Fire Lighting Kit

[nobby]

I'm trying to think of a small fire lighting kit to carry in a small container that if things around me are wet will give me the best chance of lighting a fire.
I have a fire steel and piece of hacksaw blade what should I include for tinder? Cotton wool, steel wool, charcloth or what?
Thanks for any help.

 

[ArkAngel]

Cotton wool or charcloth would be my choice but if it's for wet conditions the container had better be very waterproof. As a backup i'd also include a cheap disposable lighter and a piece of bike inner tube, that is THE bombproof way of staring a fire in wet conditions IMHO

 

[Wayne]

If your going to use a bike inner tube or vaseline you might is well go the whole hog and use a can of red diesel.

Some birch bark and a few decent feather sticks is a more traditional way to go.

 

[nobby]

If your going to use a bike inner tube or vaseline you might is well go the whole hog and use a can of red diesel.

Some birch bark and a few decent feather sticks is a more traditional way to go.

If I went the whole hog I wouldn't bother with an open fire at all
I could use a Ronson but I don't want to be buying gas or petrol.
I'm all in favour of tradition, but whose? My tradition is firmly based on city living. The countryside is an escape for me; not somewhere I'd want to be all the time. I'm not about to pretend that I'm an aborigine, first nation settler, or whatever the current term is.
I want something that my firesteel will ignite however bad the weather and will fit in a small container. The last rather precludes diesel and feather sticks.
If birch bark will work better than cotton wool then birch bark it is.
I'm not keen on charcloth. I'm rarely able to make it properly and it disintegrates quickly to powder.
The rubber strip is definitly in the container. Any additions to cotton wool or birch bark?

 

[JonnyP]

This is interesting, because I have just made up a load of tinder for such occasions. I got some waste pine (off cuts) and some wisteria bark shavings and added a piece of cramp ball fungus. The pine (could of been larch) I shaved down into tiny curls like on a fire stick, I made loads of it and tested a bit of it with my fire steel, and it caught fine. It is now a part of my bushcraft kit and once used I will top it up again, so I will make sure I always have plenty of sticks drying in the shed. I also want to get a load of other marerials like dried moss, reedmace tops, dried grasses, birch bark, etc etc..................Jon

 

[David Moulds]

The kit that i carry with me is cotton wool soaked in vasaline a small hexy block a fire steel and a piece of rubber inner tube all packed into a small tobacco tin sealed with tape.You can always collect the stuff for a bigger fire on the trail.You can aso buy a small nato matchless fire kit which has every thing you need to get a good fire going.Hope this helps.
Davy.

 

[falling rain]

This is the stuff you need in wet weather if you're not bothered about being completely native. Or the green heat gel in sachets. Both can be ignited with a firesteel.
You'll of course need the kindling and main fuel on top of this.
http://www.fieldandtrek.com/product-Ultimate-Survival-Wet-Fire™-25668.htm

 

[rik_uk3]

I carry a fire steel and cotton wool balls I have dripped a little candle wax on; all in a zip lock back, works well. I also have a small plastic bottle I carry some lighter fuel in, not tried this yet, I've kept the full bottle outside to see if the plastic reacts with the fuel, before I take it in the field with me.

 

[JonnyP]

Anyone can light a fire with a lighter and some hexy blocks or vaseline soaked cotton wool, inner tube, etc etc, but we as bushcrafters, I feel we should try to use more traditional methods of firelighting (are we meant to practice our art or not). Of course we should take back up kit in case we fail, but we should at least try....................Jon

 

[wingstoo]

Hi Folks,

Nobby wrote...

"I'm trying to think of a small fire lighting kit to carry in a small container that if things around me are wet will give me the best chance of lighting a fire.
I have a fire steel and piece of hacksaw blade what should I include for tinder? Cotton wool, steel wool, charcloth or what?
Thanks for any help."

Jon Pickett wrote...

Anyone can light a fire with a lighter and some hexy blocks or vaseline soaked cotton wool, inner tube, etc etc, but we as bushcrafters, I feel we should try to use more traditional methods of firelighting (are we meant to practice our art or not). Of course we should take back up kit in case we fail, but we should at least try....

I cannot see in Nobby's post that he wanted to do it the Bushcraft way, he just wanted a small kit for when it was wet and by the looks of it just wants to get a fire going for a nice brew without too much hassle, there are of course times to practice the craft...but when it's raining and you are gagging for that cuppa that is definitely not the time...At least he isn't thinking of taking a gas stove or other similar cooking device along, even though that would be the easiest way...

Hope that doesn't sound too abrupt, it is not meant to....

LS

 

[JonnyP]

Hi Folks,

Nobby wrote...

"I'm trying to think of a small fire lighting kit to carry in a small container that if things around me are wet will give me the best chance of lighting a fire.
I have a fire steel and piece of hacksaw blade what should I include for tinder? Cotton wool, steel wool, charcloth or what?
Thanks for any help."

Jon Pickett wrote...

Anyone can light a fire with a lighter and some hexy blocks or vaseline soaked cotton wool, inner tube, etc etc, but we as bushcrafters, I feel we should try to use more traditional methods of firelighting (are we meant to practice our art or not). Of course we should take back up kit in case we fail, but we should at least try....

I cannot see in Nobby's post that he wanted to do it the Bushcraft way, he just wanted a small kit for when it was wet and by the looks of it just wants to get a fire going for a nice brew without too much hassle, there are of course times to practice the craft...but when it's raining and you are gagging for that cuppa that is definitely not the time...At least he isn't thinking of taking a gas stove or other similar cooking device along, even though that would be the easiest way...

Hope that doesn't sound too abrupt, it is not meant to....

LS

Point taken LS and I had already posted a reply prior to my last one about a way of making tinder. Its just this is a bushcraft site and I feel that we as bushcrafters should use bushcraft methods, anyway I think I could get that fire going just as quick with my natural tinder and I would feel better for it too.............Jon

 

[wingstoo]

Point taken LS and I had already posted a reply prior to my last one about a way of making tinder. Its just this is a bushcraft site and I feel that we as bushcrafters should use bushcraft methods, anyway I think I could get that fire going just as quick with my natural tinder and I would feel better for it too.............Jon

Jon,

I totally agree with using "the Skills" and do so whenever we go to my site...but on site I also have the benefit of other means should there be a case for getting a cuppa on the go asap...

I like the challenge of getting the fire going without a box of matches or a lighter...

But when the Missus wants a brew and the fire isn't lit, then the gas goes on...

LS

 

[scanker]

As LS says, for me certainly, there's times when you just want a quick brew or don't want to "mess around". That might be because you're short of time or it could be a matter of more urgency.

I don't think a "bushcraft method" is any better than an "easy method", they're just different methods for different situations. I would say it's certainly good to have the knowledge and equipment for both types, but nobby asked about a small kit for when it's wet.

So anyway. What about Sparklite?

 

[Biddlesby]

This point seems to keep coming up - about the degree to which we should indulge ourselves, or not, in modern technology. Perhaps some think we should less, and some think more practically, but it's your own choice in the end. Personally I'm of the opinion that we should try to extend our skills wherever possible, accepting failure and difficulty, as Jon Pickett said; but if it's the result not the process you're after then why not take the benefit of our centuries of evolution and use some matches.

...so basically I'm agreeing with everybody... [another edit - interesting related thread]

Back on topic [edit-scanker beat me to it]- similar to the Wet Fire tinder posted earlier, perhaps you could try some maya dust. I've not heard great things about it, but it's worth a try to make your own mind up. Also, if you take charcloth, you're going to have to find some igniters around to get it to flame, and perhaps that won't be so easy when it is wet. Cotton wool is really the best, cheapest thing that I've come across - and it is useful in other ways too, probably more so than the Wet Fire tinder. Along that same vein of multipurpose-ness, dry wash (although you're probably better off getting some from superdrug or boots) can keep your hands clean and take a spark, although you're still going to need some tinder or feather sticks. The latter should be no problem when it's damp, though.

 

[markw]

I always carry a few pre-injection alchol swabs, excellent stuff, light and burn when wet, ignite easy, and like eveything else we carry has another use.

Mark

 

[Nigel]

You could try soaking sheets of blotting paper in candle wax, its as good as birch bark, it sits in your pack without taking any space, and is a very inexpensive way of getting your fire going. I use a lighter or storm proof matches to ignite it, been using it for many years.

Nigel

 

[sxmolloy]

I've recently put together a small kit for this kind of thing. The contents are as follows:

Spare very small spark stick with hacksaw (my main one and knife to strike it with I keep on my person).

Birch bark

Bamboo shavings (in a small bag)

Cotton Wool

Maya dust (in s small bag)

and a wet fire tinder block (as in the link posted above).

I normally make a few feather sticks just before trying to light my fire and of course gather my fuel to keep the fire going from natural resources. I have managed to pack everything into an air tight container that measures approx. 3" wide, 4" long and 1.5" deep so it fits in my pocket and there is no danger of anything getting wet.

Another method is the POCKET STOVE, which is a great idea, some bright spark put a really good thread on here showing how it was made. Hope this helps, best wishes....Stu

 

[gregorach]

Well, I usually light fire with birch bark and the like, but I always have a sachet or two of greenheat kicking around in my emergency kit for, well, emergencies. If you can't get a fire going with greenheat, you're probably under water.

 

[Graham_S]

i carry a small film cannister of cotton wool/vasaline and a ferro rod for those times when i need a fire and need it fast.
ok so ideally i should be using my bow drill with natural tinders or my flint and steel with charcloth. but, sometimes that's just showing off for the sake of it.
sometimes you just need a quick fire without any fuss.

 

[Alchemist]

2 things IMHO:

- 1 Hexamine block or similar (I havent tried wet fire blocks yet)
- Piece of innertube.

A small and simple backup for the wet. Never fails to produce a transferable flame