Light my fire

“How do you light your stoves and or fires when backpacking? lighters? matches? rubbing sticks together?”

“LOL, flint!...
Lighter for me.”

“Bic

W/few waterproof matches tucked away as backup.”

“lighter, sometimes matches. Birch has used magnesium and flint, for fun.”

“I used to have a nifty little lightweight butane torch (no singed fingers!). But, my son and his friends used it so much over the summer to light fireworks that the flint in it is doa and I haven't been able to find replacements. Back to the bic for me (goodbye fingerprints!).”

“lighter, strike anywhere's as a backup and waterproofs too..

better yet, let someone else do the cooking!! LOL!!

Tex”

“Lighter with a flint rod backup. Just knock the rod out of the mag block to save weight.”

“Some girl scout water and match flinging on the stubborn ones but normally matches or a "bic" depended on weather.”

“Strike any where in waterproof container”

“Disposable lighter with wooden matches as back up.”

“Regular matches w/lighter backup.”

“I also carry petroleum jelly soaked cotton balls to light and put among the kindling. They're easy to make, store in a plastic film canister, and those babies work well.”

“screw the flint lighters, they suck when its wet.

get a piezo lighter. even if its out of gas, you can light a canister stove (if your stove isn't already equipped with one!)”

“LOL, Buddur, I'm going to have to put in a stock of those. This weekend, for the backyard girl scout campfire (with self lighting charcoal), we couldn't get the coals started. (Yes, folks, this is a recurring issue in my family). I tried dryer lint, fatwood, etc. Finally my husband said "screw this" and came out of the garage with the big blow torch, in his best Tim Allen imitation. Hot flaming coals in no time.”

“This thread reminds me of a trick a real hobo showed me-if your book matches get damp, open them up and place them against your skin-tucked inside the waistband of your pants. It takes a little while but it does work. How did I meet a real hobo? Ran away when I was 16,I made it all the way from Ohio to Key West. I guess that proves it I've always had wanderlust!”

“I like good old fashioned paper matches, with a mini Bic and some Ohio Blue Tips with the heads dipped in wax as backup.

If I need firestarter, like on winter trips, I have a few chunks of 100+ yr old yellow pine trim scrap from my house I take the plane to and put a handfull of the shavings in a ziploc. Burns like it's soaked in gas.”

“I salt my pack and pockets with mini bics. Rad--do they make small piezo lighters? The only ones I have seen are those really big suckers.”

“scripto makes a normal sized piezo. they are the same height as a normal bic, but thinner. i have a couple and they work great!”

“Bacardi 151 and a match”

“Zippo... It runs on white fuel if necessary”

“I use a match when things are wet. Of course I can start a fire on the second day of a three day thunderstorm with a single match and no fire starter.”

“Flame thrower...”

“A fire breathing dragon would be handy. They can fly you up an especially steep climb, too.

(maybe this is bacpac's secret)”

“I am a fire breathing dragon.”

“he's a flamer!”

“Bic

Oh yes, for back up, Slasher also has a bic”

“I used to only carry matches but I graduated up to a bic.
I'm so hi-tech now!”

“In an emergency ...like everything around you is wet, you're freezing cold and about to catch hypothermia.. those StarterLogg wood fire starters work great. I only had to use one once, but man was I glad I had it. Now I always carry a stick or two with me when hiking in adverse conditions.”

“I used to carry two disposable lighters, matches and petroleum/cotton fire starters in AK.”

“Two boy scouts it never fails to amuse me to see how hard they try.”

“How about a magnifying glass and the sun.”

“Today I took some friends hiking...finally, after a few years of bugging them to join me. One of them was telling me his Dad use to be in the services and was trained as a survivalist.

His Dad would go to primitive outings where noone could bring or use modern equipment, and would put on fire starting demonstrations for crowds. He said he'd strike steel to flint to get a spark on a piece of carbonized material, swing it around in the air then throw it in the fire. Said it worked everytime. He mentioned his Dad would sometimes use a bird's nest to put the smoldering cloth in, fold it over in his palms and blow till flames formed.

The material he said would be pre-prepared by buying a certain material then cooking it till it was carbonized but not burnt. He said it would turn pretty fragile, like lantern burner thingies.

His Dad was his scout troop leader and he had all his kids make survivalist kits using 2 Kiwi shoe polish cans riveted together to make a double-chamber tin containing survivalist materials. Every scout had to show that they could make a fire with the materials.

He's going to get his father to dig out one of those kits for me to gander at, and get him to make notes of how to prepare materials. I can't wait!”

“Buddur I would like to take this opportunity to say I think you are a cool dude - I like the way you think. Kind of McGuiver meets Galliger. Your one of my fav. TTers. Did I embarrass you? Naw You can take it.”

“I`ve done the flint and steel thing too, but by no means is it easy when you`re already wet and cold and long been needing a fire.

Give me a blow tourch Please and stand back!!”

“I had a flint lighter once, it was older than dirt. It wasn`t the kind you add lighter fluid to, but the kind that had cotton looking lint in it and you got that glowing, I bet it was to start fires with but the old gent that gave it too me liked to pull my leg!”

“The early pioneers used to carry little pouches of carbonized material for firestarting. The kits and the material had a specific name, but damned if I can think of it now. Anybody with younger brain cells recall it?”

“I know its not what you want to carry but steel wool and a 9V square battery touched to it will ignite dry brush. Old news for most of you but I didn't see it mentioned so its my two cents worth.”

“Now that sounds like a good idea Jvz.I will try that next time I go out backpacking.

Thanx for the idea...:)

Oh I had never herd of that before and I have been backpacking for 11 years now.....:)”

“Cool JVC...never heard of that either...I'll will try it so see if it works. Would it work with other batteries?”

“Coleman kinling (white gas)”

“carbonized material... i believe my BoyScout handbook refered to that as a punk.... a dry cotton ball kinda pulled out is a nice firestarter too”

“I tried my dryer lint+petroleum jelly the other night. Magnificent!”

“Buddur and others, that carbonized material is called char cloth by some. You make it by putting a cotton cloth in a metal can with a sealable lid, and cooking it until the cloth chars. It the can is sealed, there won't be enough oxygen to burn, so it will char. However, you make a spark, such as by flint and steel, or by a bow drill,you catch the spark in the char cloth, and blow it, and put the char cloth in contact with tinder.

I was winter camping a month ago, and son of a gun it was cold. I had MANY bic lighters to start stoves and fires, and they all failed. One the flint fell off, and the others were either not sparking, or not gassing, because they didn't start. Next time I'll put one next to my skin before trying to start it, to warm it up. A fellow camper (a student in my class, actually)had a refillable gas lighter that saved the day.

Since then I have bought a refillable gas lighter made for starting the fuel tabs on steam locomotives. It is about the size of a fat lighter, but has a tip that extends 3 inches, which allows you to start a stove without burning your fingers. Apparently the train modelers have the same problem with burning fingers. It is so cool!!

I got it on ebay for about $16.00. I think you would still have to keep it warm for winter use, like have it next to your skin.”

“basic lighter, storm matches for backup and a small bottle of alcohol for starter.”