Never had PJ soaked cotton balls dry out. Like many others here, I carry at least 3 different methods for starting a fire, and multiple tinders as well. You may want to consider a Blastmatch, it works very well for me. A little larger than most ferrocerium rods with strikers, but worth it to me. The Blastmatch can ignite dry grass and leaves, it produces such large and hot sparks. In addition to PJ cotton balls, I like the Esbit cubes and Sure-2-burn. Crumbling an Esbit cube will allow it to ignite from sparks. Open the Sure-2-burn and the contents will take a spark. Tinder quick is also excellent and available in most outdoor stores.

And with all that said, practice, practice, practice. All the best tools and materials in the world won't help if you don't know how to use them, in any environment.