What is the best (easiest to ignite) natural tinder to use that you have found to work quickly?

Dried leafs worked well (I had a fire going with 3 strikes, but other material doesn’t seem so fire friendly. Sawdust from my garage didn’t work as woodchips from a chainsaw (been laying in the backyard for a month so they were dry) did not want to light. I tried making a fizz stick with a knife and it lit with a lighter but not with a spark. Also very dry pine needles (all brown and dried out) did not want to do anything but smoke.


Drier lint is the best thing I have found, it works the first time every time, even if one spark hits it, it jumps into a flame. But I want to get good at it with found materials.

I just started a fire on our recent camping trip using dried grass. Actually started two fires this way to make sure the first one wasn't a fluke. The first started easier then the second. Don't really know why - used the same stuff and about the same size.

This is why I have 100 cottonballs soaked in vaseline in a plastic bag in my BOB. Starting a fire with a spark isn't as easy as it seems, especially if it's been raining.

"The paradox of firemaking is the greater the need, the more difficult it usually is." - Ray Mears

I get a fire out of dried grass and dead weeds in my back yard using the mishmash on the back side of a magnesium stick pretty much every time.

A great question but think it should be noted that it sometimes takes time to generate a flame using fire steel or mishmash or other spark starter. I can go 5-10 minutes with dry natural tinder. Something that is not often discussed or shown on 'survival' shows...though I think Les once did a fade away to denote time on an occasion when the tinder was wet.

+1 on the cat tails. It doesn't so much burn as go "FWUMP"! Milk weed pods, same thing.

Fuzzy stuff inside of a birds nest...

Birds?

You're taking a chance that they'll fly away and start a remote brush fire after you've lit them...

There's a world of difference between the old-style flints and the new firesteels.

I was given one of those new firesteels that creates an incredibly hot spark. Any finely shaved, reasonably dry wood catches right away.

The old flints create a much cooler spark. If I'm using one of those (or even a Bic lighter that's out of fluid) cattail heads are at the top of my list. Pocket lint from jeans works too: I've even shaved the inside of a pantleg with my knife to make it.

One thing that's good about practicing with an old-style flint: you learn to be meticulous about materials and preparation. If anything is awry, no fire.

I am wondering if anyone has tried the Maya Dust. Of course, it is not a naturally occurring material either.