Firestarters

Yep, strike anywhere waterproofed matches and an adjustable disposable lighter are both cheap and both work great as a firestarter. The only problem with them is learning to get the fire going in wet and windy conditions, where the flame of the match and lighter will be susceptable to blowing out.

Tip on the Spark-lite, which is an excellent firestarter is to buy some more tinder for it, cut them into third lengths or even quarter them. When fluffed the spark-lite tool will ignite the tinder, wet or dry and get a fire going. It doesn't need to start a piece of paper, but will start other fluffy materials.

Also, you could use dryer lint (cotton only) and make up some tinder bundles using fat wood shavings, or feather sticks in combination with the dryer lint and the spark-lite will ignite the lint, which ignites the fatwood, which will get your fire going.

Lots of choices out there, but if you don't know how to prepare the fire properly, they won't work either.
 
I get alot of mileage out of cotton treated with vaseline. The sparklite lights it up easily and depending on the amount you use it burns long enough to get tinder going. Here in rainy season I normally just light a candle and stick it under my tinder. It gets the wettest stuff burning. I once had to cook tinder for close to a half hour before it would burn. As far as the ignition sources I normally use they are: Yellow Bic lighters, BSA Hotspark, Blastmatch, Doan tool, Kershaw firesteel. With ferro rods my go to tinder is almost always treated cotton. In the dry season here you can light all sorts of stuff with just the sparks from a blastmatch. Mac
 
Plenty of choices out there...but you need to plan your PACE:

FireStarters2.jpg


Primary: Ferro-Rod / Blastmatch / Strike Force / Spark-Lite
Alternate: Bic Lighter
Contingency: Storm matches (I prefer REI's)
Emergency: Back up Bic:D

I usually try to start my fires with a ferro-rod and natural tinder...if that doesn't get it, I'll use some of my "tinder": vaseline/cottonballs, fatwood, Spark-lite tinder, trioxane/hexamine, rubber innner-tubbing, wax-paper, jute-cord, candle or magnesium shavings (from a DOAN firestarter).

I don't try to play games when cold, wet and numb...I keep tinder and a Bic lighter for the times that I really need a fire and immediatly. It's no fun trying to keep magnesium shavings consolidated with gusty winds, freezing rain, numb fingers and dripping snot:eek:

ROCK6
 
I just experimented with some vaseline suturated cotton I had been storing in a 35mm film container since 1998 and the flint side of a Doan fire starter and I was able to start a good fire with tinder I stripped from a tree inmy yard.

It had recently snowed and was a fairly humid 14F outside.

I was so favorably impressed that I may eliminate all of the other firemaking supplies from my pocket kit.
 
I carry either a spark-lite, swedish fire steel or both, depending on the kit I've got; plus a bic, plus some homemade storm-proof matches. Tinder ranging from the spark-lite stuff (and it's good) to vaselined cotton balls; birthday candle; lots of natural stuff around when it's dry so that's what I use when I can. During winter hikes and camping trips I also carry a cut-down highway flare (about 5" worth.)

I keep playing with a business card-sized fresnel lens, but usually all I get is a teeny-tiny charred spot. If I use a bigger lens (4x6 or so) it works pretty good on dry, fluffy natural stuff.
 
I have a neat little kit wedged into the handle of my daughters Mini-Bushman. I took a BSA Hotspark and striker and connected them with a foot long braid of jute twine. For added fuel I treated the twine with vaseline. The thing lights up right away. I just fray the end of the jute and strike it with a spark and it usually lights in 2-3 strikes and burns very well. It rolls up nice and tight and jammed into the handle it actually stays put. Mac
 
Yep, Jute is good stuff to have in your kit. There are two kinds that I've seen here. One has been treated and is more or less useless as a fire starting material. The other is all natural 4 ply jute and it strikes to flame easily. I havn't added anything to it, but my FAK has a couple of small foil packages of 3 in 1 ointment, which burns similar to petroleum jelly.
 
The fire-retardent one finds in some jute bindertwine is borax. Soak the twine in water and dry.


WHERE CAN I BUY NATO-APPROVED LIFEBOAT MATCHES WITHOUT PAYING MORE FOR THER S&H THAN THE MATCHES?
 
Sorry, I put the question a bit wrong: I am talking about firesteels and other firestarters that start fire from sparks, but do not have any gas or other type of "tinder" enclosed, so lighters are excluded.
I have man-made tinders, but I am more interested in easy to find almost everywhere natural tinders. Of course, paper is not a natural tinder, but it is not that easy to ignite from sparks, therefore I talked about it. However, I managed to find some crampballs in nearby woods and they easily make hot ashes, just marvelous. The only problem is to find them...
Thanks,
 
OmegaA, you make a good point about communication

A firesteel is not "tinder." It is in the class with butane lighters, matches, batteries, and flint and steel -- a source of ignition.

"Tinder," generally, is something that will take a spark and allow the spark to be fanned into flame (e.g. cattail "cotton"; charred cloth; vasaline-smeared cotton; inner bark of birch)

"Fire starter" most often refers to something that has an extended burn time (e.g. candle; fat wood; rolls of parafin-soaked cardboard; lumps of pine sap)


The members here can, collectively, supply lots of information about all three, including "how-to" tips and sources.
 
OmegaA said:
.... I want something reliable, cheap and long-lasting instead.
Click to expand...

Reliable, cheap and long-lasting pretty much describes the Swedish Firesteel. Doan's Magnesium Block w/ sparking rod also qualifies, although the magnesium shavings are about as hard as cattail fuzz to keep steady in a high wind. (Does magnesium count as "tinder" in your context?)
 
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