I second that! WetFire tinder is astounding stuff - make sure you fluff it up with a knife, and this stuff burns at the bottom of a full lake. Burns consistently and for a long time, enough to get damp kindling going.
Cheers,
Mungo
Best tinder for possibles pouch
- Thread starter barryasmith
- Start date
I second that! WetFire tinder is astounding stuff - make sure you fluff it up with a knife, and this stuff burns at the bottom of a full lake. Burns consistently and for a long time, enough to get damp kindling going.
Cheers,
Mungo
I tend to keep birch as a main tinder which is just as good as any manmade stuff in my opinion wet or dry and some cramp balls incase things get tricky.
My best tip is to keep an eye out for tinders even when your not looking to make fire and keep your possibles well stocked. There is nothing worse than trying to find tinder when its throwing it down. This is only my opinion but i think the tinders that you can buy are great for starting out but with a little knowledge you shouldnt have to as there are loads of natural FREE tinders out there that havent had to be packaged shipped from the other side of the world then distributed by lorry
My best tip is to keep an eye out for tinders even when your not looking to make fire and keep your possibles well stocked. There is nothing worse than trying to find tinder when its throwing it down. This is only my opinion but i think the tinders that you can buy are great for starting out but with a little knowledge you shouldnt have to as there are loads of natural FREE tinders out there that havent had to be packaged shipped from the other side of the world then distributed by lorry
Hi, thanks for the excellent responses, this is really useful for me.
If I was in the UK i'd be stocking up on birch bark and putting loads of that in but I'm in India and hav'nt seen much birch knocking around!
For now my possibles pouch will contain man made 'sure' tinders as I really need something relaible when I venture into the wilderness here. As I get to grips with the local environment and learn what makes good tinder I'll start using that in my firelighting and keep some in my possibles pouch.
In the mean time can anyone explain in more detail how the cotton wool and petrolium jelly thing works? Do I completly smother the cotton wool? Will it light from a spark?
I look forward to hearing more views on this subject so keep them coming!
If I was in the UK i'd be stocking up on birch bark and putting loads of that in but I'm in India and hav'nt seen much birch knocking around!
For now my possibles pouch will contain man made 'sure' tinders as I really need something relaible when I venture into the wilderness here. As I get to grips with the local environment and learn what makes good tinder I'll start using that in my firelighting and keep some in my possibles pouch.
In the mean time can anyone explain in more detail how the cotton wool and petrolium jelly thing works? Do I completly smother the cotton wool? Will it light from a spark?
I look forward to hearing more views on this subject so keep them coming!
Vas Cottonwool
Grab a chunk/ball/pad of cotton wool.
Spear it roughly over the surface of your Vas tub so it picks up a good gob of Vas on one side.
Bung it in a plastic pill pot/film case/sweety tin etc - repeat until container bursting.
To use said Vas Cottonwool
Open container
Grab hunk of Vas Cottonwool
Tease the wool opn or find a bit without Vas on it
Aply flame/spark/ember to cotton wool
Watch flame flare up to then ignite the Petroleum Jelly (Vas) and it burn like a candle (hot and for a long time)
Get Vas Cottonwool under your prefared fire material and watch it catch.
Treat singed fingers/eyebrows
Get brew on on the now roaring fire.......
Grab a chunk/ball/pad of cotton wool.
Spear it roughly over the surface of your Vas tub so it picks up a good gob of Vas on one side.
Bung it in a plastic pill pot/film case/sweety tin etc - repeat until container bursting.
To use said Vas Cottonwool
Open container
Grab hunk of Vas Cottonwool
Tease the wool opn or find a bit without Vas on it
Aply flame/spark/ember to cotton wool
Watch flame flare up to then ignite the Petroleum Jelly (Vas) and it burn like a candle (hot and for a long time)
Get Vas Cottonwool under your prefared fire material and watch it catch.
Treat singed fingers/eyebrows
Get brew on on the now roaring fire.......
The Vas cotton wool mix is my favourite.
For no particularly good reason I've spiked mine with shavings from one of those magnesium blocks which I bought as a kid but never really used as scraping the thing to get the requisite pile of chippings was always a pain in the bum, especially in any sort of wind.
I've a old, spare Surform and if you rub the block on one of those you soon end up with a big pile of shavings. If you mix that with the cotton wool/vasaline (I always rip the cotton wool up into tiny pieces as I make the stuff so it is easier to extract from the container with a twig and mix the chips in then) the vas seems to prevent the stuff from oxidising and stops it blowing away.
It sparkles pretty when it burns anyway!
Whenever I see them on flea markets/junk stalls (usually for just a few pence) I pick up those old aluminium Kodak 35mm film containers. They have a rubber seal, are screw topped and are a nice friendly bright yellow and make a ideal container for the mixture. So far they haven't leaked and dent rather than crack if abused.
ATB
Tom
For no particularly good reason I've spiked mine with shavings from one of those magnesium blocks which I bought as a kid but never really used as scraping the thing to get the requisite pile of chippings was always a pain in the bum, especially in any sort of wind.
I've a old, spare Surform and if you rub the block on one of those you soon end up with a big pile of shavings. If you mix that with the cotton wool/vasaline (I always rip the cotton wool up into tiny pieces as I make the stuff so it is easier to extract from the container with a twig and mix the chips in then) the vas seems to prevent the stuff from oxidising and stops it blowing away.
It sparkles pretty when it burns anyway!
Whenever I see them on flea markets/junk stalls (usually for just a few pence) I pick up those old aluminium Kodak 35mm film containers. They have a rubber seal, are screw topped and are a nice friendly bright yellow and make a ideal container for the mixture. So far they haven't leaked and dent rather than crack if abused.
ATB
Tom
I knew there must be a way to get those £$%^ mag blocks to do something other than distribute dust around the world on the merest breeze!
By you own admission "for no particularly good reason"...
There's just no contest, IMO: cotton wool (and it must be pure cotton) is easily the best tinder in terms of reliable first time strike to flame. Extended with the Vaseline, you get a good hot, smoky, luminous flame.
Dryer lint is a waste of time unless it's come solely from pure cotton clothing. Man-made textile fibres are useless for firelighting. Wool and hair are both useless and produce noxious combustion products. Why bother? How much does a big bag of cotton wool balls from Boots cost?
In the USA, one can buy Vaseline in 'toothpaste' tubes, which are better than the little round tins that we get in the UK, if only because the latter can leak a bit in very hot weather. Apart from its usefulness in fire-starting, Vaseline can be applied to chapped lips and other grazed and abraded parts of the body.
Burnt Ash
Hay! I had a lot of time on my hands and I'd already combed the fluff out of all my velcro...
If I ever get that bored again I may make a big pile of magnesium block dust and make a thick paste with a bit of vaseline and see if thats any use.
Yup after 25 years I'm going to find a use for that damned block!
ATB
Tom
If I ever get that bored again I may make a big pile of magnesium block dust and make a thick paste with a bit of vaseline and see if thats any use.
Yup after 25 years I'm going to find a use for that damned block!
ATB
Tom
I tried alcohol hand sandiniser once, and it didn't burn. It's almost like someone had the foresight to put fire retardent in it so people's hands don't set on fire! Also, I gathered loads of dandelion heads the other day; convinced that they'd make excellent tinder, but they just singe and turn to ash. Maybe I could be the expert on things that don't work?
My pouch has got a piece of candle and some fibrous papery firelighter blocks (50p from tesco) in it at the moment, and the firesteel lives there, too.
My pouch has got a piece of candle and some fibrous papery firelighter blocks (50p from tesco) in it at the moment, and the firesteel lives there, too.
Birch bark in the uk is very reliable and more importantly can be found on trees.
Anything that needs to be made - and some like cotton wool and vaseline are awesome - have the drawback in that they are not renewable in the wild.
but... there's sod all wrong with just taking a lighter out with you as long as you have the knowledge to use what's available. Be kind to trees.
Anything that needs to be made - and some like cotton wool and vaseline are awesome - have the drawback in that they are not renewable in the wild.
but... there's sod all wrong with just taking a lighter out with you as long as you have the knowledge to use what's available. Be kind to trees.
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