Fire cheating

[Battlesword]

Hey if your not cheating your not trying.I take a Zippo, a bic and a flint and steel kit.Funny you should mention thermite I even carried small packets of homemade thermite (with an igniter built in) for the wet season in North Queensland.

 

[superc0ntra]

There is no such thing as cheating. If you want to stay traditional start of with flint and steel or a bow drill. If all works then fine but if you get cold, wet and tired be sure to have som backup

 

[pict]

The more you know the less you carry. That is very true, but the reality of it is the more you know the more you know to carry certain items that are a sure thing for critical tasks that take too much time and energy or are highly dependent on circumstances.

In Central Brazil that translates to... (My items in parentheses)

Machete (16 inch Tramontina)
Water carrier (US Army canteen)
Water boiler (Canteen cup)
Overhead cover & cordage (Poncho & paracord)
Fire lighter (Bic, Doan tool)
Fire tinder (PJ cotton, inner tube rubber, candle in rainy season, dry season it is optional)
Compass (Recta DP-2)
Light (Variable)

There are pure bushcraft skills and methods that will perform all of the tasks these items will do. I absolutely love getting out to practice these skills and spend most of my time in the bush doing just that. I also know as a certainty that I could not pull that all together in the same evening, especially if I was injured. Mac

 

[udtjim]

I carry a fire steel, strike anywhere matches, strike on the box matches, water proof wind proof matches, book matches, a Zippo and several Bics. I carry a small bottle of alcohol and a small bottle of lighter fluid. Juke twine and tongue depressers+ PJ cotton balls.

I also have a sterno and white gas stoves. I know that nothing is more important up north here that fire. I could get by with no knife long before no fire, but then I always have at least the Vic Farmer.

 

[KuRUpTD]

You can never have enough fire starting implements:

Mischmetal rod
Doans Magnesium bar
Fatwood
Tube of PJCB's
Mini BIC
Jute twine

I too am a cheater

 

[A.L.]

I guess it's elitism to make everything the hard way.
I carry firesteel, but I carry bic lighter and matches. And guess wich one I use the most? Yeap, the lighter.

 

[pvicenzi]

Cool. I smoke an ocasional cigar, and I only enjoy them outdoors so I usually have a lighter when in the woods. I guess I don't have to feel guilty when I use my lighter to start a fire insted of using one of the more skillful methods.

 

[OwenM]

I guess it's elitism to make everything the hard way.

Keep in mind that these people are just playing, having fun with their hobby.

Fire "cheating"? I get outdoors to play at other things, so I would be cheating myself to screw around pretending the world stopped advancing 200 years ago. When I want a fire, there's going to be instant flame from one of four sources, and something is getting burnt.

 

[wyo17]

im still tying to learn new skills for fire starting (bow drill) but untill then i always have a flint, and a backup bic in my first aid kit.

 

[Todd A]

What's the difference between carying tinder and magnesium firestarters into the woods, and carying say a propane torch, or a lighter? Isn't it cheating to carry anything at all?

I am with the rest of the guys. I enjoy making a fire with lots of methods, using natural materials when possible.

On a hike between what's in my pockets and in my bag I have : two Bics, a mag block, two LMF steels (Army and Scout), Jute, PJCBs, matches, Fatwood, Trioxane tablets for my stove, and even the Neosporine and gauze pads from my first aid kit.

If I need a fire in a for real survival situation I am not going to worry about how I started it.

 

[ROCK6]

There is no such thing as cheating when it comes to wilderness survival. The best way to survive is to plan accordingly.

Bushcraft skills do not take the place of wilderness survival preparation. OK, you broke an knee and a finger in a fall, you won't be leaving the woods tonight, it's starting to drizzle. Define cheating. Mac

That was my thought exactly...there is no cheating when trying to survive.

Now, if you're out practicing bushcraft skills, having a Bic lighter and/or matches are just insurance. We practice primitive skills, but having been in a freezing rain trying to get a fire going, I had a hard enough time with good tinder and a Bic lighter You practice the very basics, but you still should plan for that redundancy and emergency. When you're wet, cold, numb and hypothermia knocking on the door, you don't pull out the fireboard when the Bic lighter is in the pack. I will say it's good to master your skills in good weather, but at some point practicing under poor weather conditions really make it a challenge!

ROCK6

 

[fishkev236]

I carry a lighter in my pack. but its kinda fun to start a fire with tinder and a magnesium striker. mostly cause it makes you realize just how important fire starting is. In a real case survival i would think anyway you start a fire is a great way.

 

[fishkev236]

for shits and giggles... tried using a flashlight, and breaking the bulb..but not the filament. breaking the lens cover off, and stuffing the top of the flashlight with dry grasses. It started to smoke then went out.. and the filament broke. typically it should start the grass up in that time, but it didnt.. and i think because the batteries were pretty low. but was fun to try.

 

[dartanyon]

fishkev - I think the filament is supposed to be encased within a gas preventing it from fuseing out and create a bright glow. Maybe using batteries that are low will actually help?
Perhaps use a short piece of thin guitar wire where the globe would be?
Stuff some steel wool in the globe?
Kids dont try this at home.

 

[Gadgetaholic]

I have a couple of flashlights that can start a fire - just turn 'em on and hold them close to your tinder until is starts to burn. The run time isn't so great on either light - but they are plenty bright enough.

 

[Marion David Poff]

Here are a few links to threads that show how diverse the preparations to make a fire can be....

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=673892

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=649977

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=644360

Marion

 

[DWK2]

I have a couple of flashlights that can start a fire - just turn 'em on and hold them close to your tinder until is starts to burn. The run time isn't so great on either light - but they are plenty bright enough.

One of my friends used a Surefire to demonstrate that on a tweed jacket. Another used the fabric on his tent!

DancesWithKnives

 

[Ron Athay]

I was on an outting with several SAR personnel near Mt Adams in Washington in a rain storm watching them work magic starting fires with knives and swedish fire steels. I was impressed. They practice a lot. I asked the Head guy what they use in a real emergency. He reached into his SAR bag and pulled out three road flares. When life is on the line, anything goes. Be prepared. I remember a survival class were someone said "Of course we would never cut anything green". The instructor said "BS". Last summer a blind man was lost on a trail on the east coast. He set the hill side on fire. They found him alive.

 

[Bushman5]

I was on an outting with several SAR personnel near Mt Adams in Washington in a rain storm watching them work magic starting fires with knives and swedish fire steels. I was impressed. They practice a lot. I asked the Head guy what they use in a real emergency. He reached into his SAR bag and pulled out three road flares. When life is on the line, anything goes. Be prepared. I remember a survival class were someone said "Of course we would never cut anything green". The instructor said "BS". Last summer a blind man was lost on a trail on the east coast. He set the hill side on fire. They found him alive.

this is what drives me nuts about the eco n*** greenies and the leave no trace type crowd. They put their extremist ideas ahead of survival. Can't have an emergency fire to warm someone up, it might scar mother earth and release carbon........GAH!

 

[d_filgate]

this is what drives me nuts about the eco n*** greenies and the leave no trace type crowd. They put their extremist ideas ahead of survival. Can't have an emergency fire to warm someone up, it might scar mother earth and release carbon........GAH!

Bush, if they put their extremist ideas ahead of survival, isn't that kind of
like weeding out the gene pool?????