Nice approach to fire starting

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Nice approach to fire starting

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In my recent trip to the Wallawas one of my fellow hikers brought along a little fire starter with a flint. Since this was a fall hike we were getting a lot of dew in the form of frost on the ground and it led to more difficulty in starting a campfire.

What he did was to take a cotton ball and rub in some vaseline and store it in a sandwich bag. Then when it was time to make the fire he would stretch out the cotton and put it under the fire with some kindling. The vaseline made the cotton catch fire and it would stay lit for a while. Clever.

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Published by rwhitney in hints

Comments

100% cotton and vaseline is an excellent way to start fires in wet weather. I store mine in small film canisters. Here's another tip ... use a rubber inner tube from bicycle tires. Cut a small piece then light. The rubber burns very hot for a long time. It really helps starting fires in wet weather. It stores flat in your gear and weighs next to nothing. I always take a 1 to 2 foot length with me on trips.

Submitted on by J. Falk

What is your friend holding to light that fire? I've never seen anything like it.

Submitted on by Bill Rehm

It's a fire starter. If you rub the metal stick against the other piece it makes large sparks. If you go to Amazon.com and search for fire starter you will see a couple of devices like it. One I found was called "Genuine Issue Magnesium Survival Fire Starter"

Submitted on by rwhitney | website

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