Question for the Guru's about wetfire

N

Nickelsig229

Joined
Sep 7, 2004
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147
I'm setting up a pack for some backwoods camping as well as some sheath kits and I keep running into a problem with storing my wetfire tinder. I prefer this to just about everything else for an emergency fire start. The tinder comes in sealed packets but they are like potato chip bags, full of air and I'm worried if I compress them I might pierce the packaging. So here's my question to you guys.

Does anyone know if the wetfire looses its effectiveness if it's out of its package. Also, can I crush it up into smaller bits and store it in a airtight tube. That would allow me to use it more like a traditional tinder and also let me use the desired amount depending on my fire prep and conditions, instead of an entire cube each time.

While I'm thinking of it, what about trioxane bars or esbit tabs? Could I chop those up and store them in the same manner or is this all wishful thinking?

I doubt I'm the first to come up with this idea so I'm looking for advice from people in the know, thanks.

Edited to add: Or if anyone knows an ideal way to carry them, that would work to.
 
i highly recommend that you switch to pjcb sealed in straws instead along with just 100% cotton balls in a zip lock. wetfire has an expiration date and the ones i bought two years ago (i don't know how long they've been sitting in the store shelves when i got it) are hit or miss - some will still light and some won't, even with several seconds with a bic lighter.
 
Another free alternative to cotton balls that works real well is dryer lint. Bet you throw it out by the handful now.
 
I endorse what JV3 said. There's no reason you can't break down tabs though, they do well in a film canister or the like. Trioxane is to be preferred over Esbit tabs if you are going to cook over them because Esbit tabs are Hexamine and don't burn as cleanly.
 
I've tried the PJCB but it didn't pan out for me. I'm not sure if I used to much petroleum or what. It also made for a nice mess and the kids can't be trusted to clean their hands before messing with other things, including their nose.

I was hoping I could store the wetfire or trioxane sealed in small containers with no ill effect, but if they have an expiration date, that would only work for a season at a time I guess.
 
Wetfire is great new but it has a limited shelf life. After a couple of seasons you are lucky to get it going, if even at all. As suggested, I've heard the PJCB work great and would probably burn a bit longer than the dryer lint.
 
I think shelf life is a problem for almost all "solid fuel" fire starters. you could also look into tinder-quik tabs (the AMK thingys) or something similar. I have some that are kind of a paper/bees-wax thing, but they have to be set up just perfect to take a spark, unlike the AMK ones that are designed to take a spark. any flame with the paper kind and they will burn for quite a while though.
An additional use for PJBs that I just remembered, nose-bleed dressings. not ideal, but SOP for most sport medics that I know. would keep you from dripping in your fire lay thats for sure!
 
I am a big fan of the WetFire tabs when they work. That being said, I have had some that did not work well and I believe it was due to shelf life. That is a concern for me so over the last couple of years I have looked for alternatives that I know I will be able to count on no matter how old or whether or not the package was punctured. Here are my top 3.

3. The petroleum cotton balls are cool, and you can do a lot of things with them. Straws has been mentioned. One of my favorites is to get a $1 tube of petroleum lip balm from the dollar store and keep it in a small plastic Mentos gum container along with as many cotton balls as I can fit in there. Make and use what you want when you want it.

2. Fatwood. Store a few sticks in your pack or preprepare some shavings. I like just having a stick of it in my pack then use the knife blade or a tool to shave off what is needed. A small pile the size of a dime takes a spark very well and will get a fire going. Use more shavings with some toothpick size pieces if your wood is wet.

1. My new favorite! I found some 1.5" braided dental cotton rolls on ebay that were "out of date" and could not be used in the office. The box of 2,000 of those things cost me less than $10 shipped. I then went to the craft store and bought $12 worth of gel wax and that is what I soak them in. After the soak I hit them with a heat gun that completely soaks everything in and/or makes any excess drip right off. Finished product is still pliable, completely clean and dry to the touch, can be fluffed, is waterproof, taxes a spark well, and burns 5 to 6 minutes with a strong flame! You can store these things in a pocket or anywhere else you want because you do not have to baby them, and because there is no mess. I could not be happier with these.
 
Tried them for a while... to be honest I can't find a place for them. Not only are they bulky (limiting their usefulness regarding PSK's and such), but their reliability is questionable if the package is at all compromised -- neither is something you want for something as vital as tinder.
 
NDWoods said:
My new favorite! I found some 1.5" braided dental cotton rolls on ebay that were "out of date" and could not be used in the office. The box of 2,000 of those things cost me less than $10 shipped. I then went to the craft store and bought $12 worth of gel wax and that is what I soak them in. After the soak I hit them with a heat gun that completely soaks everything in and/or makes any excess drip right off. Finished product is still pliable, completely clean and dry to the touch, can be fluffed, is waterproof, taxes a spark well, and burns 5 to 6 minutes with a strong flame! You can store these things in a pocket or anywhere else you want because you do not have to baby them, and because there is no mess. I could not be happier with these.
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I'm going to look into this. It's basically like jute soaked in parafin wax, except it sounds like it's much easier to light.
 
Nickelsig229 said:
I've tried the PJCB but it didn't pan out for me. I'm not sure if I used to much petroleum or what. It also made for a nice mess and the kids can't be trusted to clean their hands before messing with other things, including their nose.

I was hoping I could store the wetfire or trioxane sealed in small containers with no ill effect, but if they have an expiration date, that would only work for a season at a time I guess.
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you shouldn't soak/cover the whole cotton ball in petroleum jelly since the pure cotton is the one that catches the spark. a pea-sized or two of pj smeared in the center of the cotton ball is fine. if you still can't light a fire with that, then the problem is in the prepping of the wood/fuel.
 
JV3 said:
you shouldn't soak/cover the whole cotton ball in petroleum jelly since the pure cotton is the one that catches the spark. a pea-sized or two of pj smeared in the center of the cotton ball is fine. if you still can't light a fire with that, then the problem is in the prepping of the wood/fuel.
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Oh I got the fire started. I did use too much petroleum though. It was tough finding a clean fluffy area of cotton to spark easily. Also, I had them stored in a large pill container, the cylindrical type, and after the boys I had with me dug their hands in there, it was just a complete mess.
 
Nature provides the very best "wetfire" tinder/starter and it never expires, doesn't lose it's effectiveness, works great even soaking wet and it is free. It will light easily with a match, lighter, fire steel, flint 'n steel, or from a coal provided by friction. Ive used it since i was able to handle a knife and matches and have used it successfully to create fire in every kind of weather imaginable including in a sub freezing blizzard and a 25 straight days of rain conditions. It works! Heck it works so well both my grandfathers carried some in their canvas satchels when hiking, hunting or camping. You can carry small chunks with you justlike this commercial stuff and worse case scenario you run out, lose your or it gets left behind you just invest 20 minutes finding some more. Never understood all the fuss over jelly and cotton balls or store bought tinder when natures products are so much more superior. It is pitch and/or fat wood!!
 
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Quirt, while you make a good point, some folks just don't have access to that sort of stuff. If you live where it is plentiful, then great! The great thing about some of the super-easy tinder, is that it would be possible to get the fire going with no knife at all if you could collect small enough twigs and such.
 
gadgetgeek said:
Quirt, while you make a good point, some folks just don't have access to that sort of stuff. If you live where it is plentiful, then great! The great thing about some of the super-easy tinder, is that it would be possible to get the fire going with no knife at all if you could collect small enough twigs and such.
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While I understand not every region has resin saturated wood they have suitable alternatives, in the the southwest they have an abundance of sagebrush bark (one of my favorite starters), in the east Birch Tree bark, Cedar bark, Juniper bark, Mullein pith, Cattail duff, et al. I do know there are multiple generations who travel ahead of us who used nature to start their fires without relying on dryer lint and cotton balls. While I'm not being critical I'm just trying to encourage the OP to research what is available in his/her region and take advantage of what is abundantly available and has no expiration.

Besides all of us committed woods persons should be able to start a cooking/warming fire with just wood, learning how to reduce it down to fine curls and duff so it is easily lightable with a coal or flame which is essentially "wet fire". Newspaper is nothing more than fine wood shavings so why not produce some curls and duff ahead of time when you do have a knife and keep this in a Baggie or Altoids tin in a pocket, pack or jockey box of a truck? It never expires. Just saying.
 
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The military trioxane lasts forever my father gave me a ton like 10 years ago, and who knows how old it was when he gave it to me. I still use it to this day all the time, I've never once had any problem at all. I love the stuff, I'm gona be upset when I run out and have to buy it lol
 
I've used wetfire with not problems. It does start to slowly loose effectiveness once opened, but they remain viable for a while; I've used opened ones 10 days latter with no problems. The package says they can be used up to three months after opened. Wetfire works very well, as long as it is not expired, then it becomes a hit or miss problem. The problem is the package has no expiration date. I try to avoid problems buying only from Academy and avoiding "dusty" or dirty packages. All this being said, Petroleum Jelly soaked Cotton balls is an excellent tinder, takes up less space, and is way cheaper.
 
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