works great.

[NwiTACO]

the blastmatch works great, and so does a 9 volt battery and steelwool. just touch the ends of the battery to the wool, and it starts to kindle

Batteries go dead sitting around waiting for an emergency...:2cents:

[cougfan316]

depending on where you are camping/ wheeling I like to just break off some pitch that saps out of either fir or pine trees. That stuff will start even soaking wet and burns really well. Don't have to worry about fire starters. Being a smoker I've got at least two dry bics. Learned that out crabbing.

[Stuck Sucks]

I video'd this a couple years ago, out on the Bradshaw Trail.

Instructions for Tito's Wine Bottle:
1. Somehow empty a wine bottle
2. Fill the wine bottle with gasoline
3. Carefully place the bottle in the camp fire
4. Repeat as necessary

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7513957925941917376&ei=cutXSuriMIGeqQOCleH0CQ&q=tito%27s+wine+bottle&emb=1

[burnsv11]

I just keep a mappp gas torch in my box.. works well / lasts long.. starts fire's in the rain too :rolleyes:

[lrak]

I have these for the wood stove so I bring them to make camp fires as well.

http://www.rutland.com/productinfo.php?product_id=13

They are 2" squares about 1/2" thick. Its a compressed mix of parafin wax, sawdust, and recycled cardboard. Just touch a match to it for a 1/2 second and you've got fire for the next 5+ minutes. I typically use 2-4 squares to build a fire depending on the condition of the wood. They aren't sticky or stinky, don't melt in a hot car, and don't smoke much. Its ~$10 for a gross at Walmart or Ace Hardware.