Making Fire From Binoculars

pict

pict

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Jan 7, 2003
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This morning the kids and I hiked off to the back yard to MAKE FIRE! This is Daniels favorite backyard activity.

We did it a little different this time. We used my Bushnell Custom Compac binoculars, a little charcloth, some jute twine, and a tinderball left over from our last adventure in the bush. The jute probably wasn't necessary but I wanted a sure thing for the video.

The important thing to remember about using binoculars for firemaking is that you have to be able to take the lense off in the bush without destroying your binoculars. I have several pairs that would make this very difficult. Fortunately the little Bushnell's are easy to take apart and put back together. The other thing that makes this easier is to carry a small portion of charcloth in the binocular case. I have a little plastic bag of the stuff taped to the inside of the case for just such an eventuality.

If you think ahead and have sunlight and dry tinder you can have a fire in short order.

Making Fire From Binoculars

Mac
 
Pict - Very cool, great demo. I believe that those are the same binocs that I carry, I'll have to give that whirl. Thanks!
 
When I was a kid, my friends and I used to use a magnifying glass to burn popsicle sticks until they burst into flame. One time I caught the unpainted 2 x 6 of a picnic bench table top to catch fire. Nowadays, when I have time to practice, I take half a sheet of newspaper, fold it down to the size, roughly, of an index card, grab my 1" diameter jeweler's loupe and see how many times I can go from paper to flame in an hour. Also once the paper has been burnt a little, it takes the spark from ferrocerium rod really nicely.
 
Thanks for watching. I wouldn't try this with an expensive pair of binoculars as some of them are sealed and filled with gasses other than air. As a general rule of thumb if you paid more for your latest binoculars than you did for your first car leave them alone.

It is a good thing to know how to blow up a tinderball from a coal and charcloth and a lense will give you plenty of practice in this skill. Mac
 
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