Natural Tinder

[StretchNM]

Good thread!

I'm limited here in the southwest on most of the tinder items you mentioned, but we've got our own grasses and bushes that take a spark or hold a flame better than some others.

I bring a lighter but the idea of having a firesteel and homemade tinder, as well as using nothing more than nature's tinder, is to practice and prepare. When my daughter and I go hiking, even though we're carrying our PSKs and I have a lighter, we'll use only the tinder that nature provides. If all fails, we'll turn to steel wool or prepped-cotton.

 

[andrew7978]

Just throwing it out there, but......... if you are going to be bringing tinders such as cotton balls with petroleum jelly and stuff like that into the forest, why don't you just bring a lighter? I don't get it.

If I am on the verge of death and really need a fire going right away, I will definetely take out my lighter as that will be the quickest source of starting a fire. However, if I have lots of extra time, it is good to conserve that limited fuel source in case a bad situation comes up. Also, you'll find most people just find starting a fire with a firesteel to be a lot more fun and satisfying. Afterall, most of us practice survival skills because we enjoy them, not because we think we will actually need them.


Also, I encourage everyone to post pictures of natural tinder that is native to your area.

 

[kgd]

Just throwing it out there, but......... if you are going to be bringing tinders such as cotton balls with petroleum jelly and stuff like that into the forest, why don't you just bring a lighter? I don't get it.

The main reason is that lighters are prone to failure - often. They are mechanical and can break when rattling around your pack. They get wet and they don't spark. They sometimes clog up. I don't smoke, but I recall many, many times in my life where I've tossed out a lighter that still has a good deal of fuel visible in it. They are like those little bic pens. When they work, they work great, but sometimes they give up on you for some unknown reason.

Second reason is that having a lighter doesn't eliminated the need for tinder, which is the topic of the OP. Lighters don't really work good trying to light a stick. You might have luck with a fuzzy, but then again you might not. Those stupid little safety tabs make it harder to keep the lighter lit for extended periods of time. Sometimes you can't keep the thing lit cause the metal housing gets too hot to touch. So, even if you have a lighter, you want to ensure that you can get that fire up and going with is little time as you can spent depressing the little red tab on the lighter.

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Just throwing it out there, but......... if you are going to be bringing tinders such as cotton balls with petroleum jelly and stuff like that into the forest, why don't you just bring a lighter? I don't get it.

You're actually comparing apples to oranges. A lighter is a source of fire but you can't light it and place it under your kindling to get it going (well, actually you could with a Zippo or equiv, but it would kick the heck out of it.) Cotton balls and Vaseline are tinder, they aren't a source of fire, but are the smaller stuff, placed under and left in close proximity with the kindling, to get it going. kgd elaborates on it below.

Perhaps,your question should be, why bring a ferro rod when you can bring a lighter? Take your Bic and place it in a glass of water for a couple of minutes, take it out and try and light it. It won't work until the sparker wheel and the flint dry out. Now try the same with your ferro rod. (just to make sure I'm telling you the straight goods, I just did it. For the first couple of scrapes on my LMF Army rod, nothing, then sparks. Tried my Doan, sparks on the first pass.) I know the Bic won't from many experiences, canoeing.

Another thing is, you can leave a ferro rod in your pack for 10 years, (maybe coated with nail polish to protect it from prolonged moisture) and it will still be good as well as cotton and vaseline - a Bic, maybe not.

The other thing, with something as important as fire, redundancy is the order of the day.

The main reason is that lighters are prone to failure - often. They are mechanical and can break when rattling around your pack. They get wet and they don't spark. They sometimes clog up. I don't smoke, but I recall many, many times in my life where I've tossed out a lighter that still has a good deal of fuel visible in it.

Second reason is that having a lighter doesn't eliminated the need for tinder, which is the topic of the OP. Lighters don't really work good trying to light a stick. You might have luck with a fuzzy, but then again you might not. Those stupid little safety tabs make it harder to keep the lighter lit for extended periods of time. Sometimes you can't keep the thing lit cause the metal housing gets too hot to touch. So, even if you have a lighter, you want to ensure that you can get that fire up and going with is little time as you can spent depressing the little red tab on the lighter.

I just want to make a point here, and it's not directed at kgd because it's in a different context. In a survival situation, you never throw anything away, even an empty Bic. As long as it sparks, it will still light some tinder (the pappus of Milkweed and Thistle are 2 examples). The chrome guard can be removed and tied to some line and bounced up and down in the water to attract fish in range of your improvised spear. The colourful cases can be used the same way either as it or broken with a rock and tied to a line. And I am sure there are other uses that I haven't thought of.

This can apply to anything else you may have. You might not know of a use right now, but who knows down the road................

Doc