One of my faves, Byrd. Thanks!

Welcome Snake Doctor!

Awesome idea, Canoedogs!

You definitely won't,as long as you don't make a career in the National park Service or volunteer for SAR. Don't climb any mountains either.

Just a bit about matches. The normal garden variety matches available in the 60's and 70s were much better than what is available now. Today a mini-Bic is my normal igniter, with REI Stormproofs, or equivalent, as a backup. I solved the problem of keeping the fire going in pouring rain and other epic storms by simply carrying a gasoline stove, which was the first item I bought when I signed up at REI. Now I carry a canister stove fairly often. We have eaten warm meals in 80 mph winds on Denali, using a well sheltered stove (yes, we cooked in the vestibule).

You can keep a fire going in adverse conditions by building it big, much bigger than it needs to be, shielding the flames with big logs and bark, etc. and working very hard. A very handy implement is a short length of 1/4" rubber tubing. You can fan coals and incipient flames wonderfully and speed the blaze along extraordinarily well with this gadget. A stove, any stove, is soooooo much better than an open fire in any but ideal conditions. Pay attention to Hiking Jim - he speaks with straight tongue.

Frisket mentioned potassium permanganate and glycerine. The combination works very well, but I wonder what happens if the two substances get together accidentally. I just don't want to find out how well my pack burns....

Another great technology for fire starting is a carbide lamp, but those are just about extinct these days. Too bad - both heat and light, and fairly lightweight.

Here's a fun video about fire...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=bj289XVoQTA&NR=1

Haven't seen this series before. Looks like there are 12 episodes. Nice. Thanks, Byrd!

The PP doesn't know if it's an accident or not! When the two meet, there's gonna be some fire. GoingGear.com sells some capsules of PP, they really appear to be just plain old gelatine capsules! I wouldn't use them for any reason! I keep the PP in one BSB (baby soda bottle) and the glycerine in another one, and I keep them isolated with some stuff in between them. Probably the BSBs seal plenty tight enough that it's not an issue, just playing it safe.

One other method I'm contemplating is the PP in one sealed aluminum fob and the glycerine in another with both stacked into one tube. Just have to make certain there's no leakage, but realistically both would have to leak to cause issues.

I'm purchasing a large commercial style chamber vacuum sealer within the next week or so (a Vacmaster VP-215C). This will seal retort pouches. I expect it will give me a few more options for packing PP & glycerine.

Canoedogs - that is exactly the sort of thing I had in mind - very nice. When the SHTF, I need a quick fire and the ability to dry out whatever fuel may be within easy reach - I don't want to have to go foraging for dry wood as hypothermia sets in.

I've started keeping a pack of hand-held boating flares in my snowmobiles. They work well both for signaling and for fire-starting.



I know from experience they're much easier to use than matches or a lighter when you've lost a lot of fine motor control from hypothermia. (As a related experience, I also learned that it's entirely possible for it to rain when the outside temperature is well below freezing) .

Thinking about the OP's well taken point, I have been thinking about trying Coghlins Fire Paste.

Seems to me it could be useful in drying out wet kindling, emergency torch, maybe some thawing tasks, or priming stoves.

Have any of you tried this stuff? Does it take a spark?