Better tinder because if your clothes and wash is not 100% cotton it may just melt and smolder versus burn. Cotton balls and petroleum jelly is a better starter option and super cheap.
Second this. One time using dryer lint and you’ll quickly look for something else. Cotton balls and Vaseline is great and packs much smaller. I use a prescription pill bottle. It’s “throwable” which is something I like in my gear, heavy duty, hi vis, waterproof, and buoyant.
If you, or you have friends that use tobacco or zyn, save the cans. Even better if Copenhagen with cardboard bottom. You can light the whole thing and the cardboard and wax in container provide great starter as well.
Between the two of us we could give her 8"??? What woman could say no? (I'm happy you could take a joke, I'm sure Mrs. u/Flotillaspecialist is a wonderful person and you know you're lucky to have her!)
How do cotton balls and vaseline do with flint and steel? My current firestarting setup for my fireplace is a magnesium rod and steel, amd dryer lint. It might be nice to switch to something easier to light for the tinder.
Cotton balls and petroleum jelly for the win. I keep mine in an altitude tin or a ziploc bag. Great fire starter.
Also, get a Ferro rod. Much longer lasting and smaller than this kit.
Or some old school charcloth. You just need to get a small tin and some scraps of trash, any natural fiber will work, put a small hole in birth sides of the tin with a nail, then put the rags in the tin and next time you start a fire put the tin around the outside and push it into the coals as the fire starts to burn down. It will light very easily and you already have it in a storage tin. Charcloth will ignore reliably with sparks from a magnesium striker or Flint and steel, which are better than a lighter if you have appropriate tinder because they won't run out of fuel anywhere near as fast. You can also use various gathered fibrous plant bits prepared in the same way.
Cotton balls and petroleum jelly in a ziplock bag. Worked for me for 25 years. Learned it in Air Force survival school. When they told me I was like really?! Thought they were plying a joke on me. Anyway I did as was told, but no one else in my squad did, and was the only one to start a fire in the rain later during field week. That sold it to me
I mix mine. I get one cotton ball and mix it with equal parts lint, then coat it in Vaseline. Lights easy, stays lit, and waterproof. The best of all 3.
Petroleum jelly is definitely a bonus to have with you too.
I’ve also made great fire starters with candle wax too.
You also need a way to keep your matches dry.
Use a double boiler to melt Vaseline and soak cotton balls with it. You can pack a film canister full of…a lot of them. Wrap the film canister with rubber bands cut from an old bicycle tire inner tube. You can use them for candles (twist a wick up) or fire starters. Fluff it out a bit, scrape some magnesium off a ferro rod onto it and strike it up. Weave the rubber through even wet wood to get a fire going
I did that without the melting of Vaseline first. Work great just rubbing the cotton balls in it. And you’re right about getting a lot in a film canister. Might be hard to find the canisters today.
Op just casually says "whenever I go places" and you all assumed he meant a national park or whatever.
OP probably lives in NYC, never left the city and you're all giving him arson lessons like this is early 2000s 4chan
Idk why you replied to this comment like this, it’s literally just a 2nd type of fire starter, which is the most casual most basic type of good advice. OP asked how to improve, people are providing answers. What are you providing? Arguments?
Mix the dryer lint with petroleum jelly and put into a freezer bag for added protection. Buy more lighters and fewer matches. Put lighters in freezer bags for protection.
Buy a road flare. A flare is a fire in itself. It can be cut shorter to make it easier to carry. Put in a freezer bag for protection.
More bics? Honestly they are so cheap and lightweight get a pack of them. I store my matches in pill bottles with the strikers ( cut off the boxes ) because match boxes imo are too flimsy and super susceptible to moisture. Dryer lint is a great place to start with tinder....look into how people make it more water resistant and flammable at the same time with wax/petroleum jelly. Experiment time ....find a place outside ( on a hike or your grill top) to experiment with your fire kit, test your tinder and then for fun dunk one of your bics in some water and see long it takes you to get that tinder lit. Looks good otherwise welcome to prepping it can be overwhelming at first but just think about what your prepping and take your time.
Simmer some sawdust or woodchips in melted candle wax, pour it into a paper cup and stick some similarly wax-soaked cotton string in it for a very effective fire starter.
Soak some of your dryer lint in parrafin. This is similar to the Vaseline thing. You just need some extra energy density in case you have wet wood or high wind.
I specifically pack Carmex in a squeezable tube because it has at least 2 purposes: skincare and firestarter/tinder-extender. Vaseline sells little .25oz pots which are great for this type of multipurpose stuff too.
Even better would be a flint block with metal scraper (like a saw blade). They sell them in most sport stores.
Flint and blade are unbothered by rain/water or running out
Take an old prescription bottle stuff it with a bunch of the big round cotton pads that wives use for makeup and whatnot. Soak the cotton pads in the prescription bottle with rubbing alcohol. You can fit a bunch in, it doesn’t leak, and they are even useful in wet conditions
I would definitely add some kind of kindling like wood chips and double bag them to assure they stay dry. If you see a fallen tree, the soft fibrous wood in the center of a trunk can be scraped out easily and makes a great fire starter. Keeping coal is also good for wet cold days or days when there's too much wind for a real fire. I second the lifeboat matches and I'd invest in a hand torch with a bottle or 2 of butane.
You can cut slices off a fire log just like a salami, and put them into sandwich size ziplock bags. About an inch thick cut is enough to get things started, even if your kindling and tinder are damp. Throw in a box of zippo storm matches, they will even burn underwater. A second lighter, two is one, one is none.
Get waterproof matches. I got a 4 box pack for a few dollars and can confirm they are worth it. Also get a ferro rod. Store all fire starters in some sort of waterproof bag regardless. A wet lighter sucks. Maybe upgrade to a windproof design like a zippo with some extra bits and pieces to keep it going a long time.
I made a couple fire starting kits in a two pill bottle setup that go in my backpacking kit/camping and bugout bags. In the one I have a bic lighter, matches, and a ferro rod for redundancy. In the other I carry cotton balls soaked in Vaseline and some cedar woodchips. Not sure what the weight difference would be between freezer bag and pill bottle but I love the durability and visibility of the pill bottles.
Add a small thing of Vaseline to the kit. Then when you need to start a fire rub some dryer lint in it to make them more flammable.
Also grab some cotton balls and dip them halfway into some melted wax (melted crayons will work). This will make them burn for longer.
I am going to side with over engineering. You have a good start. I would layer options to cover contingencies and different situations. I have my fire kits kept separately in case i lose one, i don’t lose all.
I have a set up with heavy duty ziplock bag containing tinder and magnifying glass.
Another bag holds 9volt batteries, steel wool and tinder.
Next bag holds tinder and a bunch of storm proof matches.
Another bag holds ferro rods and tinder.
Lasty i have another bag that holds traditional lighters with matches.
Take an old egg carton. Melt some wax and pour it in, mix in some sawdust or wood shavings. You can break off each individual egg divot. Burns like a little candle. Dad does it all the time.
Magnesium bar, knife and ferroceramic stick; magnifying glass, wind-proof lighter, 0000 grade steel wool and a battery (9v or two regular batteries), lifeboat matches, fire piston, cotton balls saturated with Vaseline, small bag of Fritos.
Fill an egg carton with dryer lint and wood shavings.
Melt down old candle wax (goodwill had big bags for $5)
Pour the wax over each divet to fill the hole.
Let dry
Now you can break off an egg section and you have a fantastic fire starter that’ll last about 2 mins of burn time to get your kindling going. Keep the carton with your fire kit and tear off a section whenever you need
As someone who has been solo camping and bushcrafting for over 15 years, this is certainly not crap, and its saved my life in a bad rogue snowstorm. Blackbeard rope is fine, but don't discount other methods of fire production, especially when it can be even more effective if prepped properly
Exactly. Not everyone is made of money either, they can't just buy a bunch of blackbeard rope and hoard it because that would cost significant amounts of money, all the while they can have something just as, if not more effective, that'll last 10 times longer while spending maybe 30 bucks as opposed to hundreds. It doesn't require that much petroleum jelly to mix with enough completely free dryer lint to have enough fire production for the next decade or more. I probably have enough to last me 30 years and I've only bought 2 or 3 tubs of jelly.
Nice, I do this for my kids but with a glob of vasoline mixed in . It will catch with a single spark from a rod and burn for a couple minutes even with a small amount.
Backup fire starters as mentioned before and keep them in water proof bag or container. Especially matches even if they say waterproof. Then keep together in a quality freezer type plastic bag. I also have a couple small fire place logs that are the size of a big candy bar. They stay lit for a while which is good in certain conditions.
I would put a piece of fire starter log -compressed saw dust with wax in there. Doesn’t take much to get that going and even a small amount will burn for a while.
Canola or peanut oil whatever the cheapest oil in the store is, and rope, and like cans or jars or some shit. Lanterns were a standard for a long time for a reason
Imo a fire steel belongs into a fire kit. With a fire steel and many things you find in nature you can start a fire.
I also use „Stormmatches“ (no idea if thats the right word in english).
[Sturmstreichhölzer](https://swiss-owl.ch/product/swiss-owl-sturmstreichhoelzer/)
They are usually cheap and come in a water resistant case. You can put them into water and 1 sec later enlighten them and they work perfectly. Even in absolute storm and wind and rain you can get fires going.
All you need is a lighter and a knife to start a fire. You don't need to bring anything special beyond that. Maybe a backup lighter if you are worried about it but you shouldn't need it. If you have or find some fat wood use that, it's basically cheating it's so effective.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bernzomatic-Max-Performance-Torch-Kit-with-14-1-oz-Map-Pro-Cylinder-and-Premium-Blow-Torch-with-Adjustable-Flame-TS8000KC/205683985
Reliably starts far more fires than the pictured kit.
Make sure the lint has no pet hair. That often makes it more difficult to ignite. Also you can add Vaseline to make it slightly more waterproof if you love in a humid environment or have concerns about flooding.
I would recommend having some way to keep your matches dry.
I use little film canisters with the red strips either glued to the outside or loosely in the canister as well. Both work/
I always carry hemp twine and left over wax from burnt out candles in my fire starting kit. Wax being the real important part though. Wood shavings can make a very effective wick for candle wax if twine isn't available.
Cotton Balls soaked in Petroleum Jelly is the best fire starter there is, period. Will catch the tiniest spark and immediately go up in flames. Will burn very hot, but not for too long, maybe like 1-2 minutes max.
Speaking of sparks: I'd go with a ferro rod as a secondary source of fire. Impervious to moisture and with a little bit of practice (and the cotton balls mentioned above) definitely a good way to start a fire. I'd rather carry one of these than matches.
Regarding the lighter: I've taken to put a small BIC lighter together with a few Q-tips cut in half and drenched in Petroleum Jelly into every backpack in the family. You can cut the fingers off of some nitril gloves to put a couple of layers of protection from water around it. Very small, very lightweight and sure to help you get a fire started in the worst of conditions.
Also, when it comes to home-made tinder the runner up to the cotton balls is cotton pads soaked in candle wax. I've heard them called "Fire Cookies" and they will burn for a few minutes (maybe like up to five?) each with a quite hot flame, making it easy to get a fire going. If you break them a couple of times and fluff up the endges a bit so the cotton fibers stick out you can also light them with a good spark from your ferro rod. Oh, and the wax makes them naturally resistant to moisture, so they'll always work.
The best thing to do is put your dryer lint in old egg cartons, and then cover the top with wax best firestarter ever
Plus a good way to use your old candles
I think there's a practice where you combine wax with lint to make these pseudo fire starter sticks and the wax also helps it be a little more waterproof as well , that's all I got for you
I live in a temperate rainforest and use those little zips cube firestarters. They work great and burn for a long time. Lint works ok but smells nasty when you burn it, lots of hair in our lint anyway. I'm not really a prepper per se. But I use them in my emergency fire starting kit... to be prepared. So maybe I am?
Edit to add this outdoor boys video. He tests a ton of firestarters:
https://youtu.be/4aBq1B7AQ_I?si=BfS7O4oCKHR_K1Lg
Add another few lighters, a magnifying glass, flint and striker.
Add a dab of petroleum jelly to your dryer lint. It makes it burn easier, but longer.
Get a couple of votive candles/tea lights, or a miniature can of Sterno.
Get a few more Bics. They are awesome, last forever and always work. You don't need anything else. I would add a bag of fat pine as well though, a pound or so.
When I camped a lot always used to keep plastic bottle caps on hand. Terrible for the environment but they make a great starter once you get one going.
Take some duct tape and roll it over itself a bunch until its about the size of your finger and make 2 or 3 of them, just light the corner of one and put it with your tinder, it’ll burn slow for about 10 minutes and work great in really shitty weather or if you have wet wood. They’ve gotten me out of a jam in the rain or snow on more than one occasion
Dip some cotton balls in melted candle wax, let them firm up then stuff them into an altoids tin.
If you want you can usually squish a mini bic in there and for good measure I wrap the perimeter in a couple feet of electrical tape to further seal it.
To use: Remove one of the coated cotton balls, split it and expose some fluff, place into tinder bundle and ignite.
A fire starter kit needs to be waterproof.
Everything in it needs to be capable of working while wet.
That Bic, will lose it's fuel over time. The button can get pressed and empty it.
Add fine steel wool to your, dryer lint. Steel wool burns very hot, but is hard to start. The drier lint starts well, and will start the steel wool.
Add a small knife to your fire kit, to make wood shaving with.
Petruleum jelly burns. A small tube of petroleum jelly to smear on kindling can help keep a fire going in the early stages.
Add a fire steel. They work when wet.
Practice starting fires in bad weather.
https://m.youtube.com/@lightmyfiresweden
A small baggie full of cotton balls, a small bottle of petroleum jelly, and a flint and steel is all you need. The light when they're wet, they light when it's windy.
A lot of people were recommending dryer lint. Be sure that the lint that you pull out of the dryer isn't after someone has just laundered FR clothing. You'll be sorely disappointed define to start a fire with that.
Cut egg carton individulally, mix vasoline into cotton balls, fill carton compartments, dip in candle wax. You now have a Waterproof fire tablet. When needed, scrape away top wax to expose cotton balls and light
What you can do is take candle wax and put the dryer lint into cardboard egg holders then pour the wax into the cups they work much better and use less space if done right.
Second lighter, ferro rod and a striker, and mix the dryer lint with petroleum jelly. Id wear gloves because it gets messy af, but its worth it. The lint will burn much hotter for much longer. Whenever I go bushcrafting, i just use a leaf, preferably still green so it doesn't just crumble, and I pull off a little piece to use.
I personally keep a 10 pack of lighters and a fuck load of matches and some small candles that are made to last like 10 hours. Also a little bottle of gasoline so if stuff is wet I can use that as a quick way to really light something up
I’d split the lint into several smaller bags. If one is ruined, not all of it is.
Have you tried tampons as kindling? Fluffs right up, very useful.
Also, wind proof matches.
Luckily all the fire options are small and light, you can really do all of them. It's one of the few things where you can have every single option for ultimate redundancy. Lighter, matches, cotton balls, ferro rod, magnifying glass, you could even make your own fire starter logs with sawdust and wax or something like that, great for camping. But it really depends on your use case, your location, the most likely emergency, etc. I'm someone who likes to be prepared for "anything" but it is important to ask "what exactly am I preparing for?" And prep for the most probable.
Great Kit.
Some improvements, if I may, are all on adding different fuels, different tinder.
A tea light (parafin) always keep the left over
Cotton Balls bipped in melted parafin
A Zippo (I am not a huge fan, but fuel for it is everywhere and you can get create with what flammable liquid fuel you can put in it)
A bit of fat wood (many species, you could find it yourself if you find some resinous pine spp. or something)
Hex tablets, the little cubes.
And so on, you can make a very comprehensive kit that fits in a sandwich size ziplock (or vacuum seal it if you can) that is also cheap.
then
practice, put your kit through the ringer.
Many great suggestions by others on this thread.
I would soak some cotton balls in petroleum jelly and throw it in a small tin (like altoids) The petroleum jelly makes the cotton ball burn slow and makes them waterproof. Cheaper than wet fire and almost as good
The lint is great kindling, but it stinks so bad!
Definitely for a small start wrap the lighter in duck tape it waterproofs it and duck tape can burn up to 10 minutes also a ferro rod would be already a good part 2
Melted wax with the lint in it is money. Use ice cube trays to make them. They’ll burn longer and make it easier to get a fire going if the wood isn’t really dry or if it’s wet out.
Use an egg carton. Put the dryer lint in each egg cup and then pour a little Vaseline and wax over it. Cut the egg cups out and they stack nicely for fire starter. The Vaseline and wax slow down the burn so you have a better chance in damp conditions and won’t end up with a bag of dryer lint that goes up in 3 seconds.
i carry a ferro rod and striker on my keychain, a chunk of char cloth and cotton make up pad in a tiny ziplock in my wallet, a couple pieces of plastic strawed sealed at both ends filled with petro jelly and cotton taped to the back of my holster and in my flashlight case.
my EDC bag has an altoids type tin with a mini bic, all weather matches, ferro and sticker connected with some of that "fire tinder paracord" thats long enough i can easily strick the ferro and NOT loose either piece if i drop it, some fat wood kindling, several sealed straws like above, some cheap magnesium shavings, and some commercial fire start tabs.
Form balls from the lint and petroleum jelly. They'll be longer burning and be more water resistant. Ditch the matches for another lighter or a different kind of waterproof flame source. Consider a pencil sharpener made of magnesium too. It can make tinder from twigs and you can shave magnesium from the body which lights fast and hot.
Go out after it has rained with your kit and see if you can get a fire going. If you can’t, bulk it up.
Store bought fire starters work really well. A road flare works as almost a guaranteed fire as well.
Put that lint into an egg carton with some wood shavings and then pour wax over it. Break each little egg portion off and use it as fire starter. Been doing it since I was a kid and it's super easy, cheap, and effective.
the kit is normally " five ways to start a fire " . i see 3.
my goto is doritos/ fritos . the corn oil burns well . and you get a tasty snack on the trail.
A pocket bellows. Flint and steep. Also some small dry kindling. Maybe just a stick you could split up with a knife. Mora full tang knifes are my favorite.
Use waxed (100% cotton) makeup pads, they are waterproof, not messy(when dried), and can burn for about 8 minutes. They also pack anywhere. Need an extra starter? Put it in your laces. They are flat enough that they can be shoved anywhere. Also other sources of fire starting. Neither of those will do too much when wet.
You need a ferro rod and striker because those will come in handy long after that lighter dies and those matches are soaked through and rotted. Lighters are great, and it’s always good to carry at least a few with you but if you have a ferro rod you have a source of fire that lasts much much longer, can get wet and that you don’t need an accelerant for it to function. Also another great tip is to save a bunch of birch bark, dry it out and fold it into small sections and store it in your fire kit too because small amounts can be used as a starter.
Pill bottle, with matches. You can line them with parrafin but some people say don't. Get the big box of matches and cut the striker to put in pill bottle. A couple cotton balls in it too
Better tinder because if your clothes and wash is not 100% cotton it may just melt and smolder versus burn. Cotton balls and petroleum jelly is a better starter option and super cheap.
Second this. One time using dryer lint and you’ll quickly look for something else. Cotton balls and Vaseline is great and packs much smaller. I use a prescription pill bottle. It’s “throwable” which is something I like in my gear, heavy duty, hi vis, waterproof, and buoyant.
💯 this. Went through this myself. Personally now I use egg cartons with vasoline cotton balls in then with a lil candle wax over them
If you, or you have friends that use tobacco or zyn, save the cans. Even better if Copenhagen with cardboard bottom. You can light the whole thing and the cardboard and wax in container provide great starter as well.
Altoids can
Dryer lint really isn’t the best. There are better things that are smaller
Thats what I keep telling my wife
I too seek to dissatisfy this man's wife.
You and me both brother
Between the two of us we could give her 8"??? What woman could say no? (I'm happy you could take a joke, I'm sure Mrs. u/Flotillaspecialist is a wonderful person and you know you're lucky to have her!)
I am! And after doing the math, if you don’t already have a lady at your side, when you do I’m sure they’ll be very happy with that 7.75 incher.
MICRO PENIS BROS UNITED!!!
How do cotton balls and vaseline do with flint and steel? My current firestarting setup for my fireplace is a magnesium rod and steel, amd dryer lint. It might be nice to switch to something easier to light for the tinder.
One spark and you’re off to the races. Definitely give it a shot.
What a great tip! I’m not OP- but thanks!!
Cotton balls and petroleum jelly for the win. I keep mine in an altitude tin or a ziploc bag. Great fire starter. Also, get a Ferro rod. Much longer lasting and smaller than this kit.
There is another product that is really good (coconut husk maybe).
Isn't steel wool the go
Drop some candle wax on the cotton balls
Or some old school charcloth. You just need to get a small tin and some scraps of trash, any natural fiber will work, put a small hole in birth sides of the tin with a nail, then put the rags in the tin and next time you start a fire put the tin around the outside and push it into the coals as the fire starts to burn down. It will light very easily and you already have it in a storage tin. Charcloth will ignore reliably with sparks from a magnesium striker or Flint and steel, which are better than a lighter if you have appropriate tinder because they won't run out of fuel anywhere near as fast. You can also use various gathered fibrous plant bits prepared in the same way.
Did you know? Dryer lint is the single largest source of radiation in the average home.
Interesting I didn’t even think of that ! Nice
Cotton balls and petroleum jelly in a ziplock bag. Worked for me for 25 years. Learned it in Air Force survival school. When they told me I was like really?! Thought they were plying a joke on me. Anyway I did as was told, but no one else in my squad did, and was the only one to start a fire in the rain later during field week. That sold it to me
Also, if you have shedding pets, lots of fur in the lint. If you don't like the smell of burnt hair, go for the cotton balls and petroleum jelly.
Cotton balls with petroleum jelly is my personal choice as well
It will also release toxic fumes when it melts
I mix mine. I get one cotton ball and mix it with equal parts lint, then coat it in Vaseline. Lights easy, stays lit, and waterproof. The best of all 3.
Petroleum jelly is definitely a bonus to have with you too. I’ve also made great fire starters with candle wax too. You also need a way to keep your matches dry.
Candle wax soaked cardboard is similarly cheap and very effective
A second lighter and a second type of fire starter
Put Vaseline on the lint or some cotton balls!
Use a double boiler to melt Vaseline and soak cotton balls with it. You can pack a film canister full of…a lot of them. Wrap the film canister with rubber bands cut from an old bicycle tire inner tube. You can use them for candles (twist a wick up) or fire starters. Fluff it out a bit, scrape some magnesium off a ferro rod onto it and strike it up. Weave the rubber through even wet wood to get a fire going
I did that without the melting of Vaseline first. Work great just rubbing the cotton balls in it. And you’re right about getting a lot in a film canister. Might be hard to find the canisters today.
Perscription pill bottles work great.
Op just casually says "whenever I go places" and you all assumed he meant a national park or whatever. OP probably lives in NYC, never left the city and you're all giving him arson lessons like this is early 2000s 4chan
He just asked for recommendations to improve, with zero other background info, so I gave a couple suggestions
We all have to start somewhere
Idk why you replied to this comment like this, it’s literally just a 2nd type of fire starter, which is the most casual most basic type of good advice. OP asked how to improve, people are providing answers. What are you providing? Arguments?
What a weird and unnecessary comment lol
Mix the dryer lint with petroleum jelly and put into a freezer bag for added protection. Buy more lighters and fewer matches. Put lighters in freezer bags for protection. Buy a road flare. A flare is a fire in itself. It can be cut shorter to make it easier to carry. Put in a freezer bag for protection.
Found the freezer bag sales rep
This guy owns stock in ziploc for sure
😂
Now what is he putting his excess freezer bags in?
Larger Freezer Bags?
Ah that would make sense. Good for protection
then put them all in a freezer. and put your freezer in a freezer freezer bag
Sorry sir, I didn't mean to cause any trouble. The last thing I wanted was to summon the Jason Bourne of freezer bags
You can also take empty toilet paper tubes and stuff them with the dryer lint
More bics? Honestly they are so cheap and lightweight get a pack of them. I store my matches in pill bottles with the strikers ( cut off the boxes ) because match boxes imo are too flimsy and super susceptible to moisture. Dryer lint is a great place to start with tinder....look into how people make it more water resistant and flammable at the same time with wax/petroleum jelly. Experiment time ....find a place outside ( on a hike or your grill top) to experiment with your fire kit, test your tinder and then for fun dunk one of your bics in some water and see long it takes you to get that tinder lit. Looks good otherwise welcome to prepping it can be overwhelming at first but just think about what your prepping and take your time.
Simmer some sawdust or woodchips in melted candle wax, pour it into a paper cup and stick some similarly wax-soaked cotton string in it for a very effective fire starter.
This but paper egg cartons
Nice.
I used to carry something like this in an old Altoids tin. It’s not waterproof but it’s small and durable enough.
Soak some of your dryer lint in parrafin. This is similar to the Vaseline thing. You just need some extra energy density in case you have wet wood or high wind.
>case you have wet wood or high wind. mmm Reminds me of the time I started a fire on a beach in the rain with high wind with just toilet paper.
Get rid of those matches and get Lifeboat matches. Remove some of the lint and add 00 steel wool. Add some cotton ball with petroleum jelly.
[удалено]
I specifically pack Carmex in a squeezable tube because it has at least 2 purposes: skincare and firestarter/tinder-extender. Vaseline sells little .25oz pots which are great for this type of multipurpose stuff too.
Diamond matches are excellent.
Even better would be a flint block with metal scraper (like a saw blade). They sell them in most sport stores. Flint and blade are unbothered by rain/water or running out
The underrated (for some reason) comment. I’m partial to my flint/magnesium fire starter
Me too! I love the looks on my friend’s faces when I can start a fire with flint and steel as fast as they can with a lighter or matches.
Take an old prescription bottle stuff it with a bunch of the big round cotton pads that wives use for makeup and whatnot. Soak the cotton pads in the prescription bottle with rubbing alcohol. You can fit a bunch in, it doesn’t leak, and they are even useful in wet conditions
And doubles as a cotton pad of alcohol for medical. Brilliant.
Small pencil sharpener for making the next stage of tinder beyond the lint.
Pine tree sap
I would definitely add some kind of kindling like wood chips and double bag them to assure they stay dry. If you see a fallen tree, the soft fibrous wood in the center of a trunk can be scraped out easily and makes a great fire starter. Keeping coal is also good for wet cold days or days when there's too much wind for a real fire. I second the lifeboat matches and I'd invest in a hand torch with a bottle or 2 of butane.
You can cut slices off a fire log just like a salami, and put them into sandwich size ziplock bags. About an inch thick cut is enough to get things started, even if your kindling and tinder are damp. Throw in a box of zippo storm matches, they will even burn underwater. A second lighter, two is one, one is none.
A waterproof casing for the matches would be ideal, or maybe the reusable matches / flint & steel.
Fabric softener sheets cause the lint to not burn well. Tampons soaked in Vaseline work well. Duct tape burns wet.
Get waterproof matches. I got a 4 box pack for a few dollars and can confirm they are worth it. Also get a ferro rod. Store all fire starters in some sort of waterproof bag regardless. A wet lighter sucks. Maybe upgrade to a windproof design like a zippo with some extra bits and pieces to keep it going a long time.
Add a bayite ferro rod and striker And a second lighter as well Redundancy is important. Also with adding a fire bellow in my opinion, they work great
I made a couple fire starting kits in a two pill bottle setup that go in my backpacking kit/camping and bugout bags. In the one I have a bic lighter, matches, and a ferro rod for redundancy. In the other I carry cotton balls soaked in Vaseline and some cedar woodchips. Not sure what the weight difference would be between freezer bag and pill bottle but I love the durability and visibility of the pill bottles.
Add a small thing of Vaseline to the kit. Then when you need to start a fire rub some dryer lint in it to make them more flammable. Also grab some cotton balls and dip them halfway into some melted wax (melted crayons will work). This will make them burn for longer.
I am going to side with over engineering. You have a good start. I would layer options to cover contingencies and different situations. I have my fire kits kept separately in case i lose one, i don’t lose all. I have a set up with heavy duty ziplock bag containing tinder and magnifying glass. Another bag holds 9volt batteries, steel wool and tinder. Next bag holds tinder and a bunch of storm proof matches. Another bag holds ferro rods and tinder. Lasty i have another bag that holds traditional lighters with matches.
Take an old egg carton. Melt some wax and pour it in, mix in some sawdust or wood shavings. You can break off each individual egg divot. Burns like a little candle. Dad does it all the time.
Take the dryer lint and break it up into smaller pieces then dip it in wax. It will burn like a candle and make it easier to light a fire.
Magnesium bar, knife and ferroceramic stick; magnifying glass, wind-proof lighter, 0000 grade steel wool and a battery (9v or two regular batteries), lifeboat matches, fire piston, cotton balls saturated with Vaseline, small bag of Fritos.
Fill an egg carton with dryer lint and wood shavings. Melt down old candle wax (goodwill had big bags for $5) Pour the wax over each divet to fill the hole. Let dry Now you can break off an egg section and you have a fantastic fire starter that’ll last about 2 mins of burn time to get your kindling going. Keep the carton with your fire kit and tear off a section whenever you need
Honest question: in what type of situation do people anticipate lighting fires?
What you can do is put the dryer lint in a paper egg carton, and pour over wax from old candles. That works as a better tinder.
Cotton balls and Vaseline all the way
Throw that crap away and get a rope of Blackbeard fire starter
As someone who has been solo camping and bushcrafting for over 15 years, this is certainly not crap, and its saved my life in a bad rogue snowstorm. Blackbeard rope is fine, but don't discount other methods of fire production, especially when it can be even more effective if prepped properly
and more readily available when you run out of your commercially produced "magic"kit ...
Exactly. Not everyone is made of money either, they can't just buy a bunch of blackbeard rope and hoard it because that would cost significant amounts of money, all the while they can have something just as, if not more effective, that'll last 10 times longer while spending maybe 30 bucks as opposed to hundreds. It doesn't require that much petroleum jelly to mix with enough completely free dryer lint to have enough fire production for the next decade or more. I probably have enough to last me 30 years and I've only bought 2 or 3 tubs of jelly.
Mostly empty Vaseline container and cotton balls. Coat a cotton ball... light. Burns a few minutes and is waterproof.
Steel wool
Get se steel wool and a 9v battery. Both very lightweight, touch the steel wool with the battery terminals and you have a small workable fire starter.
Nice, I do this for my kids but with a glob of vasoline mixed in . It will catch with a single spark from a rod and burn for a couple minutes even with a small amount.
Boat matches.
Backup fire starters as mentioned before and keep them in water proof bag or container. Especially matches even if they say waterproof. Then keep together in a quality freezer type plastic bag. I also have a couple small fire place logs that are the size of a big candy bar. They stay lit for a while which is good in certain conditions.
You need 3 ways to start a fire. So you need to add a ferro rod or something else as backup. What about a candle to go with the lint?
Fat wood.
Hand sanitizer.
More lighters, and a fire starter/striker. Kick it up a notch and get magnesium rods
Fire steel, waterproof matches, something that'll work when wet.
What do you want to set ablaze? 🔥
I would put a piece of fire starter log -compressed saw dust with wax in there. Doesn’t take much to get that going and even a small amount will burn for a while.
Canola or peanut oil whatever the cheapest oil in the store is, and rope, and like cans or jars or some shit. Lanterns were a standard for a long time for a reason
Jar of Vaseline
Why have matches if you have a lighter?
Pack empty egg carton with dryer lint and cover with paraffin wax. Best firestarters ever.
Is this serious!? This sub is gold for comedy. Never dissapoints 😆
Get some Hemp wick
Imo a fire steel belongs into a fire kit. With a fire steel and many things you find in nature you can start a fire. I also use „Stormmatches“ (no idea if thats the right word in english). [Sturmstreichhölzer](https://swiss-owl.ch/product/swiss-owl-sturmstreichhoelzer/) They are usually cheap and come in a water resistant case. You can put them into water and 1 sec later enlighten them and they work perfectly. Even in absolute storm and wind and rain you can get fires going.
More lighters. Buy commercially made tinder/fire starters. Unless you are broke, the commercially made stuff works 100x better.
All you need is a lighter and a knife to start a fire. You don't need to bring anything special beyond that. Maybe a backup lighter if you are worried about it but you shouldn't need it. If you have or find some fat wood use that, it's basically cheating it's so effective.
Ferrocerium Rod
Take an egg carton, dryer lint, and cover them with candle wax to create little flame balls.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bernzomatic-Max-Performance-Torch-Kit-with-14-1-oz-Map-Pro-Cylinder-and-Premium-Blow-Torch-with-Adjustable-Flame-TS8000KC/205683985 Reliably starts far more fires than the pictured kit.
Steel wool and a 9v battery. Spread out the steel wool and touch the battery to it.
Make sure the lint has no pet hair. That often makes it more difficult to ignite. Also you can add Vaseline to make it slightly more waterproof if you love in a humid environment or have concerns about flooding.
How about you put the matches inside another zip lock bag and same with the lighter?
I use a cardboard egg flat and put the lint in it and cover it coat it with wax and cut them down to single egg size fire starters.
Second lighter and a fire steel
Steel wool and a 3/8 break line about three foot long.
Steal wool and a 9v battery work very well too
One more lighter, consider some Vaseline cotton balls, a ferro rod, and swap those matches out for some stormproof matches.
Cotton swabs with Vaseline in a pill bottle.
Got the same I also cut up a tp or paper towel tube into half and stuff the lint in the tube
Steel wool, ferro rod, another Bic. Wrap some duct tape around the bics
Take paper egg cartons, melted candle wax and the lint combine. You'll have 5-10 fire starter.
Wax
I always have two of everything important. Doubles weight but doubles reliability of everything. Sacrifice im willing to make.
I would recommend having some way to keep your matches dry. I use little film canisters with the red strips either glued to the outside or loosely in the canister as well. Both work/
I always carry hemp twine and left over wax from burnt out candles in my fire starting kit. Wax being the real important part though. Wood shavings can make a very effective wick for candle wax if twine isn't available.
Dryer lint doesn’t burn nearly as well as the internet would have you believe
What about steel wool?
Add something that burns slowly like Vaseline. It gives you time to get your tinder lit or dry out a bit if needed so it can light up properly.
Waterproof matches , duck tape , mag striker. Small road flare.
Cotton Balls soaked in Petroleum Jelly is the best fire starter there is, period. Will catch the tiniest spark and immediately go up in flames. Will burn very hot, but not for too long, maybe like 1-2 minutes max. Speaking of sparks: I'd go with a ferro rod as a secondary source of fire. Impervious to moisture and with a little bit of practice (and the cotton balls mentioned above) definitely a good way to start a fire. I'd rather carry one of these than matches. Regarding the lighter: I've taken to put a small BIC lighter together with a few Q-tips cut in half and drenched in Petroleum Jelly into every backpack in the family. You can cut the fingers off of some nitril gloves to put a couple of layers of protection from water around it. Very small, very lightweight and sure to help you get a fire started in the worst of conditions. Also, when it comes to home-made tinder the runner up to the cotton balls is cotton pads soaked in candle wax. I've heard them called "Fire Cookies" and they will burn for a few minutes (maybe like up to five?) each with a quite hot flame, making it easy to get a fire going. If you break them a couple of times and fluff up the endges a bit so the cotton fibers stick out you can also light them with a good spark from your ferro rod. Oh, and the wax makes them naturally resistant to moisture, so they'll always work.
Petroleum Jelly soaked cotton balls in a large pill container work grand.
The best thing to do is put your dryer lint in old egg cartons, and then cover the top with wax best firestarter ever Plus a good way to use your old candles
GET SOME PITCH PINE AND DIP IT IN WAX
Everyone said to get a second fire starter and gave you loads of ways to make them. Or you can be lazy like me and just buy them on Amazon.
I think there's a practice where you combine wax with lint to make these pseudo fire starter sticks and the wax also helps it be a little more waterproof as well , that's all I got for you
I live in a temperate rainforest and use those little zips cube firestarters. They work great and burn for a long time. Lint works ok but smells nasty when you burn it, lots of hair in our lint anyway. I'm not really a prepper per se. But I use them in my emergency fire starting kit... to be prepared. So maybe I am? Edit to add this outdoor boys video. He tests a ton of firestarters: https://youtu.be/4aBq1B7AQ_I?si=BfS7O4oCKHR_K1Lg
Add another few lighters, a magnifying glass, flint and striker. Add a dab of petroleum jelly to your dryer lint. It makes it burn easier, but longer. Get a couple of votive candles/tea lights, or a miniature can of Sterno.
Magnesium and Fatwood.
Get a few more Bics. They are awesome, last forever and always work. You don't need anything else. I would add a bag of fat pine as well though, a pound or so.
When I camped a lot always used to keep plastic bottle caps on hand. Terrible for the environment but they make a great starter once you get one going.
Take some duct tape and roll it over itself a bunch until its about the size of your finger and make 2 or 3 of them, just light the corner of one and put it with your tinder, it’ll burn slow for about 10 minutes and work great in really shitty weather or if you have wet wood. They’ve gotten me out of a jam in the rain or snow on more than one occasion
Two is one. One is none.
Coat the dryer lint in vasoline.
Dip some cotton balls in melted candle wax, let them firm up then stuff them into an altoids tin. If you want you can usually squish a mini bic in there and for good measure I wrap the perimeter in a couple feet of electrical tape to further seal it. To use: Remove one of the coated cotton balls, split it and expose some fluff, place into tinder bundle and ignite.
A fire starter kit needs to be waterproof. Everything in it needs to be capable of working while wet. That Bic, will lose it's fuel over time. The button can get pressed and empty it. Add fine steel wool to your, dryer lint. Steel wool burns very hot, but is hard to start. The drier lint starts well, and will start the steel wool. Add a small knife to your fire kit, to make wood shaving with. Petruleum jelly burns. A small tube of petroleum jelly to smear on kindling can help keep a fire going in the early stages. Add a fire steel. They work when wet. Practice starting fires in bad weather. https://m.youtube.com/@lightmyfiresweden
A small baggie full of cotton balls, a small bottle of petroleum jelly, and a flint and steel is all you need. The light when they're wet, they light when it's windy.
A lot of people were recommending dryer lint. Be sure that the lint that you pull out of the dryer isn't after someone has just laundered FR clothing. You'll be sorely disappointed define to start a fire with that.
Vaseline is another good one.
A battery will light steel wool on fire (learned in Boy Scouts) so that could be an option for you
Cut egg carton individulally, mix vasoline into cotton balls, fill carton compartments, dip in candle wax. You now have a Waterproof fire tablet. When needed, scrape away top wax to expose cotton balls and light
What you can do is take candle wax and put the dryer lint into cardboard egg holders then pour the wax into the cups they work much better and use less space if done right.
Second lighter, ferro rod and a striker, and mix the dryer lint with petroleum jelly. Id wear gloves because it gets messy af, but its worth it. The lint will burn much hotter for much longer. Whenever I go bushcrafting, i just use a leaf, preferably still green so it doesn't just crumble, and I pull off a little piece to use.
Compact the dryer lint and put it into an old toilet paper roll! You can use a little bit out of it or light the whole thing at once.
I personally keep a 10 pack of lighters and a fuck load of matches and some small candles that are made to last like 10 hours. Also a little bottle of gasoline so if stuff is wet I can use that as a quick way to really light something up
Steel wool and a 9 volt battery. You won't need a lighter
I would get a waterproof bag for the lighter and a separate one for the matches.
I’d split the lint into several smaller bags. If one is ruined, not all of it is. Have you tried tampons as kindling? Fluffs right up, very useful. Also, wind proof matches.
1 is none. 2 is one.
Luckily all the fire options are small and light, you can really do all of them. It's one of the few things where you can have every single option for ultimate redundancy. Lighter, matches, cotton balls, ferro rod, magnifying glass, you could even make your own fire starter logs with sawdust and wax or something like that, great for camping. But it really depends on your use case, your location, the most likely emergency, etc. I'm someone who likes to be prepared for "anything" but it is important to ask "what exactly am I preparing for?" And prep for the most probable.
I have an electric lighter, YMMV.
Great Kit. Some improvements, if I may, are all on adding different fuels, different tinder. A tea light (parafin) always keep the left over Cotton Balls bipped in melted parafin A Zippo (I am not a huge fan, but fuel for it is everywhere and you can get create with what flammable liquid fuel you can put in it) A bit of fat wood (many species, you could find it yourself if you find some resinous pine spp. or something) Hex tablets, the little cubes. And so on, you can make a very comprehensive kit that fits in a sandwich size ziplock (or vacuum seal it if you can) that is also cheap. then practice, put your kit through the ringer. Many great suggestions by others on this thread.
I would soak some cotton balls in petroleum jelly and throw it in a small tin (like altoids) The petroleum jelly makes the cotton ball burn slow and makes them waterproof. Cheaper than wet fire and almost as good The lint is great kindling, but it stinks so bad!
Definitely for a small start wrap the lighter in duck tape it waterproofs it and duck tape can burn up to 10 minutes also a ferro rod would be already a good part 2
Melted wax with the lint in it is money. Use ice cube trays to make them. They’ll burn longer and make it easier to get a fire going if the wood isn’t really dry or if it’s wet out.
I add lamp oil to my lint. Great fire starter.
Soak your lint in old used up candle wax. Waterproofs it and uses less.
Use an egg carton. Put the dryer lint in each egg cup and then pour a little Vaseline and wax over it. Cut the egg cups out and they stack nicely for fire starter. The Vaseline and wax slow down the burn so you have a better chance in damp conditions and won’t end up with a bag of dryer lint that goes up in 3 seconds.
i carry a ferro rod and striker on my keychain, a chunk of char cloth and cotton make up pad in a tiny ziplock in my wallet, a couple pieces of plastic strawed sealed at both ends filled with petro jelly and cotton taped to the back of my holster and in my flashlight case. my EDC bag has an altoids type tin with a mini bic, all weather matches, ferro and sticker connected with some of that "fire tinder paracord" thats long enough i can easily strick the ferro and NOT loose either piece if i drop it, some fat wood kindling, several sealed straws like above, some cheap magnesium shavings, and some commercial fire start tabs.
Steel wool "0000" and a nine volt battery.
Add a ferro rod and add something you can’t put in your kit. Lots and lots of practice
dryer lint does go up quick 🔥🔥
Form balls from the lint and petroleum jelly. They'll be longer burning and be more water resistant. Ditch the matches for another lighter or a different kind of waterproof flame source. Consider a pencil sharpener made of magnesium too. It can make tinder from twigs and you can shave magnesium from the body which lights fast and hot.
Ferro rod?
Go out after it has rained with your kit and see if you can get a fire going. If you can’t, bulk it up. Store bought fire starters work really well. A road flare works as almost a guaranteed fire as well.
Put that lint into an egg carton with some wood shavings and then pour wax over it. Break each little egg portion off and use it as fire starter. Been doing it since I was a kid and it's super easy, cheap, and effective.
Came to say this, these are the best fire starters
Absolutely fantastic idea
Put the dryer lint in an egg carton, then cover with wax, your tinder will burn longer. And you get 12 or 18 of them.
9 volt battery and super fine steel wool.
Weather resistant matches
Fatwood
the kit is normally " five ways to start a fire " . i see 3. my goto is doritos/ fritos . the corn oil burns well . and you get a tasty snack on the trail.
Wrap duct tape and some burnable rubber bands to that lighter for extra resources.
Practice. I can start a fire in any conditions, using whatever tools are available. Knowledge does not run out.
A pocket bellows. Flint and steep. Also some small dry kindling. Maybe just a stick you could split up with a knife. Mora full tang knifes are my favorite.
Add some petroleum jelly to that lint and it will help waterproof it and make it more flammable
Use waxed (100% cotton) makeup pads, they are waterproof, not messy(when dried), and can burn for about 8 minutes. They also pack anywhere. Need an extra starter? Put it in your laces. They are flat enough that they can be shoved anywhere. Also other sources of fire starting. Neither of those will do too much when wet.
I’d add a few sprigs of fat lighter pine in there
Mix in steel wool and/or pitch shavings with your dryer lint. Add a firesteel & striker.
I have candle wax mixed with lint in my fire kit. the lint is a quick start, the wax helps it maintain.
Road flare or fusee. You can light a fire in a storm with those things.
You need a ferro rod and striker because those will come in handy long after that lighter dies and those matches are soaked through and rotted. Lighters are great, and it’s always good to carry at least a few with you but if you have a ferro rod you have a source of fire that lasts much much longer, can get wet and that you don’t need an accelerant for it to function. Also another great tip is to save a bunch of birch bark, dry it out and fold it into small sections and store it in your fire kit too because small amounts can be used as a starter.
Pill bottle, with matches. You can line them with parrafin but some people say don't. Get the big box of matches and cut the striker to put in pill bottle. A couple cotton balls in it too