Fire steels: Which do you prefer?

[Younggun]

I used to light stuff up using steel wool and a 9v battery.

Probably not the best for most situations since batteries can lose charge over time, each fire will drain the battery a little more, and you have to pack around the steel wool which is light, but bulkier than other methods.

 

[Younggun]

Looks like I was ninja'd while posting.

 

[Younggun]

The old army flashlights (not sure if they issue them anymore) and a dog tag can be used to start a fire or light a cigarette.

 

[Moonpie]

I have done the flint and steel thing. It doesn't work for shit if you don't have DRY char cloth.
I tried one of those ferrous rods. NO WAY is that thing gonna light anything if its wet. I had a El-Cheapo chi-com one so that probably had a lot to do with it.
Bic lighters a fine(and I have them stashed around) but I wanted to learn a different way.
How do you make the Vasoline soaked cotton balls? Just rub the stuff into a ball?
The Magnesium block looks good. Been reading about only buying the U.S. made ones as the chi-com versions are, as usual, pure shit.

 

[Acera]

How do you make the Vasoline soaked cotton balls? Just rub the stuff into a ball?
The Magnesium block looks good. Been reading about only buying the U.S. made ones as the chi-com versions are, as usual, pure shit.

I melted a pan on the stove of Vaseline, took it off and soaked the cotton balls in it. You can just rub it in if you want, but I don't think you get as good a coverage or long life from the fire. If you don't compress them and store them in an altoids tin or the like you get a good long life from the fire. I put mine in a straw for storage, ease of packing, etc. However I do know that they have a lot less life when they burn than do the uncompressed ones. It is a trade off between size and performance. You can get a lot into a straw for many fires. Or a few really good ones in a tin box. Some folks also use those round cotton make up pads that you see in the beauty supply section. I have seen those used soaked with wax as as tinder. You can also pack a couple of those little round candles, easy to lite, light weight, and get a fire going before putting it out to save for the next time.

My experience with the chi-com crap is it works just like the others in this instance, for 1/4 the price. However the two I have gotten could have been a good run. YMMV.

 

[breakingcontact]

I like the candle idea

 

[winchster]

How do you make the Vasoline soaked cotton balls? Just rub the stuff into a ball?

Most effective method is to melt the Vaseline and touch the cotton ball to the liquid. Make sure you leave a small patch of dry cotton for the spark.
You can also just roll it around in the stuff but soaking it in works much better. Be cautious when melting the Vaseline, it will burn the crap out of you and is very flammable. Lol

Snus cans, Altoid tins, pill bottle for storage. Or you can stuff them into a straw. Personally i use the little tins instead of the straw, seems to give a better product.

 

[jrbfishn]

Magnesium fire starter. If it's raining, peel bark and use the inside stuff. Add solid fuel tabs for longer burn.


Sent by a idjit coffeeholic

 

[acorneau]

"I... have made FIRE!"

I've tried the Vasoline and cotton ball trick just to try it out. Didn't melt-and-dab, just mushed it in a little bit, but sure burned pretty well for 3-4 minutes.

All these mentions of alternate fire starting methods takes me back to my old Boy Scout days.

 

[jrbfishn]

Did not do boy scouts. Grew up in the woods. They said the things I did were too dangerous for kids our age.


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[Ole Cowboy]

I like my REI stuff much better than my GI stuff but I dont buy their fancy stuff.

Through slowly buying better gear i carried less and less weight. Not ultralight hiking but light anyways. Esbit stove saved a ton of weight.
When I was hiking I got from 65 pound packs down to 35 fo 6-8 day trips. Man I miss being able to do that.

Anyways for a fire starter, lighters first then the magnesium ones. Have a Gerber knife with a fire starter built into the sheath.

I was always curious how those torch strikers would work.

Nothing wrong there, the GI stuff is not light at all, but average weight for a full load combat Infantry soldier IN COMBAT, not TO&E load out averages 159 lbs from Vietnam thru to the ME conflicts. Start hauling that around and stuff wears out FAST, throw in the rain and humid conditions of SE Asia or the sand and grit of the ME and stuff takes an incredible beating. When we with out we were out for 10 days or until we got into a gun fight. 10 days is a long time to stress your gear...

 

[Low_Speed]

The Exotac NanoStriker XL is nice. It throws a good spark even after being wet. Small enough to add to your keychain.
Cotton balls and Vaseline works great too. Try coconut oil. Lower melting point so cotton balls should absorb it easier.

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

The little butane jets work and you can dry out some tinder with them too.

Bring about a dozen Bic lighters then magnesium block as a backup. Knowing how to do it and having to do it cause you're freezing is two different things.

 

[Big Dipper]

A great item for kindling if you already have a flame is latex tubing (the tubing that you used for your Bunsen burner in chem lab). It burns very hot for quite awhile.

Also, if you haven't read it, Jack London's short story "To build a fire" http://http://www.jacklondons.net/buildafire.html is a great read!!

 

[Ole Cowboy]

The Exotac NanoStriker XL is nice. It throws a good spark even after being wet. Small enough to add to your keychain.
Cotton balls and Vaseline works great too. Try coconut oil. Lower melting point so cotton balls should absorb it easier.

Of course coconut oil is already a liquid whereas vaseline is a semi solid. Vaseline melts at around 101 degree, coconut oil smokes at about 350F

 

[TheDan]

I've made tender with dryer lint inside a toilet roll tube filled with wax, cut into tea candle sized pieces. The cotton ball with Vaseline sounds like a good idea as well, but the wax is less messy.

I've tried some fire steels, but I think they are pointless unless they have the magnesium block as well. You really need the magnesium to get the fire started when it's damp. Disposable lighters are where it's at, tho

 

[jrbfishn]

When they are wet, disposable lighters are worthless. No spark and no flame.


Sent by a idjit coffeeholic

 

[breakingcontact]

When they are wet, disposable lighters are worthless. No spark and no flame.


Sent by a idjit coffeeholic

Why you going to let them get wet?

 

[Younggun]

Anybody using dryer lint for tinder?

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

I use gasoline. It works really well.