Vaseline works well, as does vapor-rub. You can mix in various waxes, mineral spirits, kerosene, petrolatum to get the mix, temperature-viscosity curve, you want.

Point being that a gel is generally easiest to work with. A mix that is soft at -20F is a messy liquid at 80F and a mix that is handy at 80F is a solid block at -20F. Vaseline, by itself, soaked into cotton balls, assuming the Vaseline doesn't leak out and christen the contents of your pack, turns into a bottle of oil with cotton at the bottom in Florida summer heat.

A stopgap measure is to use more cotton and less Vaseline. But this means each ball burns a shorter time. Blending in wax, I add a splash of naphtha to get it all to mix and allow the mix to stand so the naphtha evaporates, allows you to have a stiffer mix at higher temperatures and still have a long-burning fire-starter. A lot depends on your comfort and ability at bathtub chemistry. Experiment with different stuff and find a formula that works for you.

An interesting variation that seems to burn a bit hotter is called pine tar. It is more like pine oil. It was a vital marine resource into the 20s and was used straight for keeping hemp ropes from rotting, stirred into oakum to caulk their boats, and combined with wax on both on boats and ashore to make canvas water resistant.

Not exactly ground breaking info. This kind of technique has been around for a long time. At least as long as I can remember, and I am closing in on 52.

But its a pretty basic kind of thing to have available, and not a bad thing to bring it up now and then.

I think a lot of people have no idea how easily common things like cotton balls, dryer lint, or TP can be ignited to get a fire started.

Adding the PJ is nice because it burns a lot longer and hotter then just the cotton ball, giving you time to get a fire going.

Personally I am kind of a fan of having the PJ in a container of its own, rather than premixing it into the cotton balls.

"That will burn for 5 minutes. If you can't build a fire around that, you have other problems."

Loved that line!

Yeah, this is definitely old news...

I usually have a few in a ziplock baggie for this purpose. I either use a firesteel (2-handed) or a Spark-Lite (1-handed) to light it.

I also tend to keep a bag of ready tinder/kindling helpers like birch bark or fatwood. Makes even a damp situation much much better.

IF you are into multi-purpose items, try using your Neosporin Plus and any hair, fabric, fuzz, lint, bandage, bark, string or even a COTTON BALL if you don't have any of the others.

I went to using dryer lint and carrying mineral oil in a small eyedropper bottle. It works just as well and I don't get vaseline all over my hands, that stuff is difficult to clean off.

For more bang, scraping some magnesium into the dryer lint starts it up first try and in wet conditions.

I have sometimes experimented with using lip balm in this roll. Seems to work in warmer temperatures when you can kneed it into a cotton ball. I suppose if the wax got too cold to work you could simply cut a chunk off with a knife, roll it in a bit of cotton cloth cut from the always useful, but expendable, bandanna and light the corner.

I find that lib balm is pretty handy, and even more handy if you get the stuff with a significant sunblock rating. A touch smeared on the nose, ears and lips makes a big difference preventing sunburn. I have also used lip balm to prevent rust and lubricate simple mechanisms like a the old P-38 and jackknife. Seems to work pretty well.

The combination of lip balm, sunblock, fire starter, lubricant and rust blocker covers a lot of ground in a small package.

I don't like the vaseline coated cotton balls. Too messy and not the easiest to remove the vaseline from your fingers when the temp is below freezing.

Carrying a few pieces of birch bark is a better alternative to cotton balls. The bark burns even when wet and can be found in much of NA which makes for an easily obtainable and eternal re-supply source.

Most times, though I carry a candle in my PSK. The candle can be cut into round slices about the width of a few quarters (coins) and the wick is easily lit for fire starting purposes. A 6" candle will make many fires and is cleaner and easier to work with then the vaseline coasted cotton balls.

I used candles as well for a number of years, but I finally tired of their continual melting and the resultant mess. This was in Arizona, where the pack often spent time in a vehicle. My preference now is for hand snaitizer (alcohol), which seems to work pretty well in warm to cool conditions. It probably isn't too good in very cold weather.

Ambient temperatures clearly are rather critical is determining the best, and most convenient, scheme to employ.

Check me on this:

Fluff up one end of the cotton ball.

Squirt some sanitizer on the other end of the cotton ball.

Light the dry end with the means of your choice.

Would that warm and vaporize the alcohol in the sanitizer, even in cold temps?