Starting a fire in snow/rain

[BigTines]

Hey guys,

I plan on doing some backcountry hunting on the west side in November. It's guaranteed to be wet. Any tips on starting a fire in these conditions? Any special tricks or gear you use?

[kentrek]

Estbit tablets & a bic

My favorite long lasting all weather get a fire going now tool

[Simcoe hunter]

Scout water.  Works everytime.   

[Simcoe hunter]

Really though- fill a paper egg carton with sawdust or shavings and pour melted parafin over them. Tear one off and put a match to it.

[Boss .300 winmag]

Scout water.  Works everytime.   

Yep!

[JimmyHoffa]

Gather lots of fuel beforehand, including breaking into really small pieces.  Like three times more than you think.  Moss and pitch are good for the starter.

[haugenna]

Carry a couple fire pucks. Lightweight and burn nice and hot. You can carry a marine flare as well but they can be heavy.

[Hunterman]

Candles have always been my got to fire starter.

Hunterman(Tony)

[Ridgeratt]

I'm sort of a senior and I can say there is nothing I haven't been able to get going when I use these. Just poke one in a slash pile and the next thing you know you have a fire. 3 of them really don't take up much room either


http://www.chiefsupply.com/orion-safety-3-pk-30-minute-road-flares.html?green=B93EBD4B-D9C5-514F-A6FC-F09CB11366AD

 

[Little Dave]

Iceman would probably pull up this one.  Good reference.
Hope he's still holding on.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,16079.0

[Smoke]

save the lint from your dryer... mix it with some paraffin and role it into golf ball size balls... put a match to it and it will burn a good 20-30 minutes.. plenty of time to get damp wood burning...

[2labs]

Construction adhesive, don't believe me that's ok toil away.

[HardCorpsHuntr]

It's easy to start a fire in snowy/rainy conditions, the hard part is keeping it going.  Like was stated above, gather as much wood as you think you'll need, then triple it.

Wood, even branches, needs to be split to get a good coal base going.  Hatchet, axe, or large good quality knife for batoning is needed.

I cut toilet paper rolls into 1" tubs, fill with hardwood shavings soaked in paraffin wax with a jute twine wick snaked into the shavings.  I let dry for several minutes and pick up the fire-nugget with the wick and dip the whole thing into paraffin wax several times for sealing and integrity.  I've been using these for two years and I don't think they can be beat.  With flint and steel, simply feather out the end of the wick (which contains some wax) and send some sparks into the jute.

A lighter and dried grass usually getting things going for me where I hunt, but I'm prepared for a tough fire start, just in case!
 

[2labs]

Toil!

[300rum]

I've always been able to find something dry under a downed log or in a tree well.  I always try to start a fire without using anything "extra" if I have the time.  Cotton Balls soaked in Vaseline work best for me.  I tear the cotton ball in half and only ever need half of it to get things going.  When the cotton ball tears it creates fine fibers coated in Vaseline, these start and hold the fire very well. 

Fire starting is a craft, it is easy to start a fire in the summer months.  In order to build your skill, build fires in bad weather, that is where you will learn the most.