# lighting a fire in the WET!!



## catingeorgia

i gotta a seemingly fuckin simple ass question. *what is the best way to light a fire in the wet of the woods? *to be more specific...how do you light a fire in the dew of the morning while in the woods or after/during a rainstorm? its really no big deal when your starting it off of the coals from the dry night before, but what if you camp in a fresh spot after a long night of hiking only to wake up in the morning with everything wet from the dew...any tips will help
thanks


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## bob freaky

you should store some wood under your tarp or in a dry place the night before. If your real shitty and don't have a tarp or dry place then try and carve off the wet wood on the outside down to the dry wood. Always carry those little sawdust brick fire starters or if you can't afford them carry some char cloth( you can make it by putting a bit of cotton t-shirt in a can and put it on the fire to char it so you can use it for fire start later) a bit of alcohol would work also. Once you get in going it should burn even slightly wet wood.


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## Dameon

You can dry off some kindling using body heat if you have to, just keep it inside your shirt for a while until it's dry enough to catch. Then just keep other wood near enough to your fire to dry off from the heat.


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## cranberrydavid

Yeah, without dry tinder you're going to have problems, so it's worth keeping a stash in a ziplock. Also, humidity makes a big difference. Here in the northwest you have to worry not only about the water in the wood, but also in the air and in the ground. You always want to scrape down to dry soil, or build on a flat stone, tin foil, dry side of a small board or something. Otherwise you'll see the steam come up from the ground and put your fire out before it gets started. 

Also don't be afraid to get creative about tinder. Although it's not PC, adding small pieces of plastic, styrofoam, dried orange peel etc. to get a flash of heat can make all the difference. Same with spreading a little oil or grease on the wood. Another thing that works great for tinder is those little bags of snack chips. They're greasy and they're always dry. Alcohol, diesel, wax, kerosene are all good, but be careful of gas and gunpowder. The guys in the tropics use little squares of innertube. Don't breathe the smoke, but your fire WILL start! This is probably more than you'll need for a dewy morning, but hey, it's always good have options, right?

Once your fire is started, keep the damp wood on the side to warm and add it just a little at a time, or the steam can quench your fire as it heats up.


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## Diagaro

I often find candles in dumpsters and keep em around as batterys for flashlights that don't get lost are rare.
In a pinch stack reed, grass, dry and dead twigs and shit around as small as a tea candle and the wax will soak into all your tinder and get the damn thang going - similarly any tree sap you can rind will act the same hobo napalm FTW!


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## BanMatt

Plan ahead.


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## ksleet

Skunk piss;cotton balls and vaseline (PETROLEUM jelly) works great if you have this handy


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## Dmac

keep a packet of tinder with your gear and as mentioned earlier try to cover/store your firewood in a dry place, like under a corner of a tarp.. but a real good way to find dry tinder is to try and find a birds nest. they make great tinder anytime, but the inside layers will be dry if it's been rained on.


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## LeeevinKansas

yea always store wood. shit if u have to put soem dry wood down u rpant legs or something the night before. its better to be uncomfortable then to be freezing in the rain starving cuz u cant cook ur food. if u cant find any dry wood, find some cedar trees. red cedar wood and branches work great to get fires going.


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## arice

Birch bark!


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## catingeorgia

yeah that paperlike bark on the birch is awesome and i store up whenever i find some but it just seems so hard to find. thanks for the answers everybody and alot of useful shit i have tried and it works well. i found that the easiest way for me so far is to try and plan better and watch the forecast...keeping a small amount of good wood on me for emergencies


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## Wolfeyes

Yet another reason to worship the cattail plant. The brown tops will light right up even after a hard rain, and they burn pretty hot. Even better is to stock up whenever you find them. Dip one or two in candle wax or pine sap to make a real jiffy of a fire starter.

If you're in the south, dried palm fronds will go up real quick and hot unless they're soaked through and through(days and days of constant rain) and they're everywhere down here.

Even when it's dry out, any time I'm walking through the woods knowing I'll be camping out, I collect whatever wood I can carry and when I find my flop site, I try to find some way to keep it dry. Generally I'll stash it off the ground, like up in a tree, especially if I don't want to keep it in the shelter with me (FUCK SPIDERS!)


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## catingeorgia

pine sap is another thing that has been mentioned and ive read about but i dont know what the fuck it looks like. can someone give me a description of what it looks like and where to look for it ie... which trees and its location on thee tree. thanks


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## Alyssa

there are these 50 cent logs you buy to make fires with in the camping section of walmart, use 1/4th of one of those (they are the size of a small brick) and you can get any fire started. Also they are very light weight.


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## Wolfeyes

catingeorgia said:


> pine sap is another thing that has been mentioned and ive read about but i dont know what the fuck it looks like. can someone give me a description of what it looks like and where to look for it ie... which trees and its location on thee tree. thanks


 
It oozes from openings in the bark of living pine trees. The best quality sap looks like honey, though after it dries a bit it can start to look like beeswax, and if it's particularly hot out it can take on a brownish tinge like caramel. It's incredibly sticky with a wonderful pine scent. The best time to collect it is during the hottest part of the summer, it will run from every single tiny hole in the tree, but trees will release sap from mid spring to mid fall or any time the bark is injured. Although I don't condone it, if you're desperate you can get modest amounts of sap by gouging off the bark or snapping off larger branches.

To collect it, find a knot in the trunk of a tree that you can reach, and either use a stick to scrape and push the fresh sap into a container, or break off pieces of the dried sap. To use dry sap, make a simple double boiler and place over a low heat with a bit of water mixed in.


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## Diagaro

catingeorgia you sure do ask alot of questions to elicit all thease nagative replys that most of your threads get but ill be a nicea gy and not flame just cause I'm in a good mood today
here is a picture of someone putting time into sap harvesting - I,E,. how you do it
sap harvesting

heres one of a perfect globule of semihard sap - this shit burns like jet fuel - sap glob

and this almost everything green on this page will burn like its soaked with gasoline particularly take nope of the bubbles or "blisters" on the first pictured tree trunk, thease are filled with highly flammable sap, keep an eye out for firs as they are super flamable - fir trees

Source: I have lived all/most my life in the rainforrest like regions of the northwest.


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## dharma bum

i've always kept/used the cotton ball in vaseline, fritos burn for a couple of minutes per chip, often times my lighter will get wet, so keep some matches dipped in wax or carry flint and steel (having some little birthday candles have saved my ass on the AT many times). the lint from dryers lights up like magnesium! i always have a little in a freezerbag in my pack. some logs have holes in them made by worms and insects. if you have a lot of matches (wooden, not paper) and the wood isn't just drenched, strike the match and stick the lit end inside the holes. these little holes often are connected my little tunnels (for the insect to travel to and from) so of course the match will go out, but if you do this alll over your log, eventually the smoke from the matches will somewhat dry the wood out. just takes forever!
but seriously.. DRYER LINT!


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## stellaxtara

ahhh this is a good read. and another reason to keep Vaseline in my pack! thanks guys!


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## streetlight

Alyssa said:


> there are these 50 cent logs you buy to make fires with in the camping section of walmart, use 1/4th of one of those (they are the size of a small brick) and you can get any fire started. Also they are very light weight.


 

Definitely my favorite method of getting fires started in wet conditions. The little bricks are cheap, burn like hell...and for a long time.


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## steelcitybrew

Number one is to collect it while your on the go and keep your stock up.

There is no reason you cant ever find dry tinder hiding under somewhere. I like to take my fixed blade and cut right into wet dead fall and get dry wood from the middle, then cut that into toothpick thin 4 - 8 inch slices , and your golden.


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## hobogestapo

be prepared stock up and a nine volt battery and some steel wool work wonders. just rough up the steel wool and touch the battery to it, its that simple.


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## MxEx

Ony tiny tidbit I haven't seen mentioned specifically is the fact that an individual cheeto works like an micro/mini dura-flame/torch. Of course the humidity can put it out but if you have a lighter, light one up.


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## spoon

One of the guys that is staying on the island at the moment was telling me he once ran into an old hobo that told him to always carry a bag of Lays chips. Apparently you just light the whole bag on fire and the oil will keep it going even in the rain.


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## Cardboard

Another Cheap DIY firestarter:
Take an egg carton, or piece of an egg carton-
Gather lint from the lint trap in a dryer (you can stop at any laundromat and get as much as you want for free.
Old candle scraps laying around, or parrafin wax is cheap if you are in a hurry
pack the egg carton with dryer lint, pour melted wax over the top, and yer done.
throw this in your bag, doesnt matter if it gets a little wet, but ziploc it if you are worried.
just tear off one and light it for starting fires in the wet.
the steel wool trick is good too, but might make you look a bit like a crackhead if you get your shit searched.


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## sh4d0wm4573ri7

strike force ferro rod + petro cotton balls + fatwood shavings or birch collected enroute shredded = fire ats my way


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## Laz777

sugar pine. if yer in the higher elevation of NorCal to find it. keep a small wedge of it, scrape a little dust off and light it...burns forever.
cooking oil, but not canola, after the fire gets going.


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## outskirts

Empty milk/orange juice cartons outta the trash will burn just fine, if they're wet just wipe them off real good before lighting.

And hell yeah, pine is amazing when dealing with fire in the rain! Not all pine trees have the same sap content though,
some have more sap than others. White Pine is my favorite, loads of sappy branches to burn and the ground under them
is usually covered in a thick layer of fluffy pine nettles which will burn well even when damp or slightly wet.


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## Dead horse

Cooking gel. Used to heat the water in catering trays works excellent, Seen in Wallmart and often in dollar stores. It doesn't have a lot of other practical uses but works wonders even if the wood is actually being rained on if not there is always gasoline


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## bryanpaul

Dead horse said:


> Cooking gel. Used to heat the water in catering trays works excellent, Seen in Wallmart and often in dollar stores. It doesn't have a lot of other practical uses but works wonders even if the wood is actually being rained on if not there is always gasoline


also called Sterno ......in case anyone is confused by the word "cooking gel".... took me a minute to figure out what you meant


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## Bl3wbyyou

Surprised no one has mentioned the old cheap and true method the damn troops still get to this date.And thats the old Doan Magnesium bar.You can get em off ebay for i think $10 or something.I have used it quite a bit and it works damn well.Produces a flame that is 1400F and will light wet tender as well.Its a trick to keep the piles of shavings from flying off in the wind.But pair that with pine sap and a dry leaf you got it made.

I carry a medicine bottle full of my own homemade fire starters which are just old paper towels soaked in lighter fluid with a hint of gas added to the mix.I have never had a problem with em.And used em in 20F weather here and they seem to work perfectly whatever i am thrown at.

Other way to get dry tinder is to find a standing tree knock it down.Then split the wood with a decent knife.This will get you to the driest pieces of wood.As well as making smaller/larger pieces so you don't have to waste the energy looking for smaller/larger wood.

Other thing i swear by like anyone else is firesteel.com gob spark armageddon fire starter.It has more magnesium then your average firesteel and sends gobs of sparks flying wherever you point it.It'll catch pinestraw real quick which shocked me that it could do that lol.

I know about waking up and not feeling my hands or feet.Putting shoes on and then getting outside and trying to start a fire.And that damn firesteel works like a champ even in hands that are shaking LOL.


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## Dishka8643

tinder can me made from a log by making a "fuzz stick" aka feather stick. This is basically a piece of dry wood 1 foot long and about 3/4 inch wide; with fine shavings carved into it. This creates a "nest" of thin wood shavings that can be lit with a match or a firesteel. 

as steelcitybrew said, to find dry wood, start with a wet log about 4 inches wide and split it in half to access the middle, where the dry wood is.


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## Dmac

this may sound silly, but get yourself a boy scout handbook. you will find all sorts of good info. info about fires, first aid, setting up camp and much more. people like to make fun of the scouts, but there is a lot of good info there.


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## Noble Savage

carry a zippo and a small bottle of lighter fluid...a couple little squirts will lubricate the burn


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## Bl3wbyyou

Zippo's and lighters below 30F is fun.I never had em work below those ranges.Though thats why i carry a doan bar and my firesteel.

Also good luck when that lighter or zippo gets wet then you are really gonna have a good time lol.


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## Noble Savage

okay how about ya just eat beans, shit fire and save the match?...dang Gina can't a man make a sugestiation?


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## outskirts




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## r3yn

No birch in the NorthWest / mountains, so
Make a feather stick.
Light a plastic bag, and let the flaming death drip onto your tinder. Works every damn time. 
Carry a bunch of plastic bags in your ruck.


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## Dameon

r3yn said:


> No birch in the NorthWest / mountains, so
> Make a feather stick.
> Light a plastic bag, and let the flaming death drip onto your tinder. Works every damn time.
> Carry a bunch of plastic bags in your ruck.


Or just gather deadwood that's still on the trunks of pine trees that hasn't gotten wet, and don't burn plastic because WTF. Or shave down the outer layer of a stick that's wet until you get to the dry insides, and use the dry shavings.


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## paiche

All of these suggestions are good. If you are unprepared the thing to look for first is birch bark, if there is none look around under indents or holes at the base of trees, there you will find very fine small bits of tinder. Go from tree to tree gathering all the dryest bits you can find. Then grab some seasoned standing wood, break lower dead branches off or whatever and get out your knife and shave off the wet outer bark then add the dry inner shavings to your kindling pile. If you have a good heafty pile of those 2 dry ingredients you can then pile damp twigs on top. They should dry enough to catch as the fire under burns. Get a couple of larger pieces of wet wood on top of those. They too will catch. I did this just after a pouring rain once and got a fire going with no birch in sight. If no knife i dont know what youd do, find some tinder fungus if your lucky maybe.


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## Groundscore

Look for dry wood and dry pine needles - they'll be under the wet stuff or under the edge of a log. - Make sure you prep well with a decent air space for the oxygen to get in, have extra kindling and wood set aside (under something that will block rain), so once you get things burning you can keep it going until it becomes self sustaining.

I keep cotton balls that I cover (well) in Vaseline and keep them stored in a couple of 35mm plastic film containers. They are cheap, lightweight, doesn't take up much space, and they keep things dry, and you can pack a LOT of prepped cotton balls in them.

You can also easily store dryer lint in 35mm film containers as well, as the lint is free; just check any dryers at the laundromat; most people are too lazy to clean out the lint trap, so there will be more than enough for you. If you're already stuck somewhere and didn't prepare, gently rub a knife along your pant leg and you can get some lint that way, but it's way smarter to be prepared and keep some on hand, that way you're not wearing jeans out faster.

As for a fire starter, I have always preferred the magnesium / flint starters that you can find just about anywhere. A P38 can opener can be used as a striker, or a small piece of hacksaw blade, and it can easily shave off some magnesium when you need it. Be sure to keep your striker on the on the ball chain of the magnesium bar. The backside of a good carbon steel knife works very well as a striker too.

Waterproof matches come in handy, and if you have any Fritos those work about like a match with all of the corn oil that is in them. There are also all sorts of inexpensive lighters you can buy. I still prefer the magnesium bar setup, as it is about as foolproof as you can get.

*Just be sure to practice with whatever method you choose BEFORE your life depends upon it!*


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## cixcell

high wood is dry wood


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## townes

Best natural kindling is birch bark. It will light even when wet. The natural oil in birch make it so. Birch grows mostly in the north USA.

Best man-made kindling is dryer lint! Collect it from laundromats, ball it up and store it in your pack.


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## Hobo richard

Wet wood is why i carry a super light weight cat stove...
https://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/SuperCat/


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## Lamentations

An ugly shirt, especially a Christmas sweater, catches fire pretty easily and will burn for quite a while, catching larger pieces of wood on fire. You may burn one and think, "I started that fire so fast!" But you're technically CHEATING.


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