I'll sometimes carry .. I forget what they're called, but basically they look like 1/2 x 1/2 x 4 inch pressboard sticks soaked in paraffin.
Coghlans Fire Sticks.
That’s what I carry. I’ve tested them several times, even letting them get a bit wet, and they start pretty easily with a butane lighter or a match, then burn hot for a time, plenty long enough to get damp tinder going.
I carry two butane lighters, matches, and a Ferro rod.
If I’m at the point where I’m building a fire in the middle of nowhere things have probably gone wrong. I want to be able to build a fire as easily as possible under the conditions, with cold stiff fingers, in the dark, snowing, etc.
