Originally Posted by smokepole
Originally Posted by Rock Chuck
(it's hard to beat propane for tinder)


Not if you're carrying the fuel on your back.

We do a fire-building demo for the survival part of our hunter ed class. Using cotton balls with vaseline and the metal match, with no practice beforehand, it usually lights on the first strike, and almost always by the second.

Perfect conditions, but still it's pretty foolproof.


When my son was in 4th grade they had a survival camp overnight trip and I volunteered to help at the fire starting station. Everyone had to start a fire with vaseline soaked cotton swaps using a flint. It was a good day to learn fire building skills as temps were in the teens and it was snowing and windy. Every kid managed to get a fire started, but if you took too much time the cotton ball would start getting wet from the snow and be harder to start.

Of course that's the catch 22 of starting a fire, when you really need one you and your fuel will be wet.