Does anybody have any tinder in their preps? Would a few bags of cotton be better than say a box of SOS pads? With conderation I guess to space & multiple uses etc.
gbm75
I have a few different types in my BOB ranging from steel wool & 9v battery, dryer lint & wax, different synthetic store-bought products, cotton balls & vaseline, etc. I keep these in water tight containers and have different types for differing conditions. I've never tried SOS pads.
As far as plain cotton is concerned, if you fluff up and ignite a standard cotton ball it will burn for about 15 seconds at the most but it won't burn very well, hence the wax and vaseline tricks. That said, a bag of cotton balls is lightweight, can be used to start fires, and can serve many other purposes in a survival situation.
As far as plain cotton is concerned, if you fluff up and ignite a standard cotton ball it will burn for about 15 seconds at the most but it won't burn very well, hence the wax and vaseline tricks. That said, a bag of cotton balls is lightweight, can be used to start fires, and can serve many other purposes in a survival situation.
along with pretty much what he said i also keep some jute twin rolled up in little rolls (about 10 times around your finger) tied tight then dipped in wax. then put in a pill bottle. when needed take one out and ruogh it up between your fingers and then it will take a spark.a 3x1.25 pill bottle will hold 6-7 of them and dont take up any room in your bag.
I have a few different things. In the "cooking" component of each BOB I have a couple of the small dura-flame fire starting sticks, and an Esbit stove with a box of the Esbit tablets. I also have several "plugs" of tinder-quick, and a couple packs of fuel gel. Maybe it's overkill, but I like having backups to my backups.
cotton doesnt burn the best
i recomend a tobacco pouch with a pencil sharpenerand wood shavings
most little fingerlings even when wet are dry on the inside a $3 tobacco pouch for pipe tobacco will keep itdry andhold a good bit of shavings
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and for your flintand steel i recomend a tin full of charcloth
take an old shoe polish tin put a small hole in the lid toss it in the fire to burn off any residue
put in the sheetsof linen and put lid on and set in the fire first you will see smoke coming out of the hole and then flames when the flames cease you will remove it ant let cool when you open ityou will find you have a good bit of charcloth that will take a spark nicely
look something like this
![Image]()
i recomend a tobacco pouch with a pencil sharpenerand wood shavings
most little fingerlings even when wet are dry on the inside a $3 tobacco pouch for pipe tobacco will keep itdry andhold a good bit of shavings
and for your flintand steel i recomend a tin full of charcloth
take an old shoe polish tin put a small hole in the lid toss it in the fire to burn off any residue
put in the sheetsof linen and put lid on and set in the fire first you will see smoke coming out of the hole and then flames when the flames cease you will remove it ant let cool when you open ityou will find you have a good bit of charcloth that will take a spark nicely
look something like this
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