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Posted: 7/4/2008 5:12:54 PM EDT
[#1]
wet fire sucks...
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Posted: 7/4/2008 6:37:08 PM EDT
[#2]
Amen brother! That is all I carried for years.... then I got myself in a sticky situation and much to my suprise those little buggers wouldn't light up with spark or direct flame from a lighter.... luckily we were "rescued" after only 2 days. I then went through my pack (once we were back home) and tried to light every one I had in my pack. Only one out of nine burned. Not good odds. Cotton balls w/jelly... always light... 4 years in a sealed container, pull them out, little spark, instant fire. K.I.S.S. |
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Posted: 7/4/2008 6:42:17 PM EDT
[#3]
Cotton + Petroleum jelly + Blast match. Mix cotton with P.J. and light up. TT
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Posted: 7/4/2008 7:07:54 PM EDT
[#4]
Were the wet fire cubes that you had old ? ... I have quiet a few for my fire starters .. but have only used a few.. maybe i should check them out.. I also have a fair amount of Magnesium shavings and even the REI brand storm proof matches that work well. Cotton and PJ is probably the easiest and most cost efficent.
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Posted: 7/4/2008 7:22:22 PM EDT
[#5]
1 year old,,wouldnt light or burn. matter o fact it was like buring styrofoam..lil flame nothing more. candles burn better imho! |
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Posted: 7/4/2008 9:29:25 PM EDT
[#6]
I recently bought 5 packs of the Weber cubes...only because they are available locally this time of the year. Haven't tried them yet, but I've only got $10 invested. I'll try some out in the fireplace this fall and vaccum seal the rest.
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Posted: 7/5/2008 8:10:46 AM EDT
[#7]
I am partial to novelty birthday candles that don't go out. |
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Posted: 7/5/2008 9:02:57 AM EDT
[#8]
Thats a good idea....I'll have to dig out my wet fire and check it out too...  I got in to using char and haven't had to use any wet fire for some time.. |
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Posted: 7/5/2008 3:07:45 PM EDT
[#9]
+1 Used this combo this weekend. I ordered several Weber packs but have yet to get them. I need to look into that. |
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Posted: 7/5/2008 4:23:25 PM EDT
[#10]
Just made some char cloth actually (I used old cotton gauze bandages 2X2"). I think the weave is a little too loose but it does work and is very hot when you blow on it hard enough. I will provide it for our scouts as soon as I am finished doing the research for "primitive" fire starting. I am going to see about getting the kits so they can make fire pistons too. A little "modern" science, a little primitive science. I was going to do the petroleum/cotton thing too. I'd like to give them a variety of methods, just for the experience. I will buy some ferrocerium rods (fire steels) so they can "have their own" with handles, if they want to. I am collecting some Altoid tins as well to keep it all together. I've ordered (for me) a small pelican case to keep my stuff dry. Overkill I know but that's ok.
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Posted: 7/5/2008 5:38:49 PM EDT
[#11]
Actually it is more like 4 times bigger. I actually started a thread on this recently. I haven't posted my review yet. ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=18&t=612950 |
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Posted: 7/6/2008 4:35:20 AM EDT
[#12]
I'll certainly check it out. Thanks |
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Posted: 7/6/2008 5:31:11 AM EDT
[#13]
A nine volt transistor battery rubbed with real fine dry steel wool will short out and light up the steel wool.Keep some char cloth with it to continue the fire and get it going better.I got a few of them in chaw cans in my packs for that
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Posted: 7/6/2008 7:48:23 AM EDT
[#14]
This week end I used a Magnesium stick.
Will post pics later if interested? |
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Posted: 7/6/2008 4:39:51 PM EDT
[#15]
Sure. Pics would be cool. I suck with mine. Damned wind blows the stuff away before I can light it.
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Posted: 7/7/2008 6:21:53 PM EDT
[#16]
My favorite (used to do this in boy scouts) is a paper ketchup tub (like from a fast food joint) will sawdust/little splinters in it and covered with wax. Burns very long and very strong...but def not able to light with a spark. Need matches or a lighter-thats its only downside.
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Posted: 7/8/2008 5:04:29 AM EDT
[#17]
Here is my way of fire starting
The tools used.  Different sizes of materials  Shreaded magnesium  Small fire  Large fire 
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Posted: 7/8/2008 9:08:32 AM EDT
[#18]
I use a similar setup, but instead of the paper tubs, I use the bottom half of a cardboard egg container. Pour the mixture in, let it set, and cut the individual cups into fire starters. To light it with a flint, I will spread out some dryer lint over the cup, and then spread out a PJ cotton ball on top of the lint. The lint usually catches on the first of second spark, and the rest goes up right after that. Maybe overkill, but will get a fire started when it is wet and windy. |
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Posted: 7/8/2008 10:12:15 AM EDT
[#19]
cotton balls (or dryer lint) with PJ is the neatest fire starter I've ever used... they'll light soaking wet...
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Posted: 7/8/2008 10:30:46 AM EDT
[#20]
Not for packing but for in the P/U or quad I take a small paper coffee cup and fill it with pellets from the pellet stove. Melt some paraffin and pour over the pellets (enough to waterproof them). when I need to start a fire I tear the paper cup a bit and use a lighter (or some hand sanitizer lit with fire steel) and you have the beginnings of a fire that burns for a loooooong time.
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Posted: 7/8/2008 12:56:41 PM EDT
[#21]
Hmmm, ya got me wondering so I went and pulled out my oldest stash.... maybe 4-5 years old. Slide a knife across the top to make some shavings.... almost like shaving soap. First strike with a Fire Steel and it was burning great. Maybe its too humid down there for them or something. ETA: Play with your fire starting methods at home or camp on rainy days. Its good to practice in nice weather also, but make sure you can make a fire after its been drizzling out for 2-3 days steady. My daughter and I play that game when we are camping.... see who can be the first to get a fire going.... I am not sure who was happier the first time she beat me!!!!! |
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Posted: 7/9/2008 2:30:54 PM EDT
[#22]
There's always Fatwood, available at Menards, for one place. You wouldn't need an entire stick of it to get a fire going, so you could cut down on weight that way.
Also, here's a link on Fire Pistons. This site has more on Fire Pistons. GL |
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Posted: 7/9/2008 2:53:14 PM EDT
[#23]
I don't think I have ever needed more than a blastmatch and some tinder/wood shavings out in the field, but in my bag of fire tricks, my "will not fail" fire starting method is a USGI magnesium fire starter and 1" squares or strips of bicycle inner tube with a hole punched in them so that they go on the necklace of the fire starter/saw blade.
Dave |
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Posted: 7/9/2008 2:55:20 PM EDT
[#24]
If you can't find a good place to shield the shavings from wind, sit indian style with a piece of duct tape between your legs. Shave the magnesium onto the duct tape and strike onto that. Duct tape burns really, really well so you won't likely need anything more to get a fire going. |
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Posted: 7/9/2008 3:34:52 PM EDT
[#25]
Great tip! Didn't think of using my tape.
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Posted: 7/9/2008 6:24:55 PM EDT
[#26]
Any storage/transport tips for cotton balls and vaseline?
Does anyone have experience with flat cotton pads (my wife yours them for makeup) in indtead of cotton balls? |
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Posted: 7/10/2008 3:02:52 AM EDT
[#27]
I've tested some of the cotton makeup pads as well. They will flame with just a blast match. The fibers are very fine. Pull them apart just a little and gently. I've got some of the square ones I have cut into strips. I will try a little petroleum jelly on them this weekend. I expect them to fire right up.
eta: The makeup pads work just fine with a bit of petroleum jelly. Expose the jelly to the blast match sparks or what ever you are using and they fire right up. Took three strikes of the blast match to get a pad started with the petroleum jelly sandwiched in a folded pad with no jelly exposed. Burned a good while too. I have some petroleum jelly in a small squeeze tube so you could pack that and keep the pads "dry" and have the petroleum jelly available for other uses I guess. Q tips were a little more difficult to light. The "target" area of a q-tip head is small but they will start. |
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Posted: 7/10/2008 6:15:12 AM EDT
[#28]
I keep mine in an Altoids tin. The wife bought the large ones so I can only fit about 10 in there w/o smooshing them in. Probably get a few more in if you use the regular size. |
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Posted: 7/11/2008 10:58:10 PM EDT
[#29]
Try using alcohol prep pads. They store flat, light with just a spark, and burn for a fairly long time. Only problem is they burn with a clear flame so its a little hard to see if they lit for you.
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Posted: 7/12/2008 4:24:59 PM EDT
[#30]
These are great. Most hand sanitizers are volatile as well and make a great accelerator. |
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Posted: 7/12/2008 10:45:10 PM EDT
[#31]
Anyone ever try this? Lightweight, and burns hot as hell, but I've never tried it in wet wether. (
 )
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Posted: 7/13/2008 5:47:28 AM EDT
[#32]
hey goldeyeslayer,trioxiane tabs are a standard in most large U.S. military survival kits...they will start a fire no problem in humid, wet and damp places...all they need is a spark from a flint and steel and you got flame,but they do put off some bad fumes...i recommend them ...vince g. 11b inf....
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Posted: 7/13/2008 5:59:41 AM EDT
[#33]
yep the strike force is MORE than capable of lighting Trioxane, a wussy little empty butane lighter will light it.
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Posted: 7/13/2008 1:43:13 PM EDT
[#34]
Lol. Yeah, I lit some with the strike force in an aluminum mess kit......in the house
 (dumbass), I just didn't know how they would work in the wet. I found them pretty cheap at the local surplus store. IIRC they were a buck a box.
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Posted: 7/13/2008 6:55:04 PM EDT
[#35]
I've got an altoid tin full of charcloth, 2 magniesum starters, 1 blast match, 1 can of strike anywhere matches, couple bars of trioxane, and then lastly 2 BIC lighters in my pack.
Only thing I have yet to put in are some cotton ball stored in 35mm film cannisters with petro jelly and some flaked magnesium mixed into it. It's on my list to do. I like having options for making fire. To date, the fastest no-muss fire (in dry conditions) I've started when out camping has been the char cloth. Amazed at how quickly I caught an ember and how fast I moved to full on flame on the tinder. |
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Posted: 7/14/2008 8:47:08 AM EDT
[#36]
Yeah, I store them in one of those orange plastic match containers; I use two, one with R.E.I. matches, and the other with Vasoline/ Cottonballs or pads. I duct tape them together, caps on opposite ends. Now They're both waterproof, and I have extra duct tape.
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Posted: 7/17/2008 6:28:08 PM EDT
[#37]
I use an old 35mm camera container. You can also get small little type containers at REI small clear plastic like a buck or two. Kind of like this but the make larger too.. http://www.rei.com/product/605890 |
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Posted: 7/18/2008 4:48:58 AM EDT
[#38]
After long last I got an email from Weber that my order shipped. I should have a bunch of their fire starters today. I'll try to test them this weekend and post an AAR.
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Posted: 7/19/2008 3:13:28 PM EDT
[#39]
If your using storm matches then pack a piece of the sand paper they come with inside the case. I have found nothing that they will light on except that. Tried the side of a strike anywhere match box, 3 grits of sand paper, the flint on the case and a few other things. |
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Posted: 7/20/2008 12:23:31 PM EDT
[#40]
A sixpack of lighters is under 3 bucks at WalMart.
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Posted: 7/20/2008 12:34:56 PM EDT
[#41]
That is quite an Altoid Tin. My fire stuff is in surplus decon kits, a cheap alternative to pelican boxes that are serously waterproof. -- I like the orange plastic match container idea for vaseline/cotton balls, I will admit to lighting a campfire in the rain with a road flare too. Best suggestion I have heard in SF for bic lighters is to wrap a zip tie around them under the butane switch to prevent it from depressing until you remove it. |
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Posted: 7/21/2008 1:44:53 AM EDT
[#42]
I use drier lint with PJ stored in a 35mm film case. Waterproof matches, several lighters, and a magnesium stick. I also take a fairly long strip of inner tube tire, has many uses aside from a fire starter. And I normally have some small flares, about half the size of a road flare, for those times when I need a roaring fire right fucking now. It's been a long time since I started a fire with a bow, and I don't plan on practicing anytime soon.
I had a buddy who works in fiberglass, and he made me up a few pie dishes of resin and sawdust. Says it's the best fire starter he's ever seen. sorry to say I have not even tried them yet. Also those little containers of hand sanitizer are supposed to work well so I hear. Figured if it is not broke, don't fix it. My FIL is old school, carries a small bag of tinder covered in pitch in his hunting pack, laughs at me with all my stuff, says pitch wood burns hot and fast and don't cost him a thing. He's got a good point. BT |
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Posted: 7/21/2008 2:12:29 PM EDT
[#43]
I have a magnesium fire starter that doesn't have a name on it. Its round with a striker on the side. It even came with a flat, thin piece of steel to scrape it with. The magnesium scrapes extremely easily, yeilding nice, smooth, curly chips that ignited extremly easy. The magnesium seemed to be softer than the one I tried a long time ago.
I wish I had a picture. It comes in a nylon case that fits through the key ring so it makes a nice little package. I will do a search and try to find it. If I had know how nicely this one worked, I would have bought many more. Found it! K1 "Sparky" firestarter by Strike Master Survival Tools.  |
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Posted: 7/21/2008 4:19:30 PM EDT
[#44]
Ive tried the PJ cotton balls, and love them. A close second is soaking whatever your trying to light with hand sanitizer, and it works pretty good.
One of my favorite dual purpose ones is chapstick. not quite as good as PJ, but effective. Im working on a project for a very small tinder kit. Filling an old chapstick container with cotton/pj, epoxy a ferro rod on the side, and tape a short peice of hacksaw blade on the side. This is going to be for a very small survival kit. I really like hand sanitizer and chapstick for the dual purpose role. Im going to have to try the alcahol wipes, that sounds pretty useful. |
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Posted: 7/21/2008 7:54:33 PM EDT
[#45]
Thats gotta be even more toxic than trioxne ........be real careful about using those |
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Posted: 7/21/2008 7:58:30 PM EDT
[#46]
Try shoe polish + cotton balls
plus if you're bored you can shine your boots
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Posted: 7/21/2008 10:51:22 PM EDT
[#47]
They are buried out in the garage somewhere I think, might have to throw them away when I run across them. Like I said, if it is not broke, don't fix it. |
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