I don’t assume people know how to make fire with bow drills or some other friction method. Some people can go into the woods with a good knife and be very successful. The stronger your bush-craft skills, the less you need going into the woods.
For the rest of us, there are a lot of products designed to help build fires, particularly in hunting/camping/survival situations. I have done a great deal of research and tried and used many products over the years. These products can be broken down into two categories — tinder and fire starters.
Tinder can be purchased, gathered at your site, or any combination of the two. There are also several products made by companies that specifically make tinder.
1. Spark-Lite is a company that started back in the 1980’s that makes a simple rolled up tube of waxed cotton and a sparker that can be used single-handed. Brush out the tube to unfurl it a bit, light it with the included sparker, and you’re off to the races.
2. There are also homemade solutions, such as cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly. These small, lightweight, tinder balls may help you fire up your tinder bundle.
3. A fellow outdoorsman I know swears by dryer lint. He takes a few wads of it out with him every time he enters the woods. Kept dry, he says this stuff lights quickly and starts his fires. I tried it and did not have much success. I think it really depends on what dryer sheets you use and whether or not you have animals (hair). Test these ideas before relying on them in the field.
Fire starters offer a very wide field of products. There are lighters, ferrocerium rods, magnesium fire starters and others.
4. With lighters, I have found simpler is better. I have seen over the years, a number of super torch lighters that can be used to weld if needed. They either failed to light at altitude, broke some other way, or ran out of fuel. I’m always willing to try something new, but I keep a couple Bic lighters with me in a watertight box. They are cheap, lightweight, and reliable.
5. Ferrocerium rods are great; you hold them near your tinder bundle, strike the steel against them and shower your tinder bundle with sparks. Some handy blowing, and you have yourself a fire.
6. Magnesium fire starters come with a block of magnesium. Scrape shavings of the magnesium onto your bundle, then use the other side to strike sparks onto the shavings. These shavings ignite and burn hot, starting your fire.
Recommended product: Light My Fire fire striker (pictured above)
7. Don’t forget about matches. I’ve tried “strike anywhere” matches and have found them to be anything but. Get some storm matches and place them in a container that keeps them dry. Also, keep a couple of striking surfaces tucked in with your matches.
Recommended product: UCO Stormproof matches (pictured above)
Always take a good knife (fixed blade) with you and multiple ways to start fires. Try any products or techniques in a safe environment and be comfortable with them before you have to use them in a serious situation.
Recommended product: Helle Eggen knife (pictured above)
