Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Firesteels

I've seen bics fail a couple of times, but it can be protected against.

The ones I've seen fail seem to have lost all their fuel due to being carried or stored in a way that the fuel flow tab was depressed in a pack, bag, or pocket.

I like and use various fire steels because, with a tad of prep, they are so bombproof reliable.
At the same time, I am not above using a bic or other lighter.

I have not seen a match worth carrying in quite some time...

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to have a [bleep] of 3 day weekends, 3 weeks paid vacation, a [bleep] of outdoor hobbies, and the 4th largest wilderness in the lower 48 pretty much right out my backdoor.

I honestly couldn't even guess how many fires I've built in the backcountry. I've learned a few things over the years.

Matches.... They're awesome. If you live in an old house with no fart fan or window in the [bleep]. You can light one when you're done poopin' and the humans you choose to live with can smell a mix of [bleep], and burnt sulfer... Which is as American as Bacon, Cocaine, Strippers and apple pie.

Bics.... I use one a lot. Especially lighting my EdT C stove. I ran one out of fuel once because the lever got pushed on by something in my pack. Coincedently, one of my pot smoking slut ex girlfriends left a bic at my house in a fancy lighter case. I gutted the fancy lighter case, and saved the plastic tube it was built around. When you stick a bic in it upside down, the lever cant get pushed on. It weights a gram and a half. It's cheap insurance. I've also had Bics get cold enough in packs in the winter that they barely want to light. This is corrected by leaving them in a pocket that is on your body, or in the bag with you at night.

Firesteels.... I never leave home without one. In all the types I've used, I've come to the same conclusion as others. The striker is as important as the firesteel. I use the new V2.0 Scout from Light My Fire 9 months out of the year. It's got more horsepower than every other firesteel, except.,... The one I carry once it's hunting season in Montana. Morakniv makes a knife/firesteel combo that I've used for over a year and absolutely love. The Bushcraft Survival knife is a 1/8" thick chunk of Sandvic S134 stainless, paired with a 2.6" long firesteel that's quite a bit softer material than the LMFs. It throws lots of pissed off sparks that stick around for a while.

Then there's the basics.... Tinder. Don't wait until you need the [bleep]. Pick it up along the way. Chances are, you'll encounter some blazed trees on the trail you're walking. The pitch balls that collect around blazes are great fire starters. Dry moss, naturally peeling birch bark, and hippies that were skinned alive are all great fire starters too.

Fatwood... I always have a stick of it. it's 20-30 grams of fire starting badass. You can use the spine of your knife (especially the Bushcraft Survival, or the Fireknife, which is ground dead flat for scraping) to make a nice little fluffy pile of naplam to catch sparks in. Or shave curls to light with a bic. Or, do both if your tinder is less than dry. Or, sliver the entire stick, and throw a pile of sticks on top of that if your ass fell in a creek on a spring bear hunt.

Carry an axe... Or big knife... If you're on an overnighter. Especially if it's cold enough that you NEED a fire. If I'm wearing a backpack, there's a Gransfors Brux Outdoors axe in it (which is just a cool way to say it's a Swedish Tomahawk) 18 ounces... Besides firewood, it does a great job beating in tent stakes, and it works great for skinning critters and hippies.

If you can't make fire with fatwood, tinder you pick up, a bic, firesteel, and an axe.

You deserve to be removed from the genepool due to a surplus of ignorance.

My strategy is to try to have 3 ways to get a fire lit� all involve vaseline soaked cotton balls, and/or dryer lint, and/or fat wood (of which all are in my small emergency kit).

Plan A- Bic lighter (but these don't work very well in extremely cold weather or high altitude, or high wind. And they can get lost or break.. then your F'd. I carry two.

Plan B- Waterproof matches. But these require a striker and I've had issues with these in the past� if the striker is damp it get's soft and won't light off the match.

Plan C- A Firesteel� hard to get to work if you're not proficient at it and takes a lot of practice to get that way� but if you know how to use it they can save your arse. I carry a magnesium block with mine as well in the event my tinder is damp.

IME, Plan A works most of the time, and I've only had to resort to Plan B a couple times. I've never had to resort to Plan C. Probably a good thing as I only practice with my fire steel every couple of years when I get a whimsy to do it� which means if the rubber ever me the road and I had to use Plan C I'd likely be screwed�

Foxx...

Napalm





Never had a problem with matches in one of these:




More fire-starter goods here.

I make it a point, once winter comes on, to walk the ridge trail near my home and at least make a fire weekly for a hot drink...
To do this I carry water, a tin cup, coffee or cocoa, and a fire steel... No tinder, no fire paste, no cotton balls or vaseline...

The cotton balls and tinder always ride along, but I use shavings and dried grass to start my fire. Most fire steels are quite capable of doing the job if you prepare properly.

I can generally pick up my tinder while I walk, and have my fire made, water heated, and drink finished in a half hour...
It's become a bit of a ritual, and I sorta enjoy the time I spend on it...

That's pretty cool, I might start doing that. It's a great idea, thanks for sharing.

Late to the party and will read through it all, but here are my suggestions:

Boy scout "hot spark" for a lightweight low cost one. Its small and fits on key rings, compass lanyards, or survival necklace

Coughlan (spell?) has a bigger one for about $5 thats stout and works well.

And... Bic lighter or similar without the safety thing in the striker wheel.

I find it is easier to start fire with fire, but watching a hot spark igniting a vaseline soaked cotton ball during our survival segment in youth fire arms safety convince me to carry the cotton balls.

DanAdair, excellent post! You nailed it.

My only problem with Bic type lighters is that I have had a few of them come apart in pocket or pack, so that the striker disassembles itself into little tiny parts. I say Bic type because they may have been knock-offs rather than Bic brand.

Doesn't anyone make a good match striker for lighting 'strike on box' matches? One that will last through dozens of boxes of matches long after the one on the box is worn out? You could attach one to every stove or BBQ. Carry one in your pack along with cheap strike-on-box matches.

In addition to a Bic lighter and a magnesieum block with sparking insert, I carry homemade waterproof matches. They are simple to make. Get some strike anywhere matches, preferably kitchen size, and paint them with fingernail polish. I paint the entire match to prevent any water soaking. Strike on a rough surface when needed. I like to carry these in a plastic waterproof container with a piece of sandpaper (optional).