Pyromania!

Hey all.

For some reason the Strike Force Fire Starter that I ordered with my kit from Campsaver didn't ship. I think they were out of stock and decided to refund my money.

I was quite disapointed, but went over to Ozark Outdoors and picked up a Firesteel Scout. It's probably a better purchase - it seems like it weighs about 1 lb less (no kidding - I handled a Strike Force at Uncle Sams in Fayetteville and it's a heavy beast)!

I've been spending the day trying to catch things on fire with it. No luck yet with dried leaves or grass. I've got a tiny ember once or twice but it went out quickly.

I decided to stop along side the road and pick up some cattails. Oh my gosh! I might as well have picked up a can of gas from the filling station. After striking over and over into the dead grass, the cattail fluff practically blew up in my face! My loving wife sat laughing at me the entire time. If you've not used that as tinder, give it a try, but treat it with respect. Seriously.

I've been frequenting a blog called survivortopics.com. That guy is full of great advice. Today I made two batches of waterproof matches, a cotton ball soaked in petrolium jelly, and a firestick coated in wax. All three are fantastic fire-starting tools. I ran my homemade matches under the water faucet, shook them off, and they fired up the first strike. Very cool!

If anyone has any advice on getting things to go up better (other than the explosive cattails) with the firesteel, I'm all ears.

Nathan

Fritos and Doritos will catch a spark and burn long enough to dry out even the wetest of grass.. makes you think twice about that transfat huh hahahaha

Nathan,

A pillow of 0000 steel wool with a little oil added to it makes a great water proof tinder. I carry a piece in a ziploc when I expect wet weather.

I always carry Alcohol hand sanitizer, it not only helps to keep you healthy on the trail, it also can be used as a nice fire starter in a pinch.

Dwight

Preacher, you brought up a good point in this post (and a funny one too! "...blew up in my face! lol! Cracked me up.) that just because a hiker carries a firesteel in their pocket, they are not likely going to be able to start a fire in a survival situation unless they've practiced with it.

I carried one around for a long time feeling a foolish sense of security until I decided to make a fire with it--I nearly wore my hands out sparking that darn thing!

Also, it's important to learn how to utilize materials you can find out in the bush, not just in your back yard.

I didn't mean to soapbox, I'm just glad you brought this up Preacher; it's important stuff. And I'm glad you discovered the "joy" of igniting cattails!

By the way, I carry petroleum jelly-soaked cotton balls in a film canister (which works awesome--half a cotton ball will give you plenty of flame to catch tinder); however, they do tend to sort of dry out if you don't use them for a long time, so if you've been carrying some for a long time, you might want to check them.

Another good point Jay.. any idot can start a fire in the backyard when its high and dry. I have made it a point in the past to go out in my woods here ( I have 35 ac so lots to choise from) after a hours of hard rain and try to start a fire.. while its raining/wind/snow/ice ect. you get the point. I trust my ability and while I have had my share of trouble with fires, I know I can. I have never needed to for a survival situation but I know I can. And the only way you KNOW you can is cause you did it... several times. I also pitch my tents/ stow gear ect. in these same situations. Its ironic that as your need for fire grows the situation for creating said fire demishes. Almost equally. lol Oh and personally I like the Light My Fire fire steel better as I have found it gives the most showers of sparks for the lest amount of work. Also if your like me and make a lot of your own blades a squared top spine will give you the most amount of sparks as well. Ceder Tree bark works magic, also good wood is dead Syclamore tree limbs... gather from still standing trees as anything from the forest floor is surely soked. Just look for the dead ones.

Great points. I keep finding myself coming back to plant / tree identification as an essential survival skill.

I also plan on taking the cotton, alcohol, etc with me but want to find the best materials that will take a spark.

Cattails, while (ahem) delightful, I don't see as being as plentiful in most of the backpacking terrain I see myself frequenting (Ouachita trail, Ozark Highlands, Butterfield, etc). I'd like to know the most about the environment I'm in.

I think I'll start a topic on useful plants & trees in Arkansas backpacking country. Part of my issue is not being able to identify the vegetation around me. If I had a list of plants & trees that I would likely come across, I could cross-reference the Internet for identification info.

On the topic of fire starters, you've found what I think is the best option for starting a fire with a spark. The cotton balls and p-jelly work great! However, if you do have a match/lighter, there is another (better) option that takes a little more prep. The only thing you would have to buy is a source of wax (tea lights work awesome). You'll need a ziploc bag full of dryer lint, an empty egg carton, and plenty of wax. Here's what I do:

Melt the wax in an old pot that your wife won't miss

Stuff each section of the carton with dryer lint

Pour the melted wax over the egg carton

The amount of wax and lint you use will determine how long they burn, but I pack and coat the carton pretty good and usually get about 5 min of burn time. That is plenty of time to start a fire. Once the wax is poured (Note: When you're making these fire starters, put something like foil under the carton, because the wax will leak through.), put the carton and whatever its sitting on in the fridge and wait about 15-20 min. After the wax is hard, break off a section and go burn something. Hope this helps!

There is also a link here of this same info.

Thanks Kyle. I did something similar. I made a fire-stick with rolled cardboard and wax. I also made a bunch of waterproof matches while I had the wax melted. It worked great.

I tried the lint and didn't have as much success as with the cotton ball. I think that it had to do with the lint I picked. The stuff I found was pretty compacted and I imagine I need more fluffy stuff.

By the way, the cardboard / wax firestick will not take a spark, but will burn a long time. Could be helpful if the kindling is wet, but I only see it as moderately useful (as compared to cotton / pj).

Nathan

I always use dryer lint soaked in Purell hand sanitizer. It starts very easily and depending on how much you pinch off, will burn for several minutes. Plus, it does double duty as a way to clean wounds, etc.
UL