I've done 'em all, now settled on flint & steel and grease/waxed cotton balls as the simplest and most bombproof.
I've had BIC lighters come apart in my pocket into small parts of no use to me. I carry a piezo electric lighter along with flint & steel but do not count on it with the same confidence that I do the more failsafe flint & steel.
All of my grandkids from 8 years old have learned to start fires with flint and steel, of which there are many low cost versions now on the market. Last year I equipped every grandchild with a flint & steel (ferrocerium actually) and some homemade fire starters. When out on picnics, hiking or hunting etc. we have contests among them to see who can start a fire the quickest with material in their pocket or pack plus whatever is available on site. This on the wet Olympic Peninsula.
This next is slightly beyond simple. My homemade fire starter wafers are fatwood sawdust and fine shavings waxed just enough to let them stick together when packed into mini-cupcakes with a waxed cotton ball stuck on top. Each wafer is about the size of a mini-Mars bar and will burn for at least five minutes and some have lasted nine minutes. Each goes in a little trinket sized ziploc. Some have old gunpowder in the mix like Specneeds said.
I prefer a mix of one part vaseline two parts paraffin as less messy, but like BC30 Cal, keep them inside a ziploc till ready to light. Waxed/greased cotton balls need to have a few fine fibers teased out to start easily with flint and steel, but like BC30Cal said, they light easily even after being under water for several minutes.
Last edited by Okanagan; 06/11/16.
