john; Thanks very much for your response. Not having been a Boy Scout when I was younger, I was pre-occupied with just getting a flame going. Now that you mention it, although I haven't tried the vaseline-soaked cotton balls, I did try spraying a cotton ball with Deet-based insect repellent. Whereas the dry cotton ball burned for about 5 seconds, the repellent-soaked one burned for a little over half a minute, although it gave off a rather oily smoke.<br><br>Otoh, my PSK contains both a tea-light candle and a hexamine tablet (plus 4 strike-anywhere matches dipped in paraffin, plus a flat Fresnel plastic lens), so I guess I'm thinking along more minimalist lines - i.e. if I have the presence of mind to bring a Wendy's straw stuffed with vaseline-soaked cotton wool, chances are I'll also have a Bic lighter, or maybe even my pocket Butane torch (with the Piezo-electric sparker :-)<br><br>I think sometimes, when engaging in these discussions, I forget to make a distinction between hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. At the one extreme, if I'm lost I would like to have my pocket Butane torch, my handheld GPS and my handheld aviation radio; at the other extreme, I want to be able to survive even if I've lost everything but the clothes on my back and my car keys. I guess carrying a small tube of vaseline-soaked cotton wool falls somewhere in the middle.