Is dryer lint really that good or is there better?

cotton and petroleum jelly is what I keep in my kits. The thing I try to keep in my pocket, or on me, when I can't bring a kit is a piece of jute.

Jute makes great tinder and it doesn't fill your pocket full of powder like natural tinder sometimes does. Sometimes I will make an anklet out of jute. No excuse not to carry tinder with you.
 
Doc, let me get this straight: after loading and sealing the tubes with vaseline-coated cotton - I then cut open the tube and pull out some of the cotton, fluff it and light it? That sounds right to me.
Also, I might suggest that a wire pipe cleaner might be good for packing the tubes.
jca21: I love char cloth, been making it like you do for years (not that I have an everyday use for it ;))
 
lol i hike almost EVERY weekend... rain wind sunshine snow hail... and the way i keep set it up is like this. first i gather big logs and split them, next i make something called feather sticks ( smaller pieces of dead standing timber and shave them down )... next i gather the tinder and finally i hunch over the tinder and pull out a small piece of char cloth. the reason i hunch over it is because my back acts as protection from rain. and then i use my swedish fire steel to strike a spark onto it... instant fire. i believe preparation is the key.

the feather stick idea i got from an episode of ray mears and i've tried it many times and its awesome.

anyways cheers!

char cloth rules!
 
Would it be a good idea to make cotton balls and valeline and magnesium flakes? Wouldn't this make it even easier to light and be hotter?

I assume these would last indefinitely.

cliff
 
ERdept said:
Would it be a good idea to make cotton balls and valeline and magnesium flakes? Wouldn't this make it even easier to light and be hotter?

I assume these would last indefinitely.

cliff
Click to expand...


Test it. I would hypothesize that it might reduce the overall burn time of your cotton/jelly though, as the magnesium burns so much hotter and quicker. The magnesium could be a good thing if was on one end of the straw method. Just a guess though.
 
In a pinch, about 6 inches of duct tape made into a loose ball works very well, even if wet. Works for other things too.....
 
how do u light the duct tape? ... with a lighter??

or does it catch sparks easily??
 
The cotton ball or dryer lint w/ petroleum jelly also works fairly well in the rain if loosely wrapped with a couple rubber bands. I've had the most success lighting it using a trick birthday candle (the ones that usually won't blow out) cupped in hand.
 
In my experience, normal dryer lint burns too fast to be useful lighting but isnt bone dry. I have had good results from strips of newsprint rolled up with candle shavings in it.
 
lol nice... belly button lint... i think it'd take me a while to collect enuf to get a fire going though.
 
Never tried Dryer lint, but I'll give it a shot. What works well for me is Never Dull. It is a polishing compound made out of cotton batting. VERY flammable, will catch a spark and burns for little while. When I was in the service we had a similar stuff called duraglit for brass and such. Most hardware stores should have it.
 
justdave said:
What works well for me is Never Dull. It is a polishing compound made out of cotton batting. VERY flammable, will catch a spark and burns for little while.
Click to expand...

Doh! I keep a wad of Nevr-Dull in my bag for cleaning knives, tools etc... never thought to use it for tinder :o
Just tried it, works great, thanks for the tip! :thumbup: Gotta love stuff that has multiple uses.
 
I like the cotton ball and Vaseline if all I have is some kind of spark. If I have a lighter I use the following:

I take a cotton towel or denim and cut it into strips 1 x 3 and dip them in melted paraffin. I dip them a couple of times. The last burn test I did I hade one burn for 4 minutes. I also make them in different sizes for different burn times.

They are bomb proof, last for ever and the paraffin keeps the cotton dry.

My next test will be to see how different coats of pariffin affect the burn time.
 
I recently tried dryer lint from my house. The lint caught a spark OK but didn't burn long and the flame extinguished with much unburned material. My conclusion is that the lint from our clothes simply isn't flammable enough.

Simple cotton balls (without any vaseline) work far better.

If you're going to choose dryer lint, test it before you pack it in your kit.
 
I have been thinking about getting some Trioxane and using a punch to make little tablets the size of asprin or so.

The idea being to seal them in drinking straws or put several dozen in a sealed bic pen tube. Then, simply deal out a few like a pez dispenser, crumble one to powder to take a spark, and add a couple for extended burn time.

Does anyone have experience with esbit, trioxane and other tablet type tinders? Which if any would accept being cut into pill shapes by a hollow punch?

On that note, I wonder what would happen to them if I coated them in parfin, beeswax, nail polish, or lacquer? Anyway, that sounds ideal. Picture waterproof asprins that burn like trioxane -that's what Im trying to come up with. I wouldnt mind a couple dozen of them on me.
 
Hey Guys....

PJ and Cotton balls,, are probably the best made tinder out there..
Dryer lint and PJ is also good...

Add a little parafin wax just to firm them up, and theres nothing else you should need other than maybe fatwood..

As far as I'm concerned you guys have your back up plans all backwards..

You guys have them listed like this.

Plan A.

1. Bic Lighter
2. Matches
3. Magnesium Block
3. Flint and Steel
5. Fire Bow

When in fact you should have them listed like this

Plan B.

1. Firebow
2. Flint and Steel
3. Magnesium bar
4. Matches
5. Bic Lighter
6. Lighter fliud and Bic
7. Flame thrower

When you have them listed like Plan A.
How or when do you ever practice making fire with a fire bow ??

Unfortunately I'm not skilled at a Firebow, hopefully that will change this summer, but for now I don't, so I can't include it logically into my fire kit, and unless you know how to do it neither should you.

Start at the hardest method you feel comfortable with, then build upon that.

When you start with the hardest method first, you build your skills to the point where the lighter falls off the list, then the matches ect ect.

I don't even carry a lighter in my PSK..I have no need for it, it takes too much room, and it's pointless relying on something that May or May Not work. I would trust matches before a lighter to be quite honest...

Build your kit around solid sparked based fire starting, and you will find little use for matches and lighters....

Just my thoughts on the matter..

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
Normark said:
Hey Guys....

I don't even carry a lighter in my PSK..I have no need for it, it takes too much room, and it's pointless relying on something that May or May Not work. I would trust matches before a lighter to be quite honest...

O/ST
Click to expand...

Matches b4 lighter? I dont know about that one... I agree about the priorities though. I wouldnt even include matches though...maybe for a 4th backup or something.
 
Eric,

I always use "survival" firestarting methods when I'm camping because it is fun and great practice. That being said, if I was in an actual survival situation, technique be danmed, I want a fire - NOW!

If I have a lighter with me in such a situation, I'll use it and be thankful that I have it.

I'm guessing you agree with this as well but just want to emphasize practicing "survival" firestarting techniques.

-- FLIX
 
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