Fire Starter

[Laelkhunter]

I carry, but never had to use two items:
1- UCO stormproof matches. Will light even after being submerged in water, and burns for 15 seconds.
2- Instafire Fire Starter- it is granular/powder comes in a pouch, and is enough for 4 fires. Lights and burns on snow, water, and ice. Burns for 15 minutes and will light wet wood. Easily lit by matches or lighter.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

I'm surprised by the lack of a fire steel. Does everyone only use matches or a lighter anymore?

 

[rayporter]

yep
i cant see a fire steel saving my butt or making coffee every day.

 

[mrgreen]

I also carry a firesteel. Often works better then a Bic to light my MSR Windboiler stove.

 

[kicker338]

In my daypack is lighters and paper towels. At camp I use indian fire starter, charcoal starter fluid, beats rubbing 2 sticks togather LOL.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

yep
i cant see a fire steel saving my butt or making coffee every day.

Why do you say that?

 

[duchntr]

I'm surprised by the lack of a fire steel. Does everyone only use matches or a lighter anymore?

Ive carried a fire steel in my pack for years and only used it a few times, so I stopped bringing it. No doubt a fire steel is more reliable then a lighter, but I have 100% confidence in my current setup and I find it more convenient.

 

[KMT]

Cotton balls, Vaseline and s lighter work for me.

 

[mtwarden]

if you haven't checked out the Livefire tins- you should ; these are my last chance, crappy conditions, must get a fire started choice- they will light w/ a match, a lighter, a firesteel or a sparklite in any condition, they burn hot and strong and they continue to burn in the neighborhood of 15 minutes- if your tinder is less than optimal, twigs are damp, etc- you will eventually get a fire going

they are reusable, if your fire starts quickly, simply slide the tin cover over to snuff out the fire (give a minute or two to cool down )

my fire "kit" consists of a full size Bic, 6 REI (UCO) Storm Matches & striker, 6 tinder tabs and a Wetfire tin in a small ziplock- a little under two ounces

I keep a firesteel in a loop on my knife sheath

 

[Matt Cashell]

For me, wetfire is good unless its windy.

Trioxane burns through just about anything, and burns hot.

 

[rayporter]

if you build a fire everyday in bad weather i doubt you will enjoy using a fire steel. if you like it great! what ever you carry you should use and use often to know and i mean KNOW it will work.

another tidbit. you should probably rotate your matches in a match safe. they can rub on the container and reliability is degraded.

the most reliable is probably a zippo. but keeping fluid in it is a pain.

last year on a pack in hunt i got caught in a bad storm. it rained for a day or so then it really put it down. we had a flood on the river and barely got the horses back to camp while it rained all day. the river kept rising and it is another story how we got out. in camp we had piled some fire wood from the night before so we could have a fire the next day -even had sense enough to put a tarp over the wood. the wind blew the tarp off. it took 2 esbit tabs and a half of a trioxane bar and a lot of coaxing, but we had a fire in the rain that night after 3 days of rain.

i would like to be shown that cotton balls would have lit a fire that night. one time on a float in alaska i tried to build a fire in my wood stove in the tipi after 3 days of rain. cotton balls would not even light birch bark that time. i used up 2 dozen trying and finally resorted to trioxane. just my experience with them.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

With a couple of these responses I'm wondering if you guys know how a fire steel works? Not trying to be funny at all.
It takes a single strike to light a canister stove, and maybe...maybe two to light a fire, even in the rain.

 

[4ester]

I bring cotton balls soaked in Vaseline and a trioxane tablet. For ignition I have a bic lighter and my jetboil (can be a portable torch in a pinch).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Backpack Hunter]

With a couple of these responses I'm wondering if you guys know how a fire steel works? Not trying to be funny at all.
It takes a single strike to light a canister stove, and maybe...maybe two to light a fire, even in the rain.

Just had a thought. Maybe we are thinking of different products?

 

[mtwarden]

no confusion here- firesteel = ferro rod, they vary in their hardness and composition, but if used correctly (takes a little practice, but not a lot) will reliably throw a shower of sparks- like anything that sparks- you do need good tinder/fuel on the receiving end

 

[GKPrice]

Fire cylinder

 

[March244]

Here's what I took to Co. this year. I used it every night and several mornings to start a fire in my Kifaru Med size stove. Worked great for me. I was out for 8 days and used one tube. I used the UCO stormproof matches to get it going.
Amazon.com : Coghlans 8607 Fire Paste : Fire Gel : Sports & Outdoors

 

[TurkeyBowMaster]

Turpentine cotton balls work good and double as first aid for cuts. Keeps out infections

 

[SLDMTN]

Vaseline and 100% cotton balls, a couple Mini Bics and a small ferro rod as a backup. They weight next to nothing and work great.

Same

 

[Jeff Martin]

vaseline soaked cotton balls. Can cram quite a few into an old film canister and they weigh just about nothing.

vaseline-soaked cotton balls - backpacking light

this !!!!!