Fire starters

[*zap*]

cotton balls dipped in Vaseline or cotton pads soaked in wax for me.....with a small piece of fatwood.....lights with a spark from my ferro rod.

 

[sneaky]

My dad and I used to mix sawdust with paraffin in the cardboard Copenhagen cans. You could light the whole thing or break pieces of it off and light them. Cheap and easy. I need to make up some more and test their burn times.

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[realunlucky]

Think about this-- pyro putty was $4 weighed less than a oz in completely water proof container and could easily build over 10 fires using a generous amount of putty each time. Pretty simple pretty cheap. The UST pellets were almost twice as good but at triple the cost. At .5oz they are impressive for sure.
Lots of things can start a fire very well (road flares) but what are you going to carry with you every time your out? Something lite wieght, easy to light, and works every single time under the worst conditions. I had potentially staked my survival on a tea cup candle that wouldn't stay lit luckily I didn't find that out when my hands were frozen and all the fuel was snow covered.
If you have to buy any supplies for a diy solution it's probably a wash cost wise anyways. I'd be interested in any of the ideas in this thread but throw it on a scale and then record the burn time so we can get an accurate comparison.

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[Trial153]

I ordered pyro putty, got the winter and summer blends in 2oz tins and set of the small tins as well. I am not messing with making my own. Between this review and Robbys review i am pretty confident in the stuff already

 

[backcountryshaffer]

Think about this-- pyro putty was $4 weighed less than a oz in completely water proof container and could easily build over 10 fires using a generous amount of putty each time. Pretty simple pretty cheap. The UST pellets were almost twice as good but at triple the cost. At .5oz they are impressive for sure.
Lots of things can start a fire very well (road flares) but what are you going to carry with you every time your out? Something lite wieght, easy to light, and works every single time under the worst conditions. I had potentially staked my survival on a tea cup candle that wouldn't stay lit luckily I didn't find that out when my hands were frozen and all the fuel was snow covered.
If you have to buy any supplies for a diy solution it's probably a wash cost wise anyways. I'd be interested in any of the ideas in this thread but throw it on a scale and then record the burn time so we can get an accurate comparison.

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I like your key points.
- what are you going to carry with you every time your out?
- Something lite wieght, easy to light, and works every single time under the worst conditions.
- throw it on a scale and then record the burn time so we can get an accurate comparison.

I weighed my cotton balls with vaseline average ~26 grains (on my arrow scale) which is about 1.6-1.7 grams each. Effective burn time was 2:33. I stopped it when the flame was down to negligible. Started easily with my striker/rod.

 

[lak2004]

Interesting thread for sure, I use cottonballs in vaseline, but they can be a pain as stated. Might have to check this stuff out when I buy a new phone skope.

 

[rayporter]

what ever you carry test it under real hunting conditions. like in a pouring rain after 3 days of rain.

I burned up a sack full of cotton balls and Vaseline once on a float hunt and finally got out a trioxane tab and started a fire.

I like my coffee and I have fire every day to make coffee, fuel tabs rock!!! in any weather!

 

[nrh6.7]

What about Trioxane?

 

[wseidel]

Interesting thread and quite the variety of options. I was at the Duluth Boat Sports and Travel show recently and stopped by a booth promoting Quick Fire fire starters. Basically wax in a "plastic" wrap (naturally pressed oil) that has some tremendous qualities for starting a fire as well as being environmentally friendIy (non-toxic). I saw them start it with a match and small propane torch - good flame, ten-minute burn time...even in water. Then I asked them to start it with a striker tool...which they promptly did. I was so impressed with the demo (and checking out the ratings on-line) that I came back later and bought the show special - provided they also include the striker tool to sweeten the deal. They did so I'll be stocking this in each of my vehicle emergency bags, my survival kits for my hiking packs, along with plenty left over for restocking and to share with friends for their emergency kits. Might be worth checking out.

https://quickfire.world/

 

[sneaky]

Surprised no one has mentioned InstaFire yet. I've used it to start several fires. My biggest complaint is once you open the bag it's not resealable. Other than that, it works.

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[*zap*]

Cotton pads dipped in candlewax work pretty well, break it in half and you can spark the exposed cotton. Burn time is longer than cotton balls/Vaseline. Small piece of fatwood on top and you should be good if you can find dry/semi dry wood. Wet wood is always a challenge,

 

[realunlucky]

I don't find that cotton balls lite all that well. I'd be interested to see your results. Wieght them and record the burn times

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[rayporter]

as I said above, I use trioxane. but it has some drawbacks. it stinks and if the package is open it will disintegrate. and above all it is getting real hard to find.

the white esbit tabs are easy to find but are a little harder to light. some prep helps a lot with lighting them.

if you are heating water or cooking with any of the commercial fire starters expect bad soot on the pot. some don't but most are real bad.

for just starting a fire most any of them will get the job done under ideal conditions. when the going gets tough is when you really want them to work, and you have to use them several times to find out how they perform.

 

[Kevin Dill]

I used WetFire tinder cubes on one extended hunt last fall. I used them exclusively to start fires in my woodstove. Having used Esbit tabs in previous years, I was far more satisfied with the WetFire which seemed to light a bit quicker and burn somewhat more vigorously. One cube was easily enough to get a good fire going. I won't miss the smelly and oily-feeling Esbit tabs.

 

[snowcamoman]

This is my go-to fire starter when weight isn't too critical. Always works and gets a draft going right away too. Wet wood...no problem!!!

 

[twall13]

Wetfire tabs are what I've been using for the last couple of years as well. I like them but I purchased some Pryro Putty yesterday to compare. I went with the winter blend as I feel if temps are above 70 degrees I either won't have a big need for a fire or it will be easy enough to get one started without an accelerant. I'll be interested to see how it lights up with a Ferro rod as the wetfire does pretty good with that.

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[snakelk]

Trioxane tabs have always worked for me. I still have a decent stock of them but might have to look at some of these alternatives if Trioxane is becoming harder to obtain. The Pyro Putty looks promising. Thanks for the review.

 

[*zap*]

Small container of magnesium shavings and some cotton....may work for you but probably best to try it first. You can drill a mag bar to get all the shaving you want and the small containers are very handy...available at the travel aid aisle in wally world.

 

[Brent111368]

Cottonballs and Vaseline for me, love this combo. And works great on a stick if you need a longer reach.

 

[sneaky]

https://www.instafire.com

Lights with a ferro rod too. Floats, burns for 10min or so. It does the trick in my wall tent stove for sure.

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