Think your Fire Kits Work....Think Again !!!

[pitdog]

Okay maybe the thread title is a little harsh but after some fire practice today it's really given me a reality check again !!!

I'll start by saying to fellow forum member Sutured that I eat my words from his previous post, in heavy prolonged rain the ferro-rods suck !

As the forecast today was heavy rain, high winds etc I suggested to forum member Satsumatengu that we practice our fire lighting skills.

When we arrived at the Inlet we found the water levels were so high that the trail has completely gone !

Only way we could continue was to cut through the wet bush on a detour, you can just about make out ST coming through !

This is where we had to go.

I told ST he was up first, we began with the ferro-rod and all seemed well at first.

Now we hadn't picked the ideal location as we wanted to make the fire near the water, the only place that wasn't submerged was a rocky outcrop partly covered by some trees. Everytime the fire started to take some water would drop down and put it out, ST tried using his hat to protect it.

Now this fire must have gone out maybe half a dozen times. The ferro-rods sucked under such heavy rain, we tried ranger bands and they caught but soon went out, we tried PJB's and they too went out !!!
About to give up I went in search of some fatwood for one last try, we were also now relying on a Bic lighter to start the fire.

Finally we had success, the fatwood took and we soon had a nice little fire. ST was amazed at how stuff that he thought would guarantee fire had failed so miserably !

We threw some pine needles into the water and made a cup of hot tea !

I hope my pics go a little way toward showing just how bloody wet and nasty it was today.

As we continued the hike we passed the waterfall in full flow.

The feed into the top of the falls.

One wet pooch !

And two very wet forum members !!!

My final words of advice, get out and practice this stuff in the worst weather, don't wait till you really need fire only to find your methods don't work !

 

[Myker]

Great read and pics as always. Well done.

 

[Mistwalker]

Nice post man, gotta love fire starting in the rain...now you know why explorers make bush kitchens in the rain forest Fatwood is an awesome gift of nature for fire lighting in the rain, perhaps that's why it was given to those of us who live in rain forests

 

[Shotgun]

Deja vu. I had a similar experience a couple years ago and at about the same time of year. There was no fatwood in the area so it came down to prepping kindling for about 3 times as long as usual. Making sure everything was perfect and even then I just barely got it going. One of the best cups of tea I had though in the end. How long did it take you to finally get it going? For me it was on 30-45 minute side.

Thinking of that experience always makes me chuckle when I hear guys say "You can always find some dry tinder somewhere." Yeah, that may be true but in a certain time of year here, you could spend half the day looking.

 

[sicily02]

Rainy pics. YUCK lol.
question for you pitdog. Do you carry a tarp to put up and get out of the rain? Or find a over hang to help make some shelter from the rain comming down? Or did you guys just say we are going to start a fire while it is raining down on us out in the open?

Bryan

 

[pitdog]

Deja vu. I had a similar experience a couple years ago and at about the same time of year. There was no fatwood in the area so it came down to prepping kindling for about 3 times as long as usual. Making sure everything was perfect and even then I just barely got it going. One of the best cups of tea I had though in the end. How long did it take you to finally get it going? For me it was on 30-45 minute side.

Thinking of that experience always makes me chuckle when I hear guys say "You can always find some dry tinder somewhere." Yeah, that may be true but in a certain time of year here, you could spend half the day looking.

Yeah took us about the same amount of time. I searched and searched for dry suff and there was nothing, even the branches at the base of the tree were completely soaked through, no cutting them down to the dry inner because there wasn't one !

 

[pitdog]

Rainy pics. YUCK lol.
question for you pitdog. Do you carry a tarp to put up and get out of the rain? Or find a over hang to help make some shelter from the rain comming down? Or did you guys just say we are going to start a fire while it is raining down on us out in the open?

Bryan

We just wanted to try it withough a cover Bryan. ST had a tarp and I had an emergency blanket, obviously had we had those in a real situation we'd put them up first.

 

[sicily02]

Ok thanks for the reply pitdog. I was just wondering lol.

Bryan

 

[Codger_64]

I keep hearing that a Bic can get wet and then it is useless. That would be when I would get out another Bic. Or the other Bic. Also, even a wet Bic puts out a stream of flammable gas. Ferro rods will light it quite reliably. The flame will dry out the striker wheel on the Bic. Good post. Thanks.

 

[John A. Larsen]

One year my SF Scuba Team had to clear a swimming area on Shirley Lake, Mass. The ice was not long gone and no one had been swimming yet or would be for several more months. During the dive I found a SAK, a $5 bill and a Bic lighter, that probably had been in the water since the past summer. I blew on the Bic several times, shook off any water I could and after a few tries it lit. John

 

[coaldigger]

Looks like a soggy trip 'Ol Bud.....great time to see what works & what doesn't in the wet conditions !

 

[mewolf1]

I can think of few other places that getting a fire going than in your neck of the woods Pit. Nice work.:thumbup:

 

[sclawshark]

Too bad you didn't have a storm match to test the rods against.

 

[RWT]

It hasn't rained here in a month. Now I have to try this under the sprinklers.

 

[pitdog]

It hasn't rained here in a month. Now I have to try this under the sprinklers.

Hahahaha.....that's what I love about this forum, we are all from different places and all have our own problems to deal with when it comes to survival.

I was breaking branches over 1" thick off trees today and they were just mush, I could literally wring them out like a sponge and these are branches still on the trees !

 

[TedPalmer]

this has been a rainy one here in the PNW rain forest. we have had over 2 inches of rain today and are supposed to get another 3 by morning.
so was it the ferro rods that sucked or not having fatwood to use with the ferro rod?

 

[pitdog]

this has been a rainy one here in the PNW rain forest. we have had over 2 inches of rain today and are supposed to get another 3 by morning.
so was it the ferro rods that sucked or not having fatwood to use with the ferro rod?

I guess the ferro-rods buddy, we tried natural tinder mixed with resin first and the ferro-rods took so long that the tinder just wetted out !

 

[TedPalmer]

ouch...

 

[lightleak]

Interesting post, will have to check and see for myself if my firekit works under those kind of conditions...
BTW: Are you sure those are pine needles? Don't look like the pine needles I am used to. Probably a special Canadian Pine.

ll.

 

[zpstl321]

I thought long and hard before responding to this thread. Implying one should depend on a Bic lighter is treading on thin ice and could get people in trouble fast, or worse.

Between the cold wet winters and the trips that I took down the river, there is one thing I know for sure. Don't depend on BIC to get you out of trouble. I have had them fail because they were wet, such as a man in the creek dril, or even just a little water on the flint from rain or wet hands. Without something else to light the gas you're waiting for hours in the cold. I've also had them not work at all while out deer hunting because they lost pressure due to how cold it was out. I can't think of a time that I got in trouble depending on a BIC that a ferro rod would not have been a welcome site.

As explained in this thread the issue was not the rod. The ferro rod did as it should have, it started the fire for you. The failure came from prep and material selection, which you learned quickly and went to look for fatwood. You could have started that same fire using your rod. You could also have carried waxed cotton which will burn for 20 minutes and dry your shavings and thinner than pencle material. The bottom line is this shows how important it is to go out and pratice so you know when to look for fatwood, split wood, and doing the prep proper. You may only get one shot at a fire when you need it most. Take you BIC if you must, but also have three or four other methods available. In this case carrying dry tender out have helps too, be it fatwood, shavings, or whatever. The ferro started the fire just fine, it was what happened before and after that caused the issue.