How do you guys start fires in damp conditions?

Just curious if you are willing to answer what kind of idiotic stuff do you mean? I don't have experience with third world countries at all but it sounds very interesting.
 
OK I know this is cheating but I tried the vaseloline saturated cotton balls with a knife and lfint today. These items will remain in my kit from here on out, two strikes of the flint and one cotton ball burned for 4 minutes.
 
Decklin said:
OK I know this is cheating but I tried the vaseloline saturated cotton balls with a knife and lfint today. These items will remain in my kit from here on out, two strikes of the flint and one cotton ball burned for 4 minutes.
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Thats not cheating man, thats being prepared!
 
If you're not cheating, you're not trying. Really!

OK, so, going by conventional Bushcraft wisdom, you use all natural stuff. Or, you adhere pretty close to that point of view. Some are more rigid than others on this stuff.

You know, I learned a long time ago that when you're cold, even worse when you are wet and cold, it's more than "OK" to use a cheat like wire ties to make a frame for the lean-to. You can do it really quickly with very little fumbling. There are all sorts of shortcuts and "cheats" you can do, but you know what? As long as you are cheating the Grim Reaper, it's pretty much OK with me. :D

Things like carrying your own small fatwood supply, multiple ways to reliably start a fire quickly, REI Matches, Misch Metal or Ferrocerium Rod, DOAN Magnesium Block, Vaseline, #0000 Steel Wool, Cotton Balls, Charcloth, Jute Twine, you name it! As long as you don't end up with an ALICE Pack full of nothing but this stuff, it's OK.

I do tend to carry small tubes of Vaseline Intensive Care because it burns just like Vaseline...errah...because it is Vaseline. It's quick and convenient. If you go to a real pharmacy and not a corporate chain pharmacy, you can get foil packs of white petrolatum as well. For those of you that have Starbuck's instant coffee sleeves, they are just a little bit larger than those and they have a lot of Vaseline in them.

ALL of this stuff is legitimate for self-preservation and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

And none of this is said with the idea of ignoring the more primitive stuff or what has come to be known as "Bushcraft." Learn everything you can! Just don't start romanticizing about it and going native, I think that is where people oftentimes go astray. You see the same dynamic in martial arts, it's human nature.
 
The way I see it, you want to learn and practice doing all the survival stuff (starting fires, making shelters. etc) as if you have nothing but a knife and what nature provides you.

But any other time, carry as much stuff on you as you can. "Cheat" as much as you can. Do whatever it takes to survive and thrive.
 
As others have said, the only proper way to start a fire in wet conditions is by harvesting the dry inner part of standing dead wood. That's why I carry an axe over a knife whenever I can in the woods.

However, I have another tip. One item that can help immensely in wet conditions is aluminum foil. Use it as a base for your fire, separating your tinder from the cold wet ground. The foil also has something like 80% reflectivity rating, so having it under a cold, weak fire will encourage it to burn.

Aluminum foil is a simple piece of gear I often see neglected in "survival" kits. It's cheap and weighs nothing, but can be used for so many things. Create a bowl with it to collect food in, boil water in, eat from... whatever. It can be torn up into squares for trail markers, or even used to signal. Hell, I've even used it to make charcloth before! It's great stuff. Put a couple squares of it into your pack.
 
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Nothing wrong with aluminum foil. Been in military survival kits for well over 40 years and people like Doug Ritter have included it in their kits as well.

I have started a lot of fires in wet forest, snow and rain coming down. I've never had to resort to splitting standing dead wood to get one going. That doesn't mean it isn't a good idea in some situations, either. Just means that I never had to. :)
 
Decklin said:
OK I know this is cheating but I tried the vaseloline saturated cotton balls with a knife and lfint today. These items will remain in my kit from here on out, two strikes of the flint and one cotton ball burned for 4 minutes.
Click to expand...

If Davey Crocket had it in his time HE would have carried it!
 
There is always dry wood to find regardless of where you are. The only time you want to cheat is when you are in an emergency and need to use everything you have with you. That way you don't use your supplies up too quickly. The only time I had to cheat was when I broke through the ice and went in a lake in Alaska. At that point my road flare was busted out and put into use.
 
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