Just a bit different way to make them:

JERMM's Outside

It looks like it will ignite from a spark if you tear them.

These look very promising. I have recently experienced the often mentioned problem of wax candles melting in a survival kit (in one instance it gummed up a mini lighter so bad it wouldn't ignite - glad THAT didn't happen in a REAL survival situation) which has me re-thinking including anything with wax in a survival kit. Any idea if these will have similar problems? It appears that simply putting these in a zip loc type baggy will alleviate the problem of the wax getting on the rest of your stuff, but I am also wondering if the melting will diminish the use of these as fire starters?

At the end of the article, he says there are lighter options. I'm curious. What other options are lighter with this long of a burn time???

My daughter made some of those very things for me recently. We used them as I taught her how to build a fire. They worked well. You have to tear them to expose fibers, which you then light. We used a Bic so I'm not entirely sure they would light easily with a firesteel. I suspect the long, juicy fibers of a PJ cotton ball would light easier with a firesteel than the wafers.

In the JERRM's article they timed the wafers at 4.5 minutes. My homemade PJ cotton balls burn about the same amount and are easier to make. I do think the volume of material (and weight) is about the same between the wafers and the PJ balls.

The only advantages I see to the wafers is if you want something that packs flat and doesn't make a mess on everything it touches.

Takes about 30 seconds to squeeze a blob of vasoline into a sandwich bag with a dozen or so cotton balls and squish it all together.

Less time wasted for the sake of trying to hang on to 25 cents worth of old candle stubs. Still a good idea for a a rainey day maybe.

I have carried something similar (4 inch square of t shirt material soaked in wax) for 40 or so years. I think these may be better for lighting with a steel. I have tried mine with a fire steel, which did not work till I put a pile of magnesium shavings or other tinder on it. Since I always use a match, that matters little for normal use and is only somewhat less speedy for survival use.

They pack flat in a zip lock bag, are not messy and work well. I will have to try the pads.

Respectfully,

Jerry

p.s. They seem to be easier to use than PJ cotton balls in extremely cold weather.

Large and too bulky for my taste. I'm happy with my tinder cubes. About the size of a sugar cube (which I can't seem to find anywhere anymore) and burn about 12 minutes. Still working a few kinks out of them.