easy quick survival firestarting

A friend of mine has perpetual sinus problems and always carries one of those disposable Dristan nasal mist sprays. Once they are empty you can refill them with lighter fluid. They work pretty good, but as was said above about the eye dropper bottles before you reuse them relabel them to prevent accidents!
 
Good idea ,i've been using cotton soaked in alcohol stored in a film container. I like that it burns clean and lights easily.
 
I have a buddy that used to use the tiny bottles for perfume samples, that are like 1/4" diameter by 2", and fill them w/ diesel. 'Course, he was an old muzzle loader, so he always had flint and steel too.
 
How about 100% cotton balls packed with vaseline. A small, sealed container holding several of these might be a good addition.
 
Next time you fry up some bacon or sausage, soak some newspaper or paper towels in the hot grease. Let cool and harden then roll into tubes and cut to desired length. Lights quickly, burns hot, smells good and won't evaporate or leak. HH Wanderer
 
Bacon grease!?! If it gets warm it WILL melt and make a mess of your kit and it will also ring the dinner bell for bears! (Of course I'm such a bacon junkie if I had fire I would probably try to smoke one of those little tubes!!!)

-- FLIX
 
What Flix said. Having awakened one morning to the sight of a mama bear knocking over a few of my buddies' backpacks (which sight distracted us enough that we all neglected to see her two cubs in the woods a few yards behind us), I've come to believe that it's prudent to keep anything that might smell vaguely like food in an easily-found-and-separated place in one's gear, rather than scattered throughout it in a way that you won't be able to find it and get it up into a tree when you're bedding down for the night.

On that topic, I've also had some issues with beeswax (commonly used as an ingredient in leather conditioners and preservatives); while I'm merely unsure whether or not it would attract bears (or "mini-bears", a/k/a squirrels, etc.), I can tell you that it really CAN draw deep and favorable attention from bees. Since most of the bees around here are now of the Africanized "killer" variety (I'm told that large hives can be seen from one of Phoenix' more-popular in-town mountain hiking trails), I've hesitated to use beeswax-based leather preservatives.
 
I usually pack a small tube of "Vasaline lip therapy" with me. You can use it on your lips, tinder, spindle socket, zipper,....etc.


Roger
 
I was polishing the rims on my truck today and was using some never dull. It is cotton soaked in some polishing compound of some sort that seams oil based. So after I used up a couple peices I started thinking about whether you could start a fire with it. I hit it with a flint and steel and it started very easily and a piece the size of a half dollar burned for 1-2 minutes.
 
Macclint said:
I've not tried it, but I hear insect repellant is pretty flamable... :)
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When I was a little boy (read: Like 9 before I knew what I was really doing), we used to spray little puddles of "Off" and then drop a match into it. It was really cool, but the flame vanishes very quickly. Might be enough to get some tinder started, but nothing substantial.
 
If you're going for compactness, I would go for purell, as you get more uses for the weight. (Minimal though it may be.) I would be very careful about bringing liquids that are highly flammable, because as someone mentioned they can leak. Even if they don't, in very hot weather some kinds will combust spontaniously. Good idea, if a dangerous one.
 
Chapstick, Its mostly wax. Once it melts onto your tinder it flares up like candle wax. I always carry a tube in my left pocket.
 
For all you smokers out there a cigarette makes good tinder. The tobbaco and paper light easy and its something most smokers have on them at all times.
 
Return of the J.D. said:
What Flix said. Having awakened one morning to the sight of a mama bear knocking over a few of my buddies' backpacks (which sight distracted us enough that we all neglected to see her two cubs in the woods a few yards behind us), I've come to believe that it's prudent to keep anything that might smell vaguely like food in an easily-found-and-separated place in one's gear, rather than scattered throughout it in a way that you won't be able to find it and get it up into a tree when you're bedding down for the night.

On that topic, I've also had some issues with beeswax (commonly used as an ingredient in leather conditioners and preservatives); while I'm merely unsure whether or not it would attract bears (or "mini-bears", a/k/a squirrels, etc.), I can tell you that it really CAN draw deep and favorable attention from bees. Since most of the bees around here are now of the Africanized "killer" variety (I'm told that large hives can be seen from one of Phoenix' more-popular in-town mountain hiking trails), I've hesitated to use beeswax-based leather preservatives.
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ANY substances that are fragrant will attract bears, especially 'foreign to the area scents'. As for bees being attracted to beeswax based products you don't need to be that worked up. You use so little product that it would'nt be something to worry about. Beeswax based shoe conditioners in the desert don't make much sense, as they are more of a waterproofer than a leather 'saver'; you want a mink oil based product for that.

Are you referring to South Mtn? Squaw Peak?
 
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