I had an idea this morning that I tried, and EUREKA!!!
Take one quart zip-lok bag, add a teaspoon of vaseline (more or less) and a dozen cotton balls. Knead for a few minutes, fold and put in your hip pocket for two or three hours, and let body heat do the rest. the ratio and saturation seem to be JUST RIGHT. No mess, no double boiler, no sticky fingers, just a great batch of tinder <img src="images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" /> <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />.

Troy

Running a bit of an experiment in that area as well. I took an empty container that held Ecotrin. Pretty heavy duty white plastic bottle about 3-4 inches tall, strong tight screw on cap.
Stuffed it with cottonballs and then saturated with alcohol. Wondering how long it would take for the alcohol to evaporate, if it does at all.
Thought it would make a good fire starter.
Only two weeks into it and the container has lost no weight, so I assume the cap is pretty air tight.

As an alternative to cotton balls, I use q-tips.

They are smaller; cut in half, they are a wind proof match.

i never thought about making tinder out of cottonballs much till i found this great site awhile ago.

my question is when you add the vaseline (or before you do so) do you treat or soak the cotton with anything else to help it burn, like the previous alcohol idea ?

NYRAT, not necessarily. The cotton ball/vaseline mixture will burn just fine without any pre-treatment.

Biggest advice is to make sure that the 'cotton' balls that you are using are actually 100% cotton and not actually made out of polyester or something.

I made some small kits for my nephews who were going on a canoe trip.Took plastic straws cut to 3", crimped and hotmelted 1 end. Stuffed half full w cotton, squirt a small amount of vaseline in using a childs liquid med. syringe. Then I fill remainder w cotton, crimp and seal. I also seal 3 waterproofed matches w a small strip of emory cloth in a strw the same way. 2 or 3 of these sets are extremely light and fit anywhere.

That's a good idea .... I will have to prepare some like that .... <img src="images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Tanks.

use the Q-tips first before lighting them. the ear-wax is truely helpful in extending the burn time and increasing the heat output. Don't smell too good tho.... As an added benefit you will have nice clean ears listening for the crack of the branches as the rescue team comes to get you.

A Tip in the Event you may ever have Evaporation from that / any Bottle. And that's to First Lay Down some Plastic Across the Top, (Kitchen Bags, Saran Wrap Etc type thicknesses work Best), -Before Good and Snugly Tightening on your Lid. (Without, of course, "Scooching" Up the Plastic too much while at it)

I've for Years Successfully Done this, for a Nearly Quart Sized Glass Jar of Atlantic Ocean Water that I have. From my First Trip to the Ocean in Mid 86. It is a 32 Ounce Glass Jar, that I'm referring to. From some Long Ago Orange Juice that I once Enjoyed!

At First I just Put the Lid on Good and Snug. That Did the Job for a Wowl, maybe a Year or so. Of course Lid Corrosion eventually Developed, Across Much of it's Center / Top Area. (Lid is Metal). Around the Time, I also Noticed there had been some Small Amount of Evaporative Loss. Perhaps a Quarter or a Third of an Inch Drop in Water Level. (The Better Part of a Centimeter) I Wasn't Surprised, I Expected Something of the Sort to eventually Occur.

Thats when I Delidded Enuf to Lay Across my Plastic. I again Snugly Lidded it. And it's been Working like a Charm for a Decade and a Half Plus!, Ever Since! And with Corrosive Salt Water!

Except for Several Months when it had been recently been Laying on it's Side. (I'll Factually Report my Warts here as well!) Then, also to No Surprise, there had been some Minor Loss / Leakage from around the Top Plastic / Lid. Perhaps another 3/4 Inch had Leaked Out, over these 4 to 5 Months or so. Ocean Salt had Crystallized Out onto the Side, Etc. But Had it Not somehow got set on it's Side for a Good Number of Months, -It would Still be Performing over a Decade and a Half's Complete Yeoman Service! And This is Ocean Salt Water we're Talking About!

It Had so Worked All of this Time, -Even With a Substantially Corroded Lid. (No Holes however, Anybit)

I could and perhaps Shud now Rechange both the Plastic and Lid, but as yet havn't bothered to. Now that it's again Standing Upright, It Seems to be Holding Fort Perfectly Well, Without any Further Water Loss! It's been Restored to it's Upright Position (of Prominence and Honor!) for a Good Several Months now.

(It is Sentimentally Special, It is from my First Experience at the Ocean, Something I'd been previously Itching to Do somewhat, All my Life! And I Do now Have an Actual Part of the Atlantic Ocean!, I Have Taken that Back with me!)

(Try Doing This for Soil as Well!, from some Sentimentally Special Enuff Place(s) as you're Going or Been To! I so Have a Wyler's Container Full of that Distinctively Ubiquitious Red Georgia Soil!, that I've Taken Back with me from the Atlanta Area. I yet Have a Physical Piece of my Trip and Experience!, Still Here with me! If you're too so Inclined, Here is the Idea! Take some Water, Rocks, or Soil!, Back from your Trip with you!)

Now Had I Plasti-Lidded Up at the Very Beginning, and Didn't Momentarily Lay it on it's Side and Forget About it!, in an October Reorganization,-

-Then I Dare to say that there would have been Absolutely NO Loss!, Since August 1986! Right Up to Today's 2004!

As it's Happened from these Two "Rare in the Time Stretch" Causes, Evapo-Slow Leakage Losses, have been Less than an Inch, Out of maybe some 7 Inches Total. And that concerns the even Smaller Diameter Top of the Jar. ( = even Less Total Loss)

In a Way, I was Testing How Well my Old Plastic-Lid Seal, would Still Hold Up, in Preventing Further Loss. By my Not yet Making any Replacement. And it's once again Continueing to Hold out Perfectly Well! And This once again is Ocean Salt Water we're Talking About! A Greater Challenge / Test, than Had it been Fresh Water.

This may be Pretty Elementary and Common Knowledge, -You and Others may Already Well Know of it. But I Thot I would Share This in any event, in the Event Anyone Doesn't Know, or would be Helpful.

Great if you Have No Alcohol Evaporative Loss, even without This. But if it Shud Happen that you Do, you may want to Try Interposing such Plastic.

This Simple Method is a Good Way to Entirely Prevent Any Evaporation Loss!, of even Salty Seawater!, and for Years Upon Years Indefinitely! Beyond Only your Alcohol or Other Fluid Retention Applications, This is a Great Method for Preserving Seawater Itself!, for whatever Reason one may want to Do such.

(True, I Don't say anything about Vaseline-Cottonball Tinder here, but I Do Comment on the Related and Mentioned Matter of Evaporation Avoidance in Lidded Jars / Bottles.)

[color:"black"] [/color] [email]Skater[/email]

What about that old adage; "When cleaning out your own ear canal, never put anything smaller than an elbow in it"?

I have a friends mother with 2 perforated ear drums because the dummy doing it figured it was safe to flush them out with hydrgen proxide but didn't realize that the squeeze bulb she was using was not supposed to be in the ear canal or that it should be gentlely pressed when flushing ears and as a consequense thereof, she perforated both ear drums by flushing with the tip in the ear canal and putting way too much force on the bulb.

Be careful with the ears!

Bountyhunter