Fire!!

[rm1249]

I saw this recently on 'Survivorman' on the Discovery Channel:
Gently break the glass bulb of a flashlight without breaking the filaments inside, Once the glass is removed replace the 'bulb' -- now only the insides of the bulb in the flash light, then gently place light, dry tinder against the filaments and turn on. On the episode the fire started immediately.

I am making a trip to the store this weekend to pick up a cheap flashlight to give this a try, I'll let be sure to update whether this is a plausible option for fire-starting.

rm1249

[msm28145]

To get the spark on my tinder the easy choice is a Bic lighter. But I always carry my "metal match" with my Leatherman at all times just in case that lighter doesn't want to work.

My personal favorite man made tinder is Trioxine. You can get head high flames with one bar of Trioxine and soaking wet "squaw wood" in just a few minutes. Another great multi use tinder is Cotton balls and vaseline. Great for starting a fire and also good to have for chapped lips after a few dehydrated days in the field.

[Waymaker]

I carry a little bit of jute twine for tinder. It has never failed me, even when wet. I soaked a length of it in a jar of water for a couple of days, took it out, wrapped it around my hand, took that big loop off and took two sticks and twisted all the water out of it I could, and then immediately frayed it into a little bird's nest, and it caught right away from a ferro rod spark. I tested it to the assumed point of failure, and it didn't.

Way

[Dozer523]

Originally Posted by rm1249

I saw this recently on 'Survivorman' on the Discovery Channel:
Gently break the glass bulb of a flashlight without breaking the filaments inside, Once the glass is removed replace the 'bulb' -- now only the insides of the bulb in the flash light, then gently place light, dry tinder against the filaments and turn on. On the episode the fire started immediately.

I am making a trip to the store this weekend to pick up a cheap flashlight to give this a try, I'll let be sure to update whether this is a plausible option for fire-starting.

rm1249

While you're at the store, pick up some candles cuz your flashlight won't work anymore. Are you sure you didn't get this idea from Myke Hawke?

[ZonieDiver]

Hey, if you're going to take a flashlight, why not just buy a little waterproof one and fill it with matches? Then you won't have to try to carefully break the glass bulb, without damaging the filament, all while your hands are trembling from cold-wet. Of course, I ain't "Survivorman" or Myke Hawke!

[Toaster]

I like to have a Bic lighter or two, and generally carry a camp hatchet.

A really nice tinder is small pieces of wood from a pine tree stump. It lights when wet, burns quickly and hot, absolutely wonderful.

Hit the stump with an axe and get a piece off, if it smells like pine oil, you've got it. Leaves sap on your axe head which is a pain to clean off, but what do you expect with pine?

[medic&commo]

Carried a 'metal match', BIC lighter and various kindling (plain / soaked patches; pine shavings sometimes dipped in paraffin) in a zip-lock bag.

After reading the other posts, I see I'm behind the times and there are more sure fire ways (pun intended), more elegant methods.
Always learning, thanks.
m&c

[Eyes Wide Open]

When camping / hiking, I always keep fire steel and a small medication bottle with a table spoon of vaseline and the rest stuffed full of cotton balls. I usually use these as a last resort or when severe laziness kicks in. Normally, I'll try to grab birch bark when I can, which when shredded makes phenomenal tinder. If not, I feather a dry stick, usually pine, and use the fire steel.

[Mistwalker]

As has already been stated here multiple times, it really doesn't get more simple than the bic. I have been studying fire craft all my life. Fire was my area of responsibility as a kid when my family did commercial fishing and trapping. I would be dropped at our chosen camp or work site, and I was to have the fire up and going good and hot by the time my father and brother returned with very cold wet hands, regardless of the weather. I got pretty good with fire at a young age, but it became a subject of serious study after dealing with frost bite while in an unfamiliar environment and nearly losing half my toes.

I never go to the woods without at least one bic, but mechanical parts can fail and fuel can leak so I also always have at least one ferro rod fire starter on me. Not all ferro rod fire starters are created equally. The LMF are ok, I've went through a few in the course of teaching classes. My favorite standard style ferro rod is the polySTRIKER from Exotac Inc. They throw awesome sparks. My wife had no trouble getting fire started using birch bark tinder the first time she used one.