lighting a fire in the WET!!

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[sh4d0wm4573ri7]

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

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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

 

[bryanpaul]

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

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[Noble Savage]

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

 

[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.

 

[Noble Savage]

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

 

[outskirts]

 

[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.

 

[Dameon]

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.

 

[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.

 

[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!