I have started keeping the WetFire tinder in a relatively airtight container of some sort. Either a small Ziploc baggie, a pill bottle, Lock 'n' Lock, etc. Even vacuum sealed a batch with the Foodsaver. Hopefully that negates some of the problems of air exposure degrading the tinder.

I have for many (won't tell you how many :-) used old T-shirts, cut into 3 to 4 inch squares and dipped into hot paraffin. Not as good as a tinder, but a GREAT fire starter. Works when wet, never dries out (I have some that I have used after 30 years) and can't be broken. Starts well with a match, or a little Tinder Quick or a pile of shavings when using a metal match.

The best,

Jerry

I don't think a ziploc is going to do it for Wetfire. If the packaging of the Wetfire is compromised in anyway, that's all she wrote; you've got no fire starter. I think a small tin or small tupperware container to protect the packaging might work, or as you say a pill bottle. It pretty much has to be hard sided in other words.

HJ

As a Multi-use item,I treat cotton balls with siliconized Mink oil rather than Vaseline.It is just as flammable,smells good,last's forever,floats,& you can treat your Boots/seams of boots/leather products,& Still have working tinder!Though as would Vaseline,I would NOT use Mink oil as a remedy for Monkey Butt,lol!

I'm a big fan of the Tinder Qwik! Usually I cut on in half and use that to start a fire. Other times, I simply use the Vaseline and cotton ball trick. I often have some birch bark on hand to help "accelerate" the fire to a nice temp.

In addition to the spark lite, I also carry a Firesteel. I really like it and throws a nice shower of sparks.

I've not read all the posts in the thread; so forgive me if someone mentioned this already; you can get the same product as the wetfire for a fraction of the cost at home depot or hardware stores called "weber firestarter cubes". more, larger and cheaper!

Nice. Thanks for the tip.

HJ

I have a small farm with pastures surrounded with trees so I always get lots of windfall to pick up and burn every spring. This year was especially wet here in the PNW and the Weber fire starter cubes never failed me to get a fire going fast. I did pick up a package of the Wetfire (fortunately the new packages) for my kits. The only downside of the Weber cubes is that it’s not individually wrapped, but I think it's exactly the same stuff. Best fire starter I've used by far when it's wet.

The Weber stuff lights easily and burns hot, and it burns for quiet awhile. I keep it in my pack just in case a cotton ball isn't enough or the cotton gets wet.

I've got Tinder-Quik, but for those difficult fires, I like to use an Esbit tab to get it started.