Your favorite backcountry fire starters

[huntnnw]

I carry cut pieces of pitch wood...guaranteed to light no matter how wet and will burn for quite some time to get a fire going.

[ICEMAN]

I carry a few options. Really like the ol' vaseline and cottonball trick.

[Bob33]

Vaseline cotton balls.

(If you need to light them, why are they called fire "starters"?  )

[bobcat]

Matches.

[JimmyHoffa]

Coughlan's Fire Starters....like big matches with waxy-paper sticks.

[Pathfinder101]

Matches.

 

Matches are the worst option; 
1.  get wet and they're done
2.  they run out
3.  rattle around too much in their case and fall apart
4.  "expire" with age

I carry both vaseline/cotton and pitch wood in my kit.  Magnesium match for the spark

[7mag.]

I use dryer lint smothered in vaseline. They burn for quite a while, and catch fire easily. I also carry a Zippo, a windproof lighter, and water proof matches, along with flint and magnesium. I've been stuck in the woods once, cold and I had only a few matches, and couldn't find anything dry to light. Never again.

[jaymark6655]

Vaseline cotton balls.

(If you need to light them, why are they called fire "starters"?  )

  maybe fire catalyst?  fire enhancers? tender? fire lube?

I like my propane lighter, usually I can always find something dry by looking in the right places.  I really lover birch bark, that stuff seems like it could burn underwater.

[Miles]

I just carry a bic lighter.  Never had any problems getting a fire started, even after it snowed/rained all night/day.  There's always dry stuff in the woods, sometimes you just have to look a little harder.

[RadSav]

I usually have multiple choices in the pack.  Never without the vaseline and cotton balls and a couple Coughlan's Fire Starters (I'm going to try that dryer lint idea).  Used to use cheddar cheese and disposable shop rags, but I tend to get hungry and eat my firestarter that way.

Anyone who thinks only a Bic lighter is going to be a good idea when they are minutes away from Hypothermia should think again.  Looking for good dry firestarter in the woods under that condition is risky too.  How much damage are you going to do looking for good dry firestarter if you have a compound leg fracture or something equally as serious?  Volunteer for search and rescue...you will find that not everyone loosing life on the mountain was unprepared.

An extra two or three ounces in your pack is well worth it.  If not for you for your family.  As a Christian I have very little fear of death.  Yet I am terrified of leaving my family to search for me only to have others pack my lifeless body off the mountain.  It is devastating on loved ones.  And trust me it is not too easy on the S&R folks either.

[Miles]

Anyone who thinks only a Bic lighter is going to be a good idea when they are minutes away from Hypothermia should think again.  Looking for good dry firestarter in the woods under that condition is risky too.  How much damage are you going to do looking for good dry firestarter if you have a compound leg fracture or something equally as serious?  Volunteer for search and rescue...you will find that not everyone loosing life on the mountain was unprepared.

Why would anyone wait until they are "minutes away from hypothermia" to start building a fire?  How about looking at getting a fire going before it's down to the wire?  If you wait until you can't physically do it, you're an idiot.


Sure I always hear the "what if this".  Well what happens if a tree falls on your head?  Are you now going to wear a helmet while hunting now just in case?   What happens if a loose rock rolls down and pins your leg against another?  Are you goint to pack around the Jaws of Life just in case?


A little common sense can go a long ways...  So does a simple bic lighter.

[PolarBear]

Magnesium and trioxane.

[NWBREW]

Hate to admit it but a bic and birch bark works for me.

[PolarBear]

Hate to admit it but a bic and birch bark works for me.

I started a fire for my daughter last month out in the woods in Republic with a lighter and birch bark.   I wanted to show her which tree was our "fire friend".  She thought it was cool.  My Dad use to carry pitch wood or as he called it "fat lighter" when he was chasing moonshiners in Tennessee and North Carolina.  He would spend weeks in the woods and swore that it was the only thing that could set a wet cat on fire!   

[RadSav]

When I first started hunting the back country about 25 years ago I'd fill empty 12 gauge shot shells with saw dust and fir pitch.  That combined with a few 1/2" pieces of presto logs in a plastic bag and I was set to go.  That stuff would light with just a whisper of flame.  It did very well at getting wet wood to light. 

Never had the chance to try birch bark.  I'll have to see what that's all about.  Sounds like a fun reason to get away for a camp out!