Best tool to make fire

What is everyone's preferances? Lighters, Firesteel, Magnesium sticks, fire pistons, what? What is your favorite way to make one of the most important aspects of survival?

the mag stick is my fav. it lasts a long time and you can almost be certain that it will work. and its just so fun to use.

_________________
quote of the week: "Missed it by that much,"- Get Smart.

	BXC wrote:
	What is everyone's preferances? Lighters, Firesteel, Magnesium sticks, fire pistons, what? What is your favorite way to make one of the most important aspects of survival?

I have a multi-tiered approach, going from easiest/quickest to more difficult.

I don't live in a highly-wooded area, so my need for this *stuff* is mostly when I'm mobile in the event my car breaks down or I get stranded somewhere in the wintertime or such:

On my person:

vaseline-impregnated cotton balls stuffed into an empty prescription bottle (in my pocket at all times) to use as flash tinder. Iow, one SPARK from anything will send it into flames...providing it is dry, for a good 3 to 5 minutes with a big hot flame.

Zippo lighter.

Ferrocerium flint rods of varying diameters and lengths.

High Carbon scraper for shaving mag stick and striking rods.

Coleman lantern flint lighter mechanism

Extra flints for Coleman striker.

All fit into a small pouch I wear on my belt all the time.

Small knife/razor for shaving tinder or pulling a spark off rods, and/or shaving magnesium.

Sounds like a lot, but it all fits into a tiny pouch.

I've found butane to be useless in the wintertime, so don't bother with a Bic Lighter. I can't get enough vapor pressure out of a Bic lighter in sub zero cold to be able to ignite the lighter without a lot of preheating in my armpits and etc. Naptha OTOH takes a light right away.

In my automobile, I have Catalytic Converters in the trunk, and a 20lb bottle of Propane with fittings. I'm thinking of going with building an alcohol stove with a coffee can and a roll of toilet paper with the inner cardboard tube removed, and a pan to put it in so it doesn't melt anything.

Lg

Your problem with Butane lighters might be that it freezes fairly easily. Butane freezes at 23 degrees Fahrenheit or -5 degrees celsius, so if there is snow on the ground its almost out of the question.

The pouch actually sounds reasonably sized! about how big would guess the pouch is? (inches length and width) If its as small as it sounds I may just have to pick all of that stuff up myself (Right now all I have is a bunch of matches (not even waterproofed) in a waterproof container, I'm trying to decide on which tools would be the best because matches obviously have limitations =P)

_________________
Limitations are created only in the mind.
Only by ignoring them can one truly be great.

BXC wrote:

Your problem with Butane lighters might be that it freezes fairly easily. Butane freezes at 23 degrees Fahrenheit or -5 degrees celsius, so if there is snow on the ground its almost out of the question.

The pouch actually sounds reasonably sized! about how big would guess the pouch is? (inches length and width) If its as small as it sounds I may just have to pick all of that stuff up myself (Right now all I have is a bunch of matches (not even waterproofed) in a waterproof container, I'm trying to decide on which tools would be the best because matches obviously have limitations =P)

3x3x1 inches, and it has a belt loop. Made out of nylon or Kevlar. This is a *kit* that I put together for All Seasons firelighting. It is there Just In Case. and I've found myself in plenty of situations where *just in case* is just what I needed.

Lg

I like my flint stricker. very easy. Very Happy

_________________
I just heard something big crack�.. holy crap!-Les Stroud

	linsleyk wrote:
	I like my flint stricker. very easy.

Depends a bit on what I can come up with for tinder and kindling. Of course open fires are discouraged almost everywhere around where I live, so I haven't practiced all that much outdoors, but rather indoors, in a home made *firepit* to see how I can refine my techniques to best advantage.

I find the key is to start with bone dry paper thin tinder. The thinner the better in my experience. Sheltered from the wind. OTOH my cotten balls soaked with vaseline can be lit under any conditions, except direct rain. I have the idea of pulverizing small twigs into fibers with rocks or a small hammer, or the back of a hand axe, so they will light more readily, but have yet to do the experiment.

Some people have reported being Fined $200/person for making a small fire without a Permit. I'm not interested in getting fined for anything, except in a life or death situation. So for the time being, my experiments have been on my own property, where I can ignore the *local laws* by burning in my barbeque grill Twisted Evil

Not much anybody can do to stop me from lighting a fire in the grill. It's out in the woods and fields where the restrictions apply, not in my own backyard, except, I can't have an open fire in my backyard. It must be in an *approved* fireplace. Well...I consider my barbeque grill as an "approved fireplace" and nobody has bothered me yet. Wink

I agree that it is a bad idea to let -anybody- build a fire wherever and whenever they want. Because they might end up causing a lot of damage. I carry my firekit for emergencies, like getting stuck out in the cold. Under those circumstances, I would be more interested in being found and returned to civilization than worried about violating some Permit Law.

I'm not advocating telling the Law to go take a walk...I'm about knowing how to get a warming/cooking fire lit under emergency conditions. Hypothermia kills. In that situation...the Law can take a walk and I'll do what I have to to keep myself alive and well.

Othertimes, I have a couple of camp stoves in my grab and go bag, along with fuel.

Lg

LMF firesteel & PJ cotton balls.
Has not failed to work yet.
Got 'em in all my kits.
Cliff

	Cliff N wrote:
	LMF firesteel & PJ cotton balls. Has not failed to work yet. Got 'em in all my kits. Cliff

Indeed so. My FIRST CHOICE Very Happy

But say, you run out of PJ cotton balls? Just say, for the sake of discussion. Then what? My Mag stick of course. I carry two on my person at all times. That should be good for about a bazillion fires. If I'm not found by the time I run out of magnesium...I will have already died of Old Age. Shocked

Larry1t wrote:

	Cliff N wrote:
	LMF firesteel & PJ cotton balls. Has not failed to work yet. Got 'em in all my kits. Cliff

Indeed so. My FIRST CHOICE Very Happy

But say, you run out of PJ cotton balls? Just say, for the sake of discussion.

Not likely to happen,but your point is a great one.
In a well thought out fire kit,you should have multiple methods of lightin' up.
This is what I carry in all of my fire kits:

It includes PJ cotton in the yellow bottle & inside of the straws , Trioxane tabs , fatwood , a butane lighter & some matches.
It all fits in a 4x6 inch kit bag with room to spare.
By far the EASIEST & cheapest way to get a fire going is with matches,albeit they're not as reliable as some of the other stuff in there.

Good point you made there Larry...Vary your methods.
Cliff

Cliff N wrote:

Larry1t wrote:

	Cliff N wrote:
	LMF firesteel & PJ cotton balls. Has not failed to work yet. Got 'em in all my kits. Cliff

Indeed so. My FIRST CHOICE Very Happy

But say, you run out of PJ cotton balls? Just say, for the sake of discussion.

Not likely to happen,but your point is a great one.
In a well thought out fire kit,you should have multiple methods of lightin' up.
This is what I carry in all of my fire kits:

It includes PJ cotton in the yellow bottle & inside of the straws , Trioxane tabs , fatwood , a butane lighter & some matches.
It all fits in a 4x6 inch kit bag with room to spare.
By far the EASIEST & cheapest way to get a fire going is with matches,albeit they're not as reliable as some of the other stuff in there.

Good point you made there Larry...Vary your methods.
Cliff

We're in agreement then...its always a good idea to have a Plan B, or at least some kind of redundancy in case one of our foolproof systems fools us and fails, or in case we're out longer than expected because of an ice storm or somesuch. I think everyone needs to imagine the worst case scenario, if there is such a thing, and figure out what they would do.

I saw a show on "I Shouldn't be Alive," wherein a Father and son lost their inflatable boat and provisions when it hit an ice dam in a wilderness river and all their supplies went to the bottom. They escaped death with only the clothes on their backs and whatever they had in their pockets. And that was it. All their preparations for a comfortable outing disappeared under the ice, and they ended up fighting for their lives to stay alive in the cold North, just before the Spring Thaw which hadn't fully arrived yet.

Ever since I watched that re-enactment, I've re-thought about my EDC vs. stuffing things into a kit and assuming that kit is going to be with me forever. What happens, for instance, if all your good stuff is in the kit and it takes a tumble down an impossible escarpment and disappears forever? You're left with what you have on your person and that is all.

Doing this mental exercise causes one to have to rethink what goes in the pockets, and what goes in the packs Wink

I use a ferro rod (flint stick) and grass or what ever is out there Very Happy

eric

my favorite way is using the bow drill but i normally use fire steel the most over anything else

	turd wrote:
	I use a ferro rod (flint stick) and grass or what ever is out there eric

Ferro rod is good stuff. I have a pocket full of them all the time. But for that tough-to-light tinder, I like to be able to add magnesium if necessary to help things along. I think the magnesium flame is way hotter than the ferro rod by itself, but I guess it all depends on what you're using for tinder. Wink

I love my ferro rod and I have about a bizillion different tinders to chose from. Laughing

_________________
Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. - Prov. 27:17

I like the Mag stick or flint stick.

_________________
A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
We are Known By The Tracks we Leave Behind
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

I practice in my little BBQ too. and have some water handy just in case. I was taught to always have a plan b or c or d. Very Happy

_________________
I just heard something big crack�.. holy crap!-Les Stroud

	linsleyk wrote:
	I practice in my little BBQ too. and have some water handy just in case. I was taught to always have a plan b or c or d.

It is the Smart Thing to do. Weather can change, people can become injured/sick, almost anything can happen. My idea is to at least have a minimum amount of survival gear in your pockets just in case your carry bag goes missing, by animal or 2 legged variety, or just bad luck. That way you are not stranded without the essentials.

Lg

	NorthernHunter wrote:
	my favorite way is using the bow drill but i normally use fire steel the most over anything else

This is the choice I thought that noone would choose. Why do you like the bow drill? Its time consuming not to mention difficult, but I suppose it would be a good skill to have in your arsenal, especially considering it would take you a long time to run out of sticks in a forest Laughing

_________________
Limitations are created only in the mind.
Only by ignoring them can one truly be great.

Honestly i'm gonna take another route.

My favorite item to start a fire is a firestick match. Its just a plain firestick with a match like ending. Just stike and its lit. It burns for liek 10 minutes too so its REALLY easy to get a fire going.

Easier than a lighter.

_________________
"There dosen't look like there's much shelter over in those mountains, but that's the only choice I got right now, this is gonna be a long week" - Les Stroud Arctic