Fire Kit

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Ranger325

Joined
Nov 4, 2009
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I'm putting together a fire kit for my bag. I have my Light-My-Fire' stick, lighter, strike anywhere matches. Going to make cotton balls & Vasaline - any trick here? (Don't want to over think it - :D) Just soak/knead the cotton in the Vas and store them? Probably should be on the lookout for some fatwood when I'm in the woods too.
Any thoughts or additional ideas are welcome................;)

Regards,
Ranger325
RP#544
 
Two methods for cotton + vaseline:

I roll the cotton lightly in the vaseline, enough to coat the outside and maybe a little inside and then stuff it along with it's brothers and sisters into an old film canister.

Also, you can stuff some cotton into a straw that has been closed on one end (by flame and pinching with needle-nose pliers) then inject vaseline using a cleansing syringe (available for cheap at drug stores) then cotton again, then vaseline again, until full and then close with flame and needle-nose pliers.
 
No tricks. Don't oversoak them. I like to keep them in a 35mm film cannister. The straw things would work too.

Actually, I prefer to keep a tiny travel size vaseline (small tube, like a toothpaste tube about half the size of my thumb) and a couple of tampons. There's a TON of cotton in one of those. Not sure how many cotton balls it's comparable to, but it's a bunch.

You also can use them as bandages. Believe it or not, those things do a great job plugging a hole and soaking up blood. Serioiusly. They do. If fire isn't a concern, you can use the vaseline for first aid purposes (chapped lips etc). I'm really into multiuse.

I'd also add steel wool. It's da bomb when you accidentally doused your firekit.

Fatwood is ok, but I rarely carry it. I also rarely carry matches. Four to six waterproof matches are as large as a bic. Frankly, I've never had a bic fail on me. The firestarter is just a backup which I like to play with. :)

Also, spend some time learning which naturally things in your area burn well. Barks, fungi, etc. You should be very familiar with them. Knowledge is THE BEST survival kit.
 
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The more you soak a cotton ball the longer it will burn but the harder it is to get it to take a spark 'cos it binds the fibers when you crush it up small in your container. That may not matter if you use a bit of hacksaw blade for a striker as it only takes a second to tease them out with the saw side. [bit of hacksaw is great for fluffing up fibers on all sorts anyway]. On the other hand if you strike sparks with the back of a knife and have a really saturated bit you might wish you left a little tiny dry bit in there too.

Tiny bit of very fine wire wool opens up some options.

Rubber band makes an ugly but functional waterproof firelighter if you hit it with a flame - bit of tredder innertube is good.
 
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nemoaz said:
...tampons...Believe it or not, those things do a great job plugging a hole and soaking up blood.
Click to expand...

Aww. :barf: So soon after lunch? ;)

Ive been saving dryer lint to be soaked with lamp oil, mostly because I don't have any vaseline or cottonballs. We'll see how that turns out.
 
Tom Krein said:
Just curious, but what are you putting it all in?

Tom
Click to expand...

I have one of the little Plano boxes that is just long enough to accomidate the LMF stick.

Sounds like the key is not too much Vas on the cotton..................

Regards,
Ranger325
RP#544
 
It looks to me that you're fine. I use 0000 steel wool and vas and carry it in a baggie. I also carry a couple of commercial firesticks, a solo lighter, and a metal match. I think the trick is to know how to use whatever you carry so you can start a fire in very bad conditions. To do that you'll have to practice.
 
I try to purchase every little tube of Vaseline Intensive Care/Therapy I can find. I like carrying a few of these little toothpaste-like tubes of Vaseline instead of pre-treating cottonballs with Vaz.

#0000 Steel Wool is some of the best tinder you can carry. I use the "Tube Vaults" (CountyComm's name for them.) and I go odd and even with cotton balls and #0000 Steel Wool and you have to have long forceps taped to the outside of the tube or take the first wad of Steel Wool and wrap two of the inner strands from 550 (ParaChute) Cord around it and make a long lanyard that will stick out at the end. You are basically making a pull cord and as tightly as I pack the stuff in there, if I don't have long forceps or this ripcord thing, I would never get out the stuff near the bottom. In this large tube, you can have months worth of tinder in there, no problem. Assuming if you were in some extended survival situation that you would not let your fire go out under most circumstances so you would not be needing to use up all of your tinder.

One portion of a fire kit I made for my Wifey is a Kydex sheath for a Bic Lighter and that hollow rivet in the end of the Kydex, you place a ParaCord lanyard through that, there is a file from an otherwise destroyed and dismantled Gerber Multitool and a DOAN Magnesium Firestarter - all wrapped together with the ParaCord and secured with a large rubber band or Ranger Band.

With that little kit and one of the "tube vaults" rigged up like that, I'm confident she can start a fire under some fairly terrible conditions.

Here is a B&W of the DOAN Firestarter, Kydex BIC Sheath and Multitool File wrapped up.

mvc772x.jpg
 
Thanks for your thoughts Don - nice set up. I'll play around with some 0000 steel wool too....................

Regards,
Ranger325
RP#544
 
Hey Buddy - #0000 Steel Wool is just an excellent choice. You can even use partially depleted flashlight batteries and a little bit of snare wire to light it up. Awesome stuff. Adding Vaz to it just makes it even hotter.

I forgot to mention that you can get these foil packets of Vaseline Soaked Gauze AND little foil packets where you can just squeeze out White Petrolatum Jelly...all great stuff to have in your kits and pockets, etc.
 
When I made mine, I melted the Vaseline down to liquid form, then dipped each cotton ball in halfway and ringed it out, then stuffed them into a leftover medicine bottle. I think I might not have rung out the most recent batch well enough... just took a look and they're pretty saturated. Should still burn as long as I fluff it out.

Nice having them around too. Good temporary relief for chapped lips if you need it.
 
for fire straws I light rub a few wisps of cotton w/ vaseline , push in snugly w/ a toothpick, repeat until full (leave a little room to seal both ends)

I was able to fit a small steel, striker (section of hack saw blade, sparklite, four tinder tabs, two fire straws and two wetfire tinders (be sure to check these out- they are the king of tinder in wet conditions!) into this tiny tin :)

minikitcontents.jpg


minikitclosed.jpg
 
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