Best Fire Starting Tools When SHTF

[Guest damonsecloro]

I got many fire tools in my BOB, its best to have plenty of various fire starting tools when SHTF!

 

As far as portable solar energy, schargers have never let me down, i've had them for 2 years still works like a charm.

 

Fire tools I use:

 

1) FireSteel Scout (magnesium ferro rod)

 

and

 

2) Braided Twine or thick 100% cotton string coated in beeswax or candle wax.

 

(i use both the FireSteel and the Wax String like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsI6H0zx0BA)

 

Both are 100% water proof, which is a must.

 

3) Some candle sticks.

 

4) Box of wax coated matches (matches are useless if not waterproofed, thats why i coat them entirely with candle wax so they are water proofed)

 

5) magnifying glass (to make solar fires)

 

6) Steel Striker and Flint (you can use any old rock will do and strike the steel on there to get a spark)

 

7) Char Cloth (i use this in conjunction with a steel striker and a rock to get the fire going)

 

8) Altoids can and a dirty cotton t-shirt (this is how i make char cloth, see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7uLVGrAt1M)

 

9) i also have a metal fire piston just in case and some extra rubber o-rings, its not really reliable but like i said you need a bunch of options for starting fires.

Edited March 22, 2013 by damonsecloro

[Caster]

I found a bic lighter a few months ago I had when I was in boy scouts. It still works perfect. That was over twenty years ago.
I'm currently 35 years old and don't see myself living much more that twenty more. SO! I buy bic lighters and stick them EVERYWHERE. There's lighters all over the place here, plus I have a box filled with them. Chances are, there'll always be a lighter around for me.

Only thing else I do is keep a flint and steel, pitchwood and steel wool in a tinderbox in my BOB.

[Guest damonsecloro]

yeah i carry them too just in case, hehe, but i hear after awhile the fuel vaporizes? gotta have every option nessesary. ;)

[Curiousgb]

http://www.kodiakfirestarters.com/

[gjohnsoniv]

I've pulled a Bic off the bottom of a quarry while scuba diving. I'm talking 80 feet down and had been down there. Worked just fine after it dried. Actually still carry it in a toolbox of mine.

[Rightdefender]

Try 0000 steel wool and a 9 volt battery.

[Moped]

I carry a couple of lighters, a firesteel, some dryer lint, some jute twin, charcloth and a small tin to make more, PJ cotton balls and some Chaga (it's a fungus that grows up in the Northern climes that will take a spark.  I'd also carry a bit of fat wood if I could find some.

[Randall53]

Oh crap. Better run out and buy a couple thousand Bic lighters.....y'all probably just started a Bic panic state of mind..!!

[RichardR]

Just a heads up, you have to coat the entire match in wax for it to be water resistant, not just the head of the match, otherwise the water will soak through the wood & into the match head.

But yea Bic lighters, matches, magnifying glass, flint/steel, two sticks, whatever you have handy make sure to have duplicates or multiples & make sure to practice starting fires under less than ideal conditions just so you get the learning curve out of the way before it actually becomes "life or death" so to speak.

[Guest damonsecloro]

Just a heads up, you have to coat the entire match in wax for it to be water resistant, not just the head of the match, otherwise the water will soak through the wood & into the match head.

But yea Bic lighters, matches, magnifying glass, flint/steel, two sticks, whatever you have handy make sure to have duplicates or multiples & make sure to practice starting fires under less than ideal conditions just so you get the learning curve out of the way before it actually becomes "life or death" so to speak.

 

thanks for the heads up, thats a very important tip about the matches.

[Guest damonsecloro]

I carry a couple of lighters, a firesteel, some dryer lint, some jute twin, charcloth and a small tin to make more, PJ cotton balls and some Chaga (it's a fungus that grows up in the Northern climes that will take a spark.  I'd also carry a bit of fat wood if I could find some.

 

i heard about changa mushroom and fat wood, but cattail would be a better option. i wonder if the outer casing is waterproof, that would be convenient.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkUWJwVjIE4

Edited March 22, 2013 by damonsecloro

[crashgordan]

good stuff...

[Motasyco]

My wife can make a fire with a fire steel and dryer lint but I have a couple packs of lighters in the go bag just in case.

[buck1032]

The very best fire starter is the one you can use effectivly and efficiently. There are some great matches out there (also there are alot of not so great ones). For matches I like these, http://www.rei.com/product/820267/uco-stormproof-match-kit . As mentioned Bic's are cheap and very handy. But my one go to for fire craft is the Magnesium Block http://www.rei.com/product/407152/magnesium-fire-starting-tool?preferredSku=4071520003&cm_mmc=cse_froogle-_-pla-_-product-_-4071520003&mr:referralID=222e9758-9368-11e2-9389-001b2166c62d . The mag block takes a little practice to get good with it, however its pretty easy once you get use to it.

[Guest Broomhead]

A can of sterno (like the buffet warming cans) will be your best friend. Awhile back I found some small travel sized cans in the Wal-mart camping section, IIRC. It is VERY flammable so it will take a spark. Just take a stick, whether wet or dry, and scoop out a little on to it. Light the gel and stick it under your tinder. This stuff burns hot enough and long enough that it will dry out wet tinder and even start to dry out wet wood. I have used it numerous times to start fires, big and small. I even used some to get Spots' coal-fired forge up and running, along with a few pieces of plywood. Hell, this stuff burns so efficiently that you don't even really need tinder, just start out with sticks and stuff. I have started a nice sized bonfire that way.

 

I have also just lit the can for a quick warm-up; I have done this for two Black Fridays so far. Just open the can, light it, and cup your hands over it. When you're done, flip the lid on top to extinguish it and let the can cool to the touch before putting it away.

Edited March 23, 2013 by Broomhead

[xRUSTYx]

These are my fire starters... when one don't work, I grab another :up:

 

[Teaspoon]

A good trick for carrying a bic in a EDC or bug out bag is to use a plastic zip tie and tighten it under the push down tab, that way no accidental discharge of fuel in case it gets bumped against something.

[RichardR]

That is a great tip Teaspoon! I am going to go do that as soon as I finish typing this post!

Anyway fatwood is good stuff, I use it all the time to get fires going, also the "duralog" type pitch stuff is also really good, but you want to keep the chunks of that sealed up really good or it'll get tar/pitch on the rest of your gear in your pack.

Wax &/or vasoline coated cotton balls or drier lint also works pretty good, but I like fatwood/duralog stuff better, especially if the weather is really bad.

Sterno I haven't used in years but I was watching a movie earlier tonight (Screamers) & a couple of soldiers in the flick used several cans of sterno together to make a fire large enough to keep warm with, I guess because there was no other "burnable" stuff around for them to make an actual campfire with, but I thought would be a great backup if you can spare the extra weight/space in a pack.

I also use a small Swiss/Swedish military surplus 91% alcohol fueled jet stove kit that I use a lot while backpacking, oddly enough it is a serious pain in the butt to get going if it is really cold though, not sure why, but for "survival" purposes it would come in very handy though, a quart sized bottle of 91% alcohol lasts about a week on the trail.

On the other hand I also have a much larger "2-burner" white gas Coleman campstove, it is great for truck camping but I ain't going to be draggging it or a bigassed can of fuel for it around in a backpack, at least not for very long/far, much more food can be cooked on it much more quickly than with the small alcohol stove though. Edited March 26, 2013 by RichardR

[Mister L]

best place to get Magnesium Blocks with a striker is at Harbor Freight for about 2.95 each. it's good to have a mora knife 1092 carbon steel in your bag. you can find flint alot of places on the ground and with the carbon steel knife you can get fire if it's not to wet of conditions. (char cloth)

[bigwakes]

One of the best add ons to a bic lighter is a small piece of rubber from a bicycle intertube. If you get the right size it's a tight fit. When your ready for your fire cut a small piece of rubber off the tube and light it. It burns for a long time and saves your fuel. I cut a small piece of the rubber and wedge it in the end of a stick so I have a mini torch that can be placed under my pile of wood for starting. Plus it gives me a small satisfaction that I'm adding to the hole in the ozone.

 

I just became a dealer for a company called Utility Flame https://www.utilityflame.com/pcms/?f=home. It's a gel that burns at 1375 degrees for several minutes. It's only byproduct is water vapor and sand, so completely safe to burn indoors.

[bigbabysweets]

I've always wanted to make/ buy a fire piston. Making fire by way of air pressure just sounds awesome. I use lent off pants/shirts/socks a lot with the flint strikers. A few scrapes with a knife and you have a nice base to get something going. Always to remember to hold the striker still close to the tinder and pull the flint back, that way you don't knock over your bundle spilling the lint out!

[Krull]

We use dryer lint and petroleum jelly combination when trout fishing. Save your old dryer lint and add a little jelly. Sparks up easily and burns for a while to get things started.

[EMB145]

I have read and seen youtube videos that Doritos burn quite well. I have never tried it because I usually have Velveeta and Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies in the house, I darn sure want be trying to set Doritos on fire in that situation. On top of that, it would serve a dual purpose as a snack. You would have to rotate your supply often due to the "Best to use by" date, but then again thats where the Velvetta and Rotel come back into play. Its a vicious circle.

[frankmako]

zippo lighter for me.  got one back in 70 and it has never let me down.  it has started lots of time fuse back in it day. 

[Guest copperhead_1911]

I have flint and a dedicated knife, a vaccum sealed lighter, vaccum sealed dryer lint, and also some matches in a water proof container.

 

Plan for the worse and hope for the best.