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Wetfire tinder
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Ya, like what he said!!
Tinder card is good Mick, it has its advantages and disadvantages the same as anything. An advantage is it can be opened, a square turn off for use and the rest of the strip put back in the tinderpouch without it crumbling. It can also be made to last longer by using smaller amonuts and preping it be by scraping like birch bark. It will light readily from a match or torn open from a spark a strip can be moved around before the whole things alight and its cheaper than wet fire but costs more than vaseline and cotton wool balls - disadvantages, its heavier and bulkier and slightly awkward to tear up and light with cold (numb) hands, although in the north you'd likely use a match and light the strip.
All in all Tindercard is good stuff as the guys who have done one of my courses will tell you, in fact before I discovered wet-fire it was the only man made tinder I used.
Tinder card is good Mick, it has its advantages and disadvantages the same as anything. An advantage is it can be opened, a square turn off for use and the rest of the strip put back in the tinderpouch without it crumbling. It can also be made to last longer by using smaller amonuts and preping it be by scraping like birch bark. It will light readily from a match or torn open from a spark a strip can be moved around before the whole things alight and its cheaper than wet fire but costs more than vaseline and cotton wool balls - disadvantages, its heavier and bulkier and slightly awkward to tear up and light with cold (numb) hands, although in the north you'd likely use a match and light the strip.
All in all Tindercard is good stuff as the guys who have done one of my courses will tell you, in fact before I discovered wet-fire it was the only man made tinder I used.
gotta chip in my fondness for birch bark (again) here
the oils in the bark make it possible for it to burn even when soaking wet
used to win me a bet every time as a youngster
strip some of the finest bits of birch you can find, dunk in a stream, and proceed to light fire):
probably not too great without matches or a lighter tho, or maybe i just need more practice with the firesteel?
Tant
the oils in the bark make it possible for it to burn even when soaking wet
used to win me a bet every time as a youngsterstrip some of the finest bits of birch you can find, dunk in a stream, and proceed to light fire
): probably not too great without matches or a lighter tho, or maybe i just need more practice with the firesteel?
Tant
Tant, birch bark is the business - no1 natural tinder and I would recommend it to everyone who knows how to gather it without harming the tree and who know how to gather the right stuff. More importantly if you only carry a couple of wet-fire brinks as emergency fire starters then I would also recommend using birch bark as your primary fire lighting tinder for spark or match. If wet birch bark peelings can be dried enough to take a spark by vigarus shaking or drying in a poly/cotton trouser pocket (incidently this is why we recommend the tinderpouchs as, not being sealable moisture can escape from them even if damp tinder is placed inside).
But the thread is about man made tinders .........
But the thread is about man made tinders .........
yeah sorry bout thatGary said:
but who needs man made tinders when ya can pick it off a tree?
I must be missing something here
Tant
Hmmm, still not all that convinced, but perhaps i'll become a convert when i try it! My tinderpouch is filled with lichen that I pulled off a dead tree trunk, not sire if it was live, but its is absolutely brilliant. I dont know how to gather birch bark evidently as i have never got some to catch!
And thats the problem Jake, some people dont know what to collect. I see it on courses all the time students trying to ignite the wrong 'quality' of birch bark or even peaople trying to ignite peelings from one of the species which actually contain little or no oil. Worse that that you often see Birches that have been scared by people cutting off whole sections of bark needlessly.
A liitle knowledge goes a long way and Tant your right if its there use it - but try hiking across ICELAND without a prep'd tinder pouch or man made stuff!
Ulitamely one should support the other. In my tinder pouch I carry several types of tinder (NATURAL and MAN MADE), matches and a candle stub because were fire is needed the most it is always the hardest to find and I like my arsenal banked in my favour.
A liitle knowledge goes a long way and Tant your right if its there use it - but try hiking across ICELAND without a prep'd tinder pouch or man made stuff!
Ulitamely one should support the other. In my tinder pouch I carry several types of tinder (NATURAL and MAN MADE), matches and a candle stub because were fire is needed the most it is always the hardest to find and I like my arsenal banked in my favour.
Maybe i should give this wetfire tinder a go to make an educated decision! I generally find other tinders (other than birch bark) that work well for me, i have never had a problem with getting a fire going (apart from when its bucketing).
I do agree when its possible its best to use natural, but sometimes easier to use man made.
I do agree when its possible its best to use natural, but sometimes easier to use man made.
Usually my pouch has Birch bark and thistle down mixed in the front pocket and then in the little back pocket I store a few bricks of wet-fire, a candle stub amd a small match safe.
If I am away for more than a long weekend I will usually add a spare fireball firesteel as this takes up little room and I might even add a couple of pieces of old rubber tyre if the weather looks really grim.
I also make sure I have Vaseline and cotton wool in my first aid kit and spare matches in my pack - just in case.
If I am away for more than a long weekend I will usually add a spare fireball firesteel as this takes up little room and I might even add a couple of pieces of old rubber tyre if the weather looks really grim.
I also make sure I have Vaseline and cotton wool in my first aid kit and spare matches in my pack - just in case.
Jake as long as you know how to use it and can make fire when you need it most thats all that matters.
To be honest 99% of the time I just use my firesteel and knife and my stove - and in fixed camp you should only need to light the fire once anyway.
But as Squirrel boy says 'luck favours those who prepare!'
To be honest 99% of the time I just use my firesteel and knife and my stove - and in fixed camp you should only need to light the fire once anyway.
But as Squirrel boy says 'luck favours those who prepare!'
I tend to carry manmade tinders (wetfire, cotton wool and some of Gary's Tindercard) which I more or less save for emergencies, bad weather or times when it's just too slow messing around with natural tinders, the kids are getting cold and fed up etc. I think it's just plain sensible to have both ...
It's important to practice using manmade tinders though - had a fire get out of control a while back and pouring water on the wet fire made it burn more!
It's important to practice using manmade tinders though - had a fire get out of control a while back and pouring water on the wet fire made it burn more!
Well, got some wetfire from Gary (along with a few other bits 'n pieces - great service, thanks Gary!) and am well impressed. OK, so cotton vaseline works, but this stuff catches just as easily when it's shaved - in fact it's eargerness to burst into flames surprised me, dunno why, but it did. But like others have said, it's the long burn time and resiliance to wet weather that is impressive. I can definitely see how adding some to your tinder mix will set it going with ease. Can anyone tell me how long the bricks last once the foil has been opened? I've put the remainder of a brick into a zip lock bag, but just wondering what it's "use by *** after opening" was.
Cheers.
Cheers.
I was wondering the same thing.How long it will last after out of the pack.My order of wetfire came in the other day.I am also impressed with it.Good item to add along with other stuff to get a fire going.
Martyn I have had wetfire bricks in zip locks for several weeks and they still worked ok - as you have found the trick is to shave or crumble them up and I guess as long as they dont 'dry out' totally they should still be ok. (i say dry out I am not sure thats the right term but you know what I mean)
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