Making fire in wet weather??

breakthru62

breakthru62

Joined
Feb 17, 2008
Messages
76
So, I live in the rainy northwest and I really don't know how to make fire in the damp woods. I have really never gone too far off the beaten path where it's possible to get lost or hurt........or where I couldn't be easily found.
I have always carried a lighter and matches just in case, but I have really never thought about having to use them, especially when it's raining.

If I only had a lighter and matches and nothing dry to start a fire with.......

What should I be looking for?
How do you find the dry stuff?
How do you maintain a fire in damp conditions??

Thanks guys, and I'm looking forward hearing the techniques.

Scott
 
Find an old rotten pine tree on the ground and you can get:
- dead dry twigs and needles that are off the ground.
- pine knots where the branches meet the trunk
- fatwood in the stump itself

Dead branches about eye level on standing trees make good fuel to get a fire going.

Birch bark is highly resinous and very water resistant, and makes great tinder !

Split larger branches with an axe (or knife) to get at the dry wood within.
 
I tend to look for tinder in by searching for the 3 f's
1)Fine (like sawdust, or punky wood that can be ground up)
2)fuzzy (like the dander of a cattail or milkweed pod)
3) Fibrous, (like strads of birch bark or cedar

I find one of the most important things to do when starting a fire in we conditions is laying a platform of sticks down on the ground upon which to start building your fire.. this prevents an infant flame from being extinguished by soaking up the moisture from the wet ground.

dry kindling or (squaw wood) can be found as leafless thin dead branches that are still attatched to the bases of some trees

Birch bark, and cedar shavings, fuzz sticks are all great stuff as well

larger wet wood can be split to reveal dry wood inside

Pine resin can be collected and smeared in damp wood to help it catch

The list goes on and on

carrying prepped tinder such as cotton rubbed with vaseline, jute twine steel wool or fat wood is a great safeguard as well also Do you have a ferro rod?? if not I'll send one along with your stuff..

Here is a vid of the contents of a basic fire kit that I made

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlCFrtPGui0&feature=channel_page

Here's another on how to waterproof your own matches

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi2mvoCLEoU&feature=channel_page

Hope this helps
 
There's a great vid on YT from a guy who runs a survival school in the PNW all about making fire in the wet. Shouldn't be too hard to find.
 
Um, no offense but if you took the time to pack matches or a lighter, how about taking along some tinder like cotton balls & pj, tinderquick or trioxane tabs?
 
halo2 said:
Um, no offense but if you took the time to pack matches or a lighter, how about taking along some tinder like cotton balls & pj, tinderquick or trioxane tabs?
Click to expand...

Halo2- He said he rarely goes off the beaten path. He's new to this stuff, and he's come here asking to learn. Cut him some slack. :)
 
Hi Scott, I'm glad to see you venturing out from your introductory thread. Firecraft is a big topic which wou will probably be learnign for years to come. As a fellow soggy northwest hunter, I'll pass on a couple of items that might help.

First, break fire down into ignition, tinder, kindling, and fuel.

Ignition - Your ignition source can be matches, lighter, firesteel or some other method. For our wet climate it is important to have a source that is protected from water, or will work even if wet. Along this line, consider getting a firesteel and learning how to use it. You'll find plenty of descriptions and discussions about these here. As a backup, REI makes some excellent waterproof and windproof matches. There are also waterproof lighters available.

Tinder - There is natural tinder available, but for right now, you might want to carry some tinder with you. Cotton balls with petroleum jelly (Vaseline) on them, often referred to as PCBs, are excellent. They can be kept in a small pill bottle or sealed in a piece of a plastic drinking straw. You can also use dryer lint as long as it is from cotton clothes, like jeans or towels.

Kindling - Kindling is small sticks and such that nurses your baby fire until it is hot enough to burn larger fuel. Look for dead dry twigs toward the inside of larger trees where they will be protected from rainfall.

Fuel - This is your bigger wood. You should have several piles, gradually increasing in size from your spagetti-thin kindling to larger logs. Again, look for dry stuff protected from rain by the tree canopy. Ideally, you want standing dead wood rather than stuff lying on the ground.

Sometimes even the wood under the trees is soaked. In such an instance, you may be forced to split larger wood to get at the dryer parts inside. "Batoning" is the term for splitting wood with a knife by hammering it thru with another piece of wood. (The term alone is enough to get some people into a lather, while others here think it is the sole measure of an outdoors knife.)

Once you have got your fire hot enough, you can get away with wood that is a little damp. You can also dry it around the fire. To protect a fire from rain, you can build it where it is naturally sheltered, say under a rock overhang, or you can build a canopy of logs over it to protect it from the majority of the rain.

I hope this helps.

-- FLIX
 
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One word: Magnesium. It'll light just about anything once you manage to get it going. Of course, that's not on your list of things you're carrying, so feel free to disregard this post.
 
The cooton ball PJ trick works well.

Low dead branches on pine trees go up quickly. Dry pine needles near the trunk also can help.

Collect birch bark anytime you see it while hiking. The resins burn even when damp.
 
I have found that in really wet weather both matches and lighter failed me !

Try and gather as much fatwood as ya can find an light it with the Zip brand strikable firelighters or similar products. These will burn even in wet weather and are good for about 8 mins which will gives the fatwood chance to get going !

Don't just take any one persons advice as gospel on here, go out in crazy weather and practice, practice, practice !!!!!
 
Pitdog gives savvy advice.

Don't take just one persons advice. Soak it all in, then go out and find what works for YOU.
 
Fatwood is good stuff! Maybe next time I'm out I'll actually be able to spot some good stumps, thanks to the recent thread. Given your wet environment, there is no reason to make it tougher than it needs to be. While natural tinders and primitive firestarting methods are cool, fire is essential. A foolproof method like the firestarter Pitdog suggested or evena road flare will get you warm when it counts. Once you get back out in the woods, start a fire before heading back. (Yes, your wife will call you a Pyro!) Nothing beats trying it for yourself.

-- FLIX
 
breakthru62,

You will really want to try the petroleum cotton balls trick. For as goofy as it sounds, it is one of the best things out there. Nearly bullet proof and works with pretty much any ignition system you have. It will even take the spark from the wheel of a dead bic lighter!

Here is how I make them. First, steal some cotton balls from your wife. She will have a tonne of these things guarenteed. They use them for make-up remover. As long as it is cotton it will be great. I like the pads better the cotton balls myself.

Now get a some vaseline. You smear a little of the vaseline onto the cotton. You don't need too much, as in gobs, just a little bit that can be spread as a thin layer along the cotton. Now you puff up some of the cotton fibres from the edge of the cotton pad or ball and aim your sparks (or flame) to hit these, these will catch the spark and transfer it to the rest of the cotton. When done right, your cotton will burn for about 40 s to a min, usually plenty of time to get your kindling going.

There are a few tricks people use to add PJCB to their kit. The problem is, you don't want your pockets lined with Vaseline :D You can add them two tiny little ziplock containers. You can pack a bunch in empty 35 mm film containers. Some people like to pack them in an Altoids Mint Tine with an ignition source. Another neat trick that some people use, is they stuff them into a McDonald's drinking straw. Then you use a lighter and a pair of pliers to seal up both ends of the straw. They call this the 'fire straw'. To use it, you cut the straw open with your knife and tease out some of the cotton from between the slit of the straw. You light this on fire. The straw itself contributes to the fuel and increases the burn time. Finally, there is the method I use. I just throw some dry cotton pads in my PSK kit. I have a tiny tube (15 g or 0.5 oz) of Vaseline. They sell these small tubes for use as lip balm. I then just make up the PJCB on the fly as I need them.

Now for ignition sources. Try reading up on the firesteels, such as Light My Fire or the Doan Magnesium bar. Actually the Doan sticks can be had for about $5.00 and will produce many fires. There are a couple open threads on this right now so I will let you check them out first.

Playing with fire is, well against the expression, a whole lot of fun. Try these little tricks out. At first, just do them indoors in the kitchen with the fan on. Use a cast iron pot to start the fire in so you don't burn anything. Once you get practice at alternative igniting (i.e using firesteels and such), then start to take it outside. One you can get them to work outside, then try lighting up fires in some miserable conditions like high wind, rain and snow. It really is all about practice.

Sometimes getting a flame is the easiest thing in the world. Sometimes it is as finicky as finicky can be. Your best chance at success will be your experience and ability to try alternative methods under different conditions. Good luck - I think you will find this a lot of fun!
 
Modern:
Bike inner tube strips {Aka Ranger Band's or your Boot/Sneaker soles}
Candle
Road Flare works every time { can cut into smaller sections}
Primitive
Tinder from any natural source will have to be Kept waterproofed.
 
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A few pics to show what to do for a fire set up in snow (that works well for me). Started with matches/dryer lint/cotton balls smeared with vaseline. Dead wood was all over. If it's wet wood, I split it with a knife to get to dry stuff inside. Damp wood can go on top of burning wood (helps to dry it out).
 
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