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How To Identify the Best Fire Starter For Survival

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Whether you want to start a fire in your fireplace at home or at your camping site in the middle of the woods, you want something else to rely on other than matches.

That’s why learning what the best fire starter is for survival is very important. It will ensure that you’re always having a roaring fire at the end of the day with half the effort of rubbing two sticks together.

They’re also great to keep in a bug out bag when you need to be on the move but can’t afford to lug around a lot of fuel.

There are many different kinds of survival fire starters to choose from. It’s best that you have several with you in case one or the other fails. Having a fire not only helps to keep you warm but can do a lot more:

  • cook any food you catch
  • dry your clothes
  • boost morale
  • scare predators away
  • signal for rescuers

Best Fire Starter For Survival

Let’s look at what the best fire starter is for survival situations.

There are two basic kinds of fire starters:

  1. igniters
  2. accelerants

Igniters are what provide the initial flame and/or heat that get your kindling going. Accelerants help a small flame grow into a larger one. Many of these survival fire starters will be divided into these two categories, as they are listed.

Igniters

Bow Drill

This is what you would normally think of (and have seen on television many times) when you hear the word fire starter. It is considered one of the oldest forms of building a fire and involves the use of friction.

By rubbing two pieces of wood together, heat is created between the surfaces. Over time, it will get hot enough to get a fire going.

One of the great things about this method is that there are very few tools required. However, the downside to this is that it requires a lot of practice and effort to master. And in some cases, you may not have the energy to use such means every time you need a fire.

Add the wet elements of the environment, and getting a fire going is next to impossible.

Ferro-Rod Strikers

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These kinds of survival fire starters are also quite old and date back to the Iron Age. Flint is used to strike at steel or iron, and the shaved pieces become superheated from the friction.

Applied directly to cloth or tinder, these small sparks can ignite the fabric and have a fire going in no time.

Learn more about how to start a fire with flint and steel.

Instead of flint and steel, the more modern versions of these use ferrocerium alloy, as it creates longer-burning sparks that will ignite much more readily.

A few upsides to this method are that it can be used even in moist conditions, doesn’t take up a lot of space, and is very light. However, it does take some technique and practice to get the striking method down.

That means it’s important to become familiar with it first before you take it out into the field. One of the most recommended and affordable of these kinds of fire starters is Survival Spark.

Fire Piston

This is also known as a fire syringe or a slam rod fire starter, and it uses the properties of thermodynamics to work.

It consists of a thick-walled tube with an opening at one end. Tinder is inserted into the tube, and then a rod is used to prevent air from escaping.

Pushing in the rod quickly causes the air inside to be compressed rapidly to the point that it creates a lot of heat, causing the tinder to ignite. The burning tinder is then quickly removed to get a fire going.

The fire piston has very few moving parts, so you don’t have to worry about it breaking, and it is also quite portable.

However, the rubber seal can break down over time, and that can make the entire fire starter useless. It also requires some practice to strike the rod properly, and it doesn’t work on all kinds of tinder.

Magnifying Lens

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Simply manipulating and tilting the magnifying glass at the right angle can create a hot point of light, as long as you have some bright sunlight.

The smaller the point of light you can make, the faster your kindling will start to burn. What’s most important is patience.

A magnifying glass is small and portable enough to keep in your pocket, and there are no moving parts to worry about.

On the downside, it won’t work at night or on a cloudy day, so it’s best to have another fire starter with you as a backup just in case.

Battery and Steel Wool

This is good to have in an emergency when nothing else is working for you.

Simply take a piece of steel wool and touch both contact points of a 9-volt battery to it. It will ignite quickly and provide enough heat to start anything you’re using as tinder.

It works by creating a current through the fibers of the steel wool and causing them to burn. It’s easy to pack, it’s waterproof, and it doesn’t require any skills or practice to get going.

On the other hand, you’re going to need to keep some kindling on hand to burn immediately, as the steel wool does not produce much of a flame.

Accelerants

Pitch and Fatwood

Pitch is tree resin.  The most commonly used and most successful tree resin is that which you can get from trees in the pine family.

By gathering some pitch from live trees, usually through old wounds or broken branches, you can help to keep your fire going as well as make it bigger.

Pitch does require some exposure to an open flame for a very long time before it will ignite. But once ignited, it will burn for a very long time. This can be used to help dry moist wood or even burn wet wood when you’re desperate.

Fatwood is another option, and you can get it from dead trees. The flammable resins have already settled at the base of the tree, near the heartwood.

Digging into an old stump can get you some good fatwood; you’ll know you hit pay dirt when you get wood that smells similar to turpentine.

Both are easy to obtain if you’re camping in the woods and are very effective in cold or wet conditions. However, you can’t pack it with you, as the stickiness will cling to the insides of your backpack and will melt when it gets too warm.

Wax and Fibers

There are many survival kits that suggest using candle wax to prepare for your BOB, and they couldn’t be more right. Candle wax, or paraffin wax, burns for a long time and is easy to transport using the right materials.

One of the easiest ways to make your own firestarter is to take an egg carton, some drier lint, sawdust, or cotton balls, and cover the whole thing with wax.

Not only does the wax help everything else to burn, but it keeps out any moisture while you’re traveling, so you won’t have to worry about your materials getting wet.

Another method is what is called a shepherd’s lighter. It’s a 6-inch piece of jute twine that has been coated in paraffin wax.

It is then inserted into a brass hose connector, and the ends are frayed out in order to expose the fibers and get it burning, usually with a flint and steel spark.

The hose connector acts as a choke so that you can control the size of the flame, only using as much as you need so you’re not wasting the twine.

The great thing about the use of wax and fibers is that wax is cheap and seals out any moisture. It makes it easy for you to prepare for your trip beforehand, so you won’t struggle with getting your fire started. However, you do have to remember to prepare them beforehand.

Gauze and Hand Sanitizer

Gauze can serve another purpose other than just cleaning wounds.

Hand sanitizer is also something many people keep on hand, usually in their car. And because of the high alcohol content, sanitizer is great for getting fires started. Simply fold over a thick square of gauze and saturate it with hand sanitizer.

Once it’s ignited, it will burn clean for a long time, helping to get your tinder ignited. These are items you’d probably bring with you anyway on your camping trip, so there isn’t much need to set aside time to prepare beforehand.

However, there is no protection against moisture, unless you keep everything in a waterproof bag.

Petroleum Jelly and Cotton Balls

Petroleum jelly and cotton balls can also serve as accelerants to help you get your fire going. A bag of cotton balls and a jar of petroleum jelly can get you a long way. And they’re both relatively inexpensive.

Simply melt the jelly, dunk the cotton balls into the liquid, and let them dry. Then, when you need them, simply pull out a few fibers and apply them to your source of fire. Each one can burn for as long as 20 minutes.

One downside to this is that the jelly is slightly viscous at room temperature. So it’s best to keep the dipped cotton balls in their own special bag. This will ensure that it doesn’t get all over your stuff.

Fire Safety

When it comes to getting your fire going, it’s important to pay attention, plan ahead, and always practice good fire safety.

There are plenty of forest fires every year that are started through careless practices. That means a loss of habitat for many of the creatures that live there. These fires can also spread quickly and even consume the homes of those who may live in the nearby area.

Always remember to put out your fires completely once you are done. You can do this by kicking sand onto your embers and ensuring that there is no smoke when you’re leaving your site or going to bed for the night.

Starting a fire is an important skill to learn. Check out this guide to the best fire starter for survival. #firestarter #survival #preparedness #camping #shtf