Questions / Opinions about firestarters

runningboar said:
If you or someone else is seriously hypothermic dry clothes aren't going to do anything, you need a heat source and warm liquids if possible.
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Sorry, I was being unclear. I was preferring specifically to an emergency where you fall through the ice, which would be (where I live) the absolut worst case scenario. After getting out of the water, in my opinion, getting dry is priority nr. one.


runningboar said:
It seems as though you have already made up your mind about every other firemaking device besides a lighter and that is fine, I hope you continue to get good service from your choice.

IMO flint and mag bars are just like my plug kit and compressor I carry in my jeep, sure most of the time I just put my spare on..... but what if ?????? Chris
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I actually did mention in my first post, that I do have a magnesium bar attached to my Sissipuukko, and that as I've tried it, I found it to function pretty nicely.
 
runningboar said:
I like to have premade tinder for emergencies, you trust your skill, or luck, at finding dry, quick lighting and long burning natural tinder.

It seems that we each have our own methods to the same end and at this point must agree to disagree. Chris
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I feel like you misunderstood me (since I did mention of having a mag bar, and that I usually collect tinder along the way), but ermm... Ok. :)
 
With fire and knives, redundancy is key.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket, I plan on having a firesteel on my main knife sheath, 1 on my sak lanyard, a mini bic and firesteel in my PSK around my neck,
and a larger firekit with matches, fatwood splinters, pj balls, drier lint, larger bic,
in my main pack.
How cheap and light is all this gear? Very.
How valuable is it in a survival situation? Very.
Steel wool is not a great tinder in my experience, a visine bottle full of zippo fluid is a much better choice.
 
In a situation where its so cold that it can be life threatening, why take a chance on one Bic lighter?

I live in a warm climate and I still take at least three methods of starting a fire with me: a pocket blow torch, a butane stormproof lighter by Silva (similar to the Helios one) and a mini-Bic.

They weigh next to nothing and take up minimal space, so why not?

I also have a Ezbit stove with the fuel tabs. A few of those fuel tabs in a zip-loc is another good source of fuel if dry wood is in short supply.

Mark

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The big problem with lighters as I mentioned in my first post and RB mentioned is they are mechanical.

Ever get one so hot the top pops off and the flint flies out? Get one wet and it's useless. Runs out of fuel and you still have a useless little spark.

With a firesteel you have the basic ignition source for a fire. Sure a lighter is easier for producing a flame but it can also fail. The firesteel is hard to break.

I dunno about the steel wool, I know people use it but I don't think it is THE tinder of choice. Maybe you read that somewhere, thus the inquisition. Most people on this forum carry firestraws, fatwood or something else besides steel wool.

Matches? Well they are nice but useless when wet and degrade over time. Even if you carry 100 matches that is possibly 100 fires you can start. A firesteel gives you thousands of chances.

I can think of lots of hypothetical situations in which a fire is needed quickly. Having just a lighter and matches might work for some, but I'm not willing to trust my life to them. I always have a back up.
 
We use all these esoteric firestarting methods because they are cool:thumbup:

No but seriously all of you who just carry a lighter and are able to find stuff to get the fire going around where you camp?

You guys rock! You are way better at finding useable tinder than I am:cool:


However whenever I just carried a lighter I almost always carried some newspaper, or fire starting bars, because where I go is really damp and I have labored for a LONG time to get a reliable fire going with natural stuff.

On the other hand when it was really dry I have had no problem using only a flint and some leaves.


But after reading all these forums a while I caught the firesteel bug and started bringing one and some cotton balls or those tinder quick tabs. Mainly because the firesteel lasts so much longer and those lighters don't and you just throw them away and they are made from oil mostly:rolleyes:

I found using the firesteel and a tiny bit of cotton or tinder tab I could get a fire going almost always on one try.

People love making and fooling with fires, and I go hiking a lot so normally if somebody else goes with me I wait around to give them the opportunity to do it.

But a LOT of times those folks will gather a bunch of tinder, and maybe some paper, and a lighter and it just smoulders till they run out of paper and then they will say "does anyone else have any wrappers or paper I can get this thing going with?"

Then I can walk over put a small peice of cotton down, take a few of their finer little branches they have collected spark it and almost always get it going. The cool thing is the firesteel and cotton usually takes up less space than the lighter and paper or firestarters I used to carry and you can carry a weeks worth in a film can!:thumbup:
 
I just like being prepared(or over prepared)and carry a couple bics,matches in waterproof containers,a magnesium bar & a firesteel.
 
I carry several forms of fire making tool across my person when out and about. My go-to is always a firesteel plus a fatwood chunk. It never breaks, it can't run out of fuel, and no amount of water, cold or foul weather can disrupt their function. The fatwood also burns for a good while, and reliably. I do keep PJ cotton balls elswhere.

I keep bics and matches, but they are down the line in both how often I use them and in reliability. Using the mag bar or firesteel often is important, because certain aspects (and conditions) are greatly improved with practice.

My bics have often grown too old/weathered to use before I expected, and Zippos seem to run out of fuel more often than they work. Matches get wet or fragile, and often require fine motor function.
 
cyc79 said:
I just like being prepared(or over prepared)and carry a couple bics,matches in waterproof containers,a magnesium bar & a firesteel.
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Thats pretty much the same set I carry for lighting fire. I dont have a separate firesteel, but there's one on the mag bar. I think I usually have three lighters with me; one extra in my bag, one in my pocket (that I actually use), and one small lighter that fits on the side of my leatherman pouch nicely. I don't carry any matches at the moment, but maybe I should add some of those waterproof storm-matches.

In addition to that, as I mentioned earlier, I tend to collect some tinder while hiking, just to make setting camp a bit easier.
 
SpookyPistolero said:
My bics have often grown too old/weathered to use before I expected, and Zippos seem to run out of fuel more often than they work.
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I got a Zippo lighter as a birthday gift, and I have to say I was really disappointed. It barely works a week with one fill-up, and was really unreliable. And, it made cigars taste like gasoline :barf:

Looks good on my bookshelf though.
 
I carry a magblock and a mini-bic usually, with esbit tabs as backup

Here's a good tip though:
My mini-bic which is always on me is wrapped in about 3 feet of duck tape, which fits perfectly on it. Useful for everyday stuff, and is also a good emergency tinder which the bic lights very easily. A lot more useful than carrying steel wool.
 
k-spar said:
I carry a magblock and a mini-bic usually, with esbit tabs as backup

Here's a good tip though:
My mini-bic which is always on me is wrapped in about 3 feet of duck tape, which fits perfectly on it. Useful for everyday stuff, and is also a good emergency tinder which the bic lights very easily. A lot more useful than carrying steel wool.
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A similar tip, which may have been previously mentioned in this thread, is to carry some duct tape with/on your mag bar. You can scrape the mag shavings onto the duct tape so that they stick, and won't spill/blow all over the place.
 
k-spar said:
Here's a good tip though:
My mini-bic which is always on me is wrapped in about 3 feet of duck tape, which fits perfectly on it. Useful for everyday stuff, and is also a good emergency tinder which the bic lights very easily. A lot more useful than carrying steel wool.
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Hey, I have to try that :)

I have a small flat roll of duct tape in my bag, but I've never thought to use it this way.
 
For what its worth I carry a big bic in my belt pouch kit. I carry a mini-bic in my canteen cover pouch (this is my go-to fire lighter as it is right there when I cook). I have a ferro rod in the belt pouch kit with a metal tube of PJ cotton. There is also a pack of paper book matches in there in a plastic bag thingy, and a trioxene bar from last winter. In my PSK I have a Sparklite and four tinders, plus six waterproofed blue tips.

Lifesaving fire has to happen as quick as possible and account for the onset of hypothermia. That is why I carry (more than one actually) trioxene bar. They light with a spark, or a bic, or a match, and burn for long enough to get a fire going. It will make up for a bad fire lay or damp materials, it is, without a doubt, CHEATING. In this case though, you are cheating hypothermia from yet another victim. If you can't get a fire going with a trioxene bar then you are in bad shape indeed.

The last time I made one of these fires was last year and I was hypothermic at the time. It is essential that you don't go into denial and think that eventually you will warm up. Stop, make a fire, and then you can talk yourself into anything you need to. Mac
 
I carry stormproof matches, a lighter and firesteel. Never needed anything but matches to this point, but one never knows. My lighters never seem to work. I do much hiking/camping above 12,000 feet and have been told the reason my lighters don't work has to do with the lack oxygen. Anybody know this for sure? I haven't had to use mag blocks or firesteel yet for anything other then training... but it would be all i have should the matches not work for one reason or another.....
 
in the very cold weather i carry a highway flare, it is about as bullet proof a firestarter as you can get. also i carry bic lighter, ferro rod, and pj cottonballs, also some pioeces of rubber tube to burn, this will get me a fire, most times just for convenience but i will get fire in an emergency in unforgiving conditions , even if my hands only work enough to rip off the flare cap and strike the flare, pile some wood on top and you have a fire. never needed it, but it rides in the pack with me.

alex
 
The way I look at it is that a firesteel and vaseline-impregnated cotton balls provide a fairly foolproof firestarting system IF I can get out of the wind, which is usually doable somehow. No moving parts, no fuel to run out.

Lighters can run out of fuel, leak, corrode, freeze, or simply not work.

Matches can get old, get wet, or run out.

I carry all three, plus the firestarters. I also make sure to practice with the firesteel on a regular basis, just to play to know I can do it if the need arrises.

By the way, I also tend to carry some non-impregnated cotton balls, just to make sure I can catch a spark.
 
If you live in an area where the plumbers remove the anode rods from new water heaters check your local plumber. They usually toss them in the garbage. They are made of magnesium and you can start a lifetime worth of fires with just one of these rods.
 
Yah, Zippos look cool and all, but they're way to much maintenance for my liking. Get a windproof refillable butane lighter like a Helios, Windmill, or Silva. The butane is cheap, doesn't evaporate and the Piezo flint gives you many thousands of lights without having to be replaced.

They don't have the character of the Zippo I suppose, but they work damn well!

attej said:
I got a Zippo lighter as a birthday gift, and I have to say I was really disappointed. It barely works a week with one fill-up, and was really unreliable. And, it made cigars taste like gasoline :barf:

Looks good on my bookshelf though.
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I seem to always have four methods of starting a fire - lifeboat matches, Bic, firesteel, and Spark-Lite. I also have at least four different tinders. Why? Because it all takes up almost no room and weighs very little. I always have a little bottle of Purell for sanitizing my hands which can double as an excellent fire gel too.
 
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