Maya Dust

[PeterW]

Over last weekend, I finally got to use one of my stocking fillers from last Chrimbo... a tin of Light my Fire Maya Dust.

It smelt pretty strong of resin, but is supposed to catch a spark from flint and steel, which I couldn't make it do with any success. Even filling a birchbark tube with the stuff didn't really make it go in the way I was expecting.

So... was I doing it wrong, as I normally would use cattail or birchbark and I have no problems with the steel....??

It just doesn't seem to do what it says on the tin....

Cheers

Pete

 

[familne]

I'd have to agree, you have to give it some real welly before this stuff catches fire.

 

[PC2K]

if you get the maya stick, scrape them with your knife. That will light easily and won't blow away if you drop it Never tryed the dust my self, scraping sticks is cheaper and is handier than a tin.

 

[Jamie]

In my opinion its more of a gimmick than an effective method of lighting a fire........

 

[ChrisKavanaugh]

Is this in a fine powder form, hense the name? If so, you have the same problem people have with magnesium bars. The flashpoint is so small and quick you won't get a decent flame unless there is additional tinder. We use a cornmeal load to pop balloons in renactor shooting. The cornmeal ignites off the primer, goes out almost immediately, but emits a very hot gas stream. great for popping ballons, but not for bushcraft fires. Mix your fatwood dust with some shavings and wax for decent tinder.

 

[zambezi]

...Mix your fatwood dust with some shavings and wax for decent tinder.

Yup, a variation of that worked for me recently. Maya Dust mingled with tiny twigs and some dry grass started a braai at first strike of the firesteel.

Vince

 

[giancarlo]

I got some about a year ago, still got most of it kicking about in my sack somewhere..

It's very hard to light directly off a spark, I've personally never got it going...
I tend to use it with a mix of cotton wool ball teased out, then sprinkle a little helping over the top.. lights great off that and then the resin keep sa good solid flame for a minute or so.

 

[Andrew Middleton]

Get some bamboo from B&Q, scrape to outer with a knife and put the resulting curls into a pouch. This is the easiest tinder to light with a spark I have come across so far.

 

[Tony]

Good tip Andrew

 

[tomtom]

thistle down!! will most times burst in to flames straight from a spark.. this should be enough to further ignite something like this dust.

 

[PeterW]

thistle down!! will most times burst in to flames straight from a spark.. this should be enough to further ignite something like this dust.

Tomtom

This is the sort of stuff I would normally use, its just that the maya dust doesn't appear to do what it says on the tin..!!! I works quite good as a flame sustainer after the initial burst, but its not that good at catching the spark.

Back to the tried and tested stuff I think...!!

Cheers

Peter

 

[tomtom]

Back to the tried and tested stuff I think...!!

back to nature good idea i reckon.. remember with maya dust, you have to remember to bring it with you!

 

[steveo]

used the stuff once ! and only once