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Fire Starters/Fire Starting

7K views 25 replies 16 participants last post by  fuze 
#1 ·
This is what I have in my massive fire starting "arsenal" spread out amongst my different water tight pouches.

Magnesium Fire Block x2 (If you havent done so, practice starting fires with this and find out what technique works best for you-took me days to get the BEST technique)

Sweedish Firesteel (Army Model)-NEEDS TINDER to be truly effective

Bottle full of dryer lint - best tinder ever

Sandwich bag full of dryer lint x4

Fire starter logs x 12- yaaaaa i couldnt resist 47c for a foot long fire log

Wind/waterproof matches-2 packs

Fire starter slow burn matches- essentially a match that burns for 6 min

Another variety of fire starter logs.

My matches are contained in the plastic watertight containers with the cheap flint on the bottom- with the matches secured i roll dryer lint in toilet paper and stuff it into the cap of the container...works fantastic, I have aprox 3 of these containers.
 
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#4 ·
Bottle full of dryer lint - best tinder ever

Sandwich bag full of dryer lint x4

Fire starter logs x 12- yaaaaa i couldnt resist 47c for a foot long fire log

Wind/waterproof matches-2 packs

Fire starter slow burn matches- essentially a match that burns for 6 min
Then you can DX all this...Not hacking on ya bro..Just seems like a lot. W/ some skill and practice you can ditch all this...
 
#5 ·
Ya, all of that isnt in my BOB that is in my Long term bag only 1 block some lint and the steel (which is on my keychain) are in my BOB. I just like to have a multitude of ways for my family to start fires that require less than minimum skill in a high stress environment. And after all, like my name indicates...im always prepared :cool:

But ya i can totally see where the aformentioned might be viewed as excessive. The stuff not in my bag is spread out between either a duffel bag (secondary bag) and a big tupperware container (long term unit)
 
#11 · (Edited)
Semper Paratus



I don't want to hijack the thread, or initiate a long discussion here on the topic, but to be clear, Semper Paratus is actually the motto of a large number of groups.

For the curious/interested:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semper_paratus
 
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#14 ·
I didn't find the magnesium starter very easy to use. I'm sure my skill level is deficient due to being a city boy. With the magnesium scraped into a pile onto a dried leave, I kept swatting the pile and dumping it on the ground (due to hitting the leaf) when trying to strike the flint near it. I can understand the pros of this vs. a lighter. But a good lighter shouldn't fail that easily so all that's left is the number of uses, which the flint far outweighs a ligher. But if a novice outdoorsman gets stranded in a position where he needs to build a fire for more than 30 days, he's probably going to die of dehydration or starvation way before he runs out of something to start a fire with. I wouldn't mind having this flint, but a lighter would be my first choice.
 
#16 ·
I didn't find the magnesium starter very easy to use. I'm sure my skill level is deficient due to being a city boy. With the magnesium scraped into a pile onto a dried leave, I kept swatting the pile and dumping it on the ground (due to hitting the leaf) when trying to strike the flint near it.
One pulls the rod rather than push the striker, that why you don't upset the tinder.
 
#15 ·
My firestarting kit I keep in my pack is rather simple:

2 bic lighters, each stored in its own small zip lock style baggie
2 books of matches, each stored in its own small zip lock style baggie
1 magnesium lighter
1 99 cent pocket knife to scrape the magnesium bag (keeps main knife from getting dull)
1 30mL bottle with cotton balls soaked in vaseline (standard tinder)
1 or 2 trioxanne bars (for really wet conditions)

On my person I carry a bic lighter, swedish firesteel, and another 30ml bottle of cotton/vaseline incase I lose my pack.

So far I have never had a problem getting a fire started with this setup, even in the rain. The key is the knowledge and skill to get everything set up. In the rain, I always arrange the wood in a series of tepees. A small tepee of kindling (about 1 inch thick) is placed first. A side is left off the tepee to allow access to the interior. Next, a larger tepee is built over this, consisting of larger wood (about 3 inches thick), with a side left open to access the interior. These two "roofs", if built dense enough, should provide enough protection from the rain to get the tinder lit. The tinder is placed inside of the kindling tepee, lit, and carefully fed sticks of pencil lead thickness until a full blaze erupts. The blaze, if fed long enough, will dry out the kindling tepee and set it ablaze. At this point, the fire is fed with the 1 inch diameter and pencil lead thick kindling until the main roof dries out and catches fire.
 
#21 ·
If all else fails you can use any shotgun shell.

I use this when out hunting and want a fire.

Prepare the tinder , cut a shotshell in half just behind the shot . Dump the powder into a pile in the tinder.

Light with the flint and steel or match /lighter. Will give a brilliant hot start to the tinder.
 
#22 ·
One thing I learned many a moon ago, was to never discard anything while in survival mode. So what kind of usually discarded items could be used to start a fire? Hey when you need a fire...what about your old toilet paper when dried out? Not saying you should keep it in your pocket. To the same respect, if you are traveling with a woman, what about sanitary pads or tampons? Not sure how well poop or blood burns when old and dried but if it will help get a fire started....
 
#23 ·
This is what my GHB contains.

One Bic Lighter
One LMF Army fire steel. The off brand works about as well.
One credit card sized fresnel lens with protector. (Has other uses.)
One pill bottle stuffed with cotton balls and one pill bottle that has petroleum jelly that I melted poured in it. I know many people combine these two, but I find them to be more versatile separately.
~25 feet jute twine. Can be unraveled and fluffed to be used as tinder. (Has other uses.)
Altoids smalls tin with piece of cotton cut from t-shirt and a couple of pieces of char cloth in it. The cotton can be used for other things or made into more char cloth.
Duct tape and electrical tape wrapped around credit card. If you roll it in a spiral, it is easy to light and burns a long time.
There are many other flammable things in my GHB if I use my imagination, but the post is long already.
As you can probably tell, I like fire and like most things in my kit to have multiple uses. :thumb:
 
#26 ·
A sealed pack of bics and a magnesium block/flint for back up... Fire is easy once you practice. Just make sure you have enough fuel to keep it going because it goes quick at first !

Instead of packing lint pack a tea candle or small piece of a fire-log... they burn way longer...
 
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