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Originally Posted by ironbender
KC
Have you used piezo lighters? I like those when I can find them (usually at a tobacconist shop). Bics are sure hard to use when cold and wet; trying to flick the wheel on the flint to get a spark.


IronBender: Haven't tried piezo yet. I'll have to keep my eyes open.

Sorry I didn't respond sooner. I went on a four-day backpack fishing trip into the Sangre de Cristos.

I'm getting too old for his stuff.

KC

Last edited by KC; 09/19/22.

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[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Hot cuppa on a long cold morning elk stand. I’ve never done much stand hunting but I don’t get around so well now and my boys talked me into watching a saddle and head of a canyon one morning. It is a mile or so from a vehicle, so took a backpack stove and a pad to sit on.

We have sort of two topics going on this thread:
1. how to start routine fires (for which the majority of us will use a BIC type lighter), and
2. crisis fires when we are cold/wet/without normal gear/in high wind and precipitation/all of the above.

Like BC30cal, I take a bunch of back up ways to start a fire and almost never need any of them. Piezo lighter, Storm Proof lighter, candle, Trioxane or homemade fatwood/Vaseline-cotton fire starter, a few Vaseline cotton balls, a few thin slats of fat wood, ferro rod, strike anywhere matches ---
AND a great new addition from Mackay will be the candles that won’t go out! That whole pile goes easily in a ziploc in a pocket.

I like to split old fir fatwood into thin slats 5 inches long (which fit in a plastic Costco candy jar for storage). Cut the fatwood into 5 inch long blocks then use an old knife to split off slats. I prefer slats that are paper thin on one side, for easy ignition, and 1/8 inch thick on the other side. I wrap a few slats in a paper towel, in a ziploc to carry. They burn hot and long and place flame like a super match.

The pic below is of some handy fatwood scraps, not full slats.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Last edited by Okanagan; 09/21/22.
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Trioxane fuel tabs have worked well for me.

Will have to try the flares.

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Originally Posted by ironbender
[quote=KC]
Have you used piezo lighters? I like those when I can find them (usually at a tobacconist shop). Bics are sure hard to use when cold and wet; trying to flick the wheel on the flint to get a spark.

I've been told those are the best lighters, been meaning to buy one and try it.


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I gather pine pitch and keep it in a ziplock baggie. I keep matches, wrapped in Saran wrap and sealed in more baggies. It might seem a little OCD, but I carry matches in my pack, in my coat, in my shirt pocket, and in my pants pocket. I figure I'll always have some that are dry! GD

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Originally Posted by Rock Chuck
Quote
[Trick birthday candles are what I keep in my pack.

The kind that when you blow them out, they instantly relight.
I wish those came in larger sizes.

Here's another good one. These can be found at Walmart along with Presto Logs, etc. They're very light weight and will burn hot for 15 min. Just light the wrapper. They won't light with a striker, though. You need a match or lighter.

[Linked Image from i5.walmartimages.com]

I buy these at my local supermarket. They look like the same thing.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/818sA00cFTL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

A few minutes ago, I tore the wrapper off of one, snapped the small block in two - which could easily be done with wet, cold fingers - and rubbed the broken ends together until I had a small pile of coarse dust. Again, should be easy even with wet cold fingers.

One strike with a small ferro rod and the dust, and the two halves, ignited with a hot flame.

Easy.

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Quote
I buy these at my local supermarket. They look like the same thing.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/818sA00cFTL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

A few minutes ago, I tore the wrapper off of one, snapped the small block in two - which could easily be done with wet, cold fingers - and rubbed the broken ends together until I had a small pile of coarse dust. Again, should be easy even with wet cold fingers.

One strike with a small ferro rod and the dust, and the two halves, ignited with a hot flame.

Easy.
Good idea. I'll have to try it.


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A lot of good stuff here.
I tend to over do it with my fire starting kit. When I am far from the truck it goes with me. Includes a Bic lighter, a Zippo with a tiny 1/8 ounce tabasco bottle full of lighter fluid, and storm matches in a water tight container. I make fire starters from cotton dental rolls soaked in melted candle wax from old candles. These burn for 15 minutes and light easily.


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Dang it! good ideas, but unless I missed it nobody posted this? Very handy.


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Originally Posted by gunzo
Dang it! good ideas, but unless I missed it nobody posted this? Very handy.

My Strikeforce is my go-to. We’ve found that all strikers use the same ferro rod but there’s a big difference in the steel quality. Half the strikers on the market won’t throw a decent spark because the steel’s too soft.


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A small section of hacksaw blade works like a charm.


If you take the time it takes, it takes less time.
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Originally Posted by Rock Chuck
[We’ve found that all strikers use the same ferro rod but there’s a big difference in the steel quality. Half the strikers on the market won’t throw a decent spark because the steel’s too soft.

Ditto: tested cheap and more expensive ferro rods and strikers and found the same. The rods were the same but some strikers worked and others didn't. A main difference in strikers seemed to me to be ergonomics: how easy they are to hold and get a good strike/scrape. So the striker molded to thumb and finger, the one that comes with the Light My Fire, works well on a cheap ferro rod.

Like Ironbender, I've found a piece of hacksaw blade is my basic striker now, with a two piece wooden handle taped to it that has thumb and finger grooves in it, somewhat like the plastic handled striker that comes with the Light My Fire. Two cedar slats, make a handle in a minute or two.

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There’s a smaller version of the Strikeforce called a Sparkforce. It’s the same company but the steel is junk. It’s easy to hold but it just won’t throw a spark. Using the steel from the larger one on it works fine.


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I generally have a leatherman multitool with me if on a real adventure. It does nothing very well but handles many tasks adequately and offers a couple tools that I would not otherwise carry with me away from my vehicle. That being said, the file blade on the leatherman makes an excellent striker on a ferro rod.


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The Blast match throws a hell of a spark but the tab that holds the steel is delicate. Or so with the older ones. It can pretty much be used one handed.

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While doing some fall cleaning down in my shop, I came across this way in the back of a cabinet. Don't remember buying it and don't remember how long it's been there. Packaging looks old and worn, but it's definitely been in a cool dark place for a while. If you can use it/want it, PM me and it's yours...

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]


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Always have 3 methods on me in any wilderness situation (matches, flint n steel, lighter). My ferro rod is huge being about the size of a cigar.

Locally, we had a group of 3 elderly fishermen just recently who thought they would do a downstream angling run of about 5 miles as a day trip. Might be 5 miles as the crow flies, but actual stream distance is about 15 to 17 miles. It takes a full day to traverse if one simply hikes from dawn to dusk. They were prepping for their second night out when found with no one in the group capable of starting a fire.

With tons of wood about and lots of fishing line, one would think they could have done a bow drill.

According to my neighbor who found them, they were a pretty grouchy bunch.

Several years back 4 chukar hunters got lost in a heavy and persistent fog with no means of starting a fire. We found their campsite where they had dismembered shot shells and attempted to ignite things by firing the primers into a pile of powder. Didn't work and they spent an extremely cold night in a group hug. They were found by a kid out looking for coyotes late on the second day.

Whatever one carries, it should be functional in even the most dire situations. A friend and his wife got hit with a serious summer time temp drop with wind and snow at elevation. Their hands became essentially useless. They made it to their rig and had to literally rip his pants pocket off to extract his keys. With insufficient grip, they had to put a twig through the key ring to torque the key over and unlock the door.

One's not often faced with such dire conditions, but I've had a few instances where my hands were damned near nonfunctional. The old scout motto most certainly applies.

We occasionally watch some of the survival shows, and it's amazing that many of the peacock strutting Rambo's have serious issues getting a fire started.

Last edited by 1minute; 09/25/22.

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You can read this stuff all you want to but when things go bad, if you haven’t practiced fire building at home, there’s a good chance you won’t get it done when you depend on it.


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Originally Posted by 1minute
We occasionally watch some of the survival shows, and it's amazing that many of the peacock strutting Rambo's have serious issues getting a fire started.

YouTubers, too.

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There’s a difference in starting a fire when you want to and starting a fire when you have to.

I recently started playing with alcohol stoves and after following this thread, I started thinking a small bottle of alcohol in my fire kit might be a good thing to have as well as a road flare.

Good thread.

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