Lighters, matches and firestarters

golok

golok

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Starting a fire is as easy as taking in fresh air these days. We have the option of getting one of the numerous types of wind-proof lighters, or water-proof matches or even one of those unstoppable steel firestarters.

That brings me to the question: what type of firestarter do you opt for? Perhaps all the above just for the sake of variety.

When you are outdoor, do you stock up matches, lighters or firestarts?
What would be your reasons for picking a particular source of starting a fire?
 
i carry three sources of fire with me as well as dry tinder. i have lifeboat matches that are in a sealed container, i carry a couple of bik lighters in ziplok bags, and i carry a firesteel or two. i carry vaseline soaked cotton balls for tinder , and some solid bars of heaxamine, and when hunting in winter i carry a road flare. if i cant get a fire strted with this stuff, i must be under water.

alex
 
Hey,

I carry back ups too: "Strike Anywhere" matches, a Bic lighter, a ferrocerium rod, and a film canister full of Vaselined cotton. Usually, I have a packet or two of trioxane as well. Ditto what alco said. If I can't make fire with this, "Houston, we have a problem." I'm working on the fire bow thing. I have sassafras pieces drying for a fireboard and spindle.

diablero
 
I mostly use matches for starting a fire. I carry them in a waterproof container along with a striker.
I never bother to take with me any tinder as birch bark is found everywere in Norway. It`s easy getting a fire going even in hard rain when using birch bark.
I also carry a ferrocerium rod with me, but I`ve never used it to light a fire other than when "training". I find matches far simpler to use.
Some times just for fun and to show off ;) I light a fire with flint and steel, using horsehoof fungus (false tinder fungus) as tinder.
 
In my vest, I carry strike anywhere matches coated with wax. A few of the military issue trioxane fuel tabs as firestarter, an adjustable disposable lighter and a Spark-lite firestarter kit w/extra tender. I have other fire sources in my coat, pants and pack, as well as on my BOB belt.
 
Depends on where and when I am going. Sometimes I will carry a lighter to make life easy. I will also carry a waterproof case with matches, flint, and cotton if I am going deep. However, I never go anywhere without a little cordage and a knife. I can always carve a bow drill set and find or make tinder.
 
i baked my sasefras in a 250 degree oven for a couple of hours, that will take all the moisture out of the wood and get it ready for the fire bow set. it works a lot faster than if you just wait for it to naturally dry and you are assured that it is very dry. it took me about three weeks of trying off and on to get ti to work. i am not 100% with this but i keep trying when i have time. it is an aquired skill and also needs to be continuously practiced.

alex
 
Originally posted by golok
That brings me to the question: what type of firestarter do you opt for? Perhaps all the above just for the sake of variety.
Click to expand...

Bic lighters, period.

I carry two... A new one as a back up, and another one I use everyday.

Why bother carrying lint, flint, or all that stuff when a simple, light and robust Bic just works great?

I've tried everything. Flints, steels, magnesium, etc. I always came back to the good old lighter.

Most of the time I have a knife, too. With a simple shoelace I can make a bow drill quite easily. In fact, making the drill is not hard... it's getting the fire going that is longish, especially without very dry wood and good lint... which, BTW, you can only find easily when you don't really need a fire (when it's not raining or anything) ;)...

Firestarters/fuels are not a real concern. You can find many of these in the woods. Birch bark is great. Any type or resin from an evergreen tree works great, too. Just cover anything that burns with it and light it up. Good luck with the sticky fingers ;)

Cheers,

David
 
Alco,

How did the Sassafras work? I never tried it for fire by friction, Sassafras is in the Lauraceace family, same as red bay, swamp bay, and devil wood.

If you are still learning, cedar is about middle of road in difficulty and a great wood to learn.
 
I carry all three!

BIC lighters are great under ideal conditions. I tend to carry pairs of mini-BICs in my kits and usually will have at least two full sized BICs when ever I know I am going to be building a fire.

But BICs are way too unreliable for me to rely on them for survival. I’ve had BICs that leaked fuel, had flints that broke apart or dissolved when they got wet, nozzles that clogged, strikers that fell apart, etc. Besides, BICs don’t work well in extreme cold or heavy wind and they don’t work at all when they’re wet.


The metal matches (ferrocium rods) are probably the most dependable fire starters; these can be used many times and they work in the wind, rain and the cold. The down side is that you need some sort of tinder to catch the sparks. Pack some Vaseline soaked cotton balls with your firestarter and you’re good to go.


Wooden matches are another good choice, although you do need to keep them dry and/or waterproof them and you need a striker for safety matches (but not strike anywhere’s). The down side to matches is that they tend to get used up fast.






- Frank
 
Originally posted by frank k
But BICs are way too unreliable for me to rely on them for survival. I’ve had BICs that leaked fuel, had flints that broke apart or dissolved when they got wet, nozzles that clogged, strikers that fell apart, etc. Besides, BICs don’t work well in extreme cold or heavy wind and they don’t work at all when they’re wet.
Click to expand...

Well... Bics might not be as dependable as metal matches, but they're more reliable than lint, or vaseline cotton balls... ;)

Bic leaking fuel : never happened to me. What happened?

Flints breaking apart : never happened to me either. What happened?

Flints dissolving : huh ???

Nozzle clogging : keep the lighter clean. You can use a pine needle to clean up the nozzle.

Strikers falling apart : really?

Extreme cold : I've used them under -30 celcius (way below zero Farenheit) without any problem.

Wind : true, it's a problem, but you can work it over most of the times. Most of the times you can find or make shelter and get the lighter going...

Cheers,

David
 
sparklite, just the firestarter itself electrical taped to a stick of chapstick along with a tiny bic lighter and sometimes the sparklite tinder shoved into a spy capsule. i'd like to get a ferrocium rod and starting a fire with a bow sounds interesting, i might have to try that, anyone got any tips or want to describe the technique a little (i'm sure it's been discussed before, but i don't really feel like doing a search right now....)

Pete
 
Originally posted by Moine
Extreme cold : I've used them under -30 celcius (way below zero Farenheit) without any problem.[/B]
Click to expand...

I trust you had your lighter close to your body then. My experience is that a gas lighter don`t work even with -5 celsius if left in an outer jacket pocket or in the rucksack.
 
Originally posted by Wotan
I trust you had your lighter close to your body then. My experience is that a gas lighter don`t work even with -5 celsius if left in an outer jacket pocket or in the rucksack.
Click to expand...

Yup, true. I'm a smoker, so the lighter is always near the pack of smokes in my shirt's chest pocket...

Cheers,

David
 
BICs may be fine for lighting your smokes, but if you ever use them for extended periods in the field where they have to stand up to extremes in temperature and altitude, getting wet, contact with mud, dirt, sand and must work every time without excuses, you will begin to see their limitations.


Suppose you fall through the ice out on a lake and you get yourself to shore where you will freeze to death in the sub zero temps and the howling wind if you don’t get a fire going fast. Which would you rather have: your BIC in your shirt pocket with your now soggy smokes and no tinder or a match case filled with water proofed SAW matches with some Vaseline soaked cotton balls inside or perhaps a Strike Force fire starter with a couple of packets tinder cubes in the handle?






- Frank
 
I always have 2 bic lighters on me and a flint and steel maybe some boat matches

longbow50 good to see you where you been?
 
Hey Paleo25, it's been awhile. Good to see you, how you doing?

Been doing some roving (stump shooting) over 5 western states, lol. Many of those I visited aren't hooked up online and actually are lucky to have electricity. I helped them with chores for room and board and got to do a lot of shooting, chasing everything from Elk (not hunting with weapon) to hunting and killing white rabbits in the snow and playing with my gear. I was also lucky enough to experience everything from winter in Idaho to summer in the deserts of Nevada and So. California.
 
I use a Swedish FireSteel (Light my fire) with cotton wool/vaseline stuffed into a camera film pot. In the wet months I also take some small pieces of Sunny Jim firelighters.
 
I am a firm believer in fire making redundancy.

I am also firmly in the "Bic is it" camp. I keep a big YELLOW bic in a pouch in my pack and use it almost exclusively. I also have a mini YELLOW bic in the pouch of my US Army canteen as a back up.

I have a YELLOW mini-bic on the sheath of my knife as well as a few strike anywhere matches. YELLOW bics don't look like leaves when they land on the ground.

Clipped inside my pack is a magnesium/spark rod fire starter (Doan Tool)tied to a brass capsule of cotton treated w/ vaseline. This is my fall-back system if all my Bics are lost or traded to the natives for food.

I usually have a few citronella treated candle stubs for firestarters as well as illumination, driving bugs away. Mac
 
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