Round 3

I tested a few more ideas from this subject thread today. The reason why? While many people have some ideas how/what to use as for fire starter/tinders, there also many people who have not tested these ideas at home or out in the field as practice. With this testing the last couple of days it is plain to see that these ideas for fire starters/tinders are not going to help when you need it the most.

Of all the items I tested, there is only two that I always carry in the backpack, camping gear etc and that is a candle of some sort and a small bottle of hand sanitizer. All the rest that I tested, are in my opinion are not worth the time and effort to carry.

I would think that the biggest suprise to people is the complete uselessness of PJ coated cotton....whether it be cotton balls, cotton from the end of Q-Tips or a piece of old t-shirt. As you will see once again below, once PJ coated cotton gets any water on it, it will not light again. The old adage that cotton kills now also has a new meaning... at least to me.

Once again I would like to see other people's results of any testing they have done. My testing is only person's method, your testing may provide different results.

All the products tested below were purchased new today (needed them anyway) to ensure that no old products tempered the results.

In the below photos, you can see that I don't have that "used to be" nice plate from last night and the backdrop is not a clean white counter top either.....Don't ask, but taking test lab photos outdoors suddenly appeals to me.

Chapstick
Chery flavor was all the drugstore had.


As you can see, I cut the chapstick up into small pieces and tried to light it. All would do is melt then harden up somewhat just like candle wax.



Blistex Lip Balm.


Some people said lip balm would work, however it will not burn/catch at all, instead it eventually melted to a liquid.


PolySporin Ointment


I seen a couple of people mention the ointment makes a good fire tinder but I had no luck with it.


Vaseline...back to this again. The Vaseline I tested last night expired in early 2006. To be fair, I purchased a new container of it today.


Just like last night, no luck in lighting it up with a match.


Using a piece of cotton t-shirt with plenty of PJ on it, will light. ...but don't be fooled. It is not the PJ that catches, it is the cotton that actually burns and melts the PJ away as seen in the small puddle on the right foreground of the photo. Notice above the burning cloth, Less then 1-1/2 TBSP of water is being slowly dribbled directly onto the material and flames.


This little bit of water was enough for the cotton to soak up and kill the flame. Again after squeezing the small amount of water, the cotton will not light due to being wetted with the water above. This also serves to show that the PJ is not being helpful in starting a fire....which is contrary to many claims on many websites and forums that cotton whatever covered in PJ will burn even when wet.