A Question Of Firestarting Priorities

The simple answer here... " survival situation, you need a fire, you have a lighter" ...is to use the lighter. Need met, less energy use, more time saved. However the real answer is for me area and season specific. When there are dry tinders like thistle available which will take even a half-@$$ed spark from a ferro rod I'd be more likely to go that route and save the lighter for a time when I needed it more as in using a stubborn tinder in damp conditions where a sustained flame could really shine. Even with as much as I find myself enjoying using the fire-bow lately it would not be my first choice in this scenario.

kgd said:
I would also pay much more attention to tinder sources and ensure I'm collecting adequate quantities for 2 or 3 fires as I came across it. Also consider natural tinder sources that can be converted into charcloth e.g. cattail fluff, milkweed/thistle seeds etc.
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Good habit to get into. I find myself grabbing bits as I walk along on hikes rather than waiting till I actually want the fire.
 
mistwalker said:
Good habit to get into. I find myself grabbing bits as I walk along on hikes rather than waiting till I actually want the fire.
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A very good habit and one that proves you must always be thinking/planning ahead and take advantage of any/all resources when you can. :thumbup:

ROCK6
 
As said by others, it's going to depend on available tinder & kindling.

If your carrying a kit, do you have other forms of tinder / firestarters?

If you do (and necessity is involved), there's nothing wrong with a lighter & a firestarter :D





Kind regards
Mick
 
I would use the most reliable method (for me) to start a fire - Ferro rod with a PJCB. It works everytime, with cold numb hands, in wind, in extreme cold.

I practice everytime I'm out in the woods camping or on a picnic. Pracitce make perfect. A ferro rod is also extremely durable and long lasting-thousands of strikes per rod. A PJCB is practically windproof and very easy to light. A good ferro rod can also work great with natural tinders.

In my opinion, for a long term situation, a ferro rod is the way to go. Learn to use natural tinder with it and you are set.
 
I have not practiced friction fire methods yet so they are not something i would rely on in an emergency. With no such skill using one would be an act of desperation.

As someone said before, depending on urgency i would save things like PJCB's.

If the local tinder was not taking a spark easily I would use the lighter.
Both the lighter and the ferro rod have a limited lifespan.
Why waste dozens and dozens of strikes on the rod to save a few seconds of gas in the lighter?
 
Last week I was watching re-runs of a Ray Mears series on a free digital channel called "Dave".

He was in the jungle, explained that lighting fires could be very difficult, got out his tin that contained strips of rubber inner-tube and his cigarette lighter. He lit the innner-tube, then lit his kindling from that.

No fuss, no drama and all very simple!
 
Survival situations are about survival not about impressing someone with your technique. You have food to find, a shelter to gather materials for and build,, Tinder and wood to gather to support your fire, signals/markers to make to aid in your rescue...........all at the least calorie output possible. Your not Dave and Cody on Dual survival with a camera crew. It's you alive or dead by your best efforts. So you do what is most likely to lead to success. If your lighter is almost out of fuel then you can reconsider based on circumstances, otherwise you use the lighter.
 
Yorkshire Boy said:
He was in the jungle, explained that lighting fires could be very difficult, got out his tin that contained strips of rubber inner-tube and his cigarette lighter. He lit the innner-tube, then lit his kindling from that.
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I'd do the same if I had plenty of strips or inner-tube or plenty of PJCBs or similar, but after a few nights if I was still in the sh*t and only had a couple of fire starting aids left then I'd see if I could get a fire going without them fairly easily - to save them until really needed. I'd also be keeping a sharp eye out for good natural tinder.

For the first fire of the WTSHTF situation I would be keen just to get the thing lit and utilise it for cooking/warmth/water treatment - I'd have enough on my mind without worrying about getting a friction fire going.

If I was caught out with only whatever I had on me and no chance to get home and grab anything then I'd probably be suffering a little anxiety - glad of what I EDC but missing all the useful stuff back at home (including food & water). Luckily I walk around with a few useful gadgets on my person - including a waterproof peanut lighter. I EDC 3 flashlights, a SAK, a LM Wave & a LM 502x. Under the seat of my motor scooter I have wet weather gear, spare petrol (about 1.3L), a small FAK, an emergency blanket & a tool kit - these things would be pretty useful.

If I was at home when TSHTF then I would be able to quickly grab a few things including some PJCBs (I'd probably grab the whole bag of cotton balls and the jar of petroleum jelly) and at least a couple of lighters (maybe a full can of butane & a can of Zippo lighter fluid). I'd grab a couple of good fixed blades as well and a couple of spare emergency blankets (floor of shelter and waterproof roof of shelter. I'd take my fire steel, but I would be able to light a fire every night with a lighter for more than a year pretty easily. I'd grab my camping gear including the tiny stove & a couple of cans of gas, sleeping bag, tent, bedroll, flashlights & batteries. It would be quite a different situation compared to being away from home and only having what was on me at the time.

What you have available and how easily you could get the fire going by varying methods would greatly influence your choice of firestarting method. Plenty of paper/cardboard and good kindling would make a lighter the best choice - you could light the fire using barely any gas from the lighter and you would have a good fire going in no time at all.
 
People are talking as if the lighter is foolproof, I once failed miserably to get a fire going using a Bic during nightmare conditions, gale force winds and rain with snow on the ground. Matches and ferro-rod also failed that day and in the end I resorted to one of those giant BBQ matches.In real bad conditions cheap lighters such as BIC's fail pretty easily !!!
 
pitdog said:
People are talking as if the lighter is foolproof
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Surely people are just saying what they would do in the given situation - if the lighter can't do the job for whatever reason then most people would look at what they could use instead or what they could do to change the conditions so that they could get a fire going.

I generally don't use a Bic - I have jet flame lighters that are much more wind resistant and I have a peanut lighter that is less likely to have a problem after getting wet. When I go camping I take at least 3 lighters and a ferro rod and some PJCBs - the chances are that something I have will work.
 
A good first up self sustaining fire (regardless of the circumstances) should always allow subsequent fires to be easily lit, irrespective of the method used.

So I go for using the most effective & efficent method first up. Use the heat from this initial fire to dry out both tinder & kindling to make subsequent fires easier, no matter what method you use.

Check out the stockpile of both on the righthand side of this pic.

Shavingthechoppingboardside.jpg


Hope this helps.





Kind regards
Mick
 
pitdog said:
People are talking as if the lighter is foolproof, I once failed miserably to get a fire going using a Bic during nightmare conditions, gale force winds and rain with snow on the ground. Matches and ferro-rod also failed that day and in the end I resorted to one of those giant BBQ matches.In real bad conditions cheap lighters such as BIC's fail pretty easily !!!
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Whenever I go out in cold conditions, 40F and below, I carry at least one instant, save my life from hypothermia fire. That usually consists of a Trioxene bar because I have plenty of them. Sections of road flare work well too. The idea is to have one asset that will get me a fire going without any drama, even if I'm wounded or soaked to the skin.

I have used the Trioxene bar one time to actually save my life in 18 degree weather and there is nothing like it.

Here in Brazil our main fire enemy is rainy season. Ironically during our coldest months fire conditions are absolutely dangerous it is so dry. In the summer it is raining constantly but night temps can drop into the low/wet 60's so hypothermia is a real danger if you're soaked.

I normally have a large Bic in my kit and a mini-Bic on my canteen pouch. I also carry a bomb proof fire kit of a ferro rod and tube of PJ cotton wrapped in inner tube rubber.

Bushcraft and ancient techniques are great and will teach you more about firemaking than all modern methods combined. However, death by hypothermia is a real possibility and carrying a surefire means to light fire is wise. It ain't cheating if you are cheating death. Mac
 
It would depend on my immediate need. It would be a toss up between the lighter and ferro rod for me. I would only use friction fire if I had no other choice. A full bic lighter is going to last a loooong time with properly prepared tinder, and the ferro rod even longer....
 
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