I must have read a hundred posts about vaseline soaked cotton balls. No doubt they are a dependable fire starter but what a mess! They ignite readily with a ferro rod or a flint source. I have tried them and compared them to the military Trioxene tablets. There's a glut of Trioxane tabs on eBay and can be had for about fifteen cents each. The new ones, about three and one half inches long are scored twice to break so you effectively have three for a nickel each. They put out an instant very hot, blue flame like propane. The old ones, a small tab, burned for three minutes and twenty seconds. The new longer ones are said to burn about 10 minutes. For the uninformed, these tabs were made to heat MRE's or for use in Esbit type stoves. Additionally, they are individually packed in a sealed foil individual package. Clean, waterproof and ready for use. The only thing I haven't tried is to ignite one with a ferro rod. I doubt that it would light with the sparks.
Anybody tried it? I urge you to try one in place of the messy cotton and I don't think you will go back. They WILL ignite immediately with any flame source. Would also be great for heating the interior of a stalled vehicle but keep in mind that they put out monoxide so be sure and allow proper ventilation. Go to eBay, select "All categories" and type in "Trioxane". Search around until cost plus shipping figures out around 15 cents each. That's about as cheap as you will find there.

I would be interested in hearing some other opinions on these wonder tablets. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Boone

Trioxane "tablets" were originally intended to heat C-rations, which came in cans. I got out of the USMC just before MREs replaced C-rats. All you needed to heat food was a small trench in the dirt & your heat tabs. Heat tabs put out nasty toxic smelling fumes. I wouldn't want to burn one in an enclosed space for heat.

I've lit one with just a ferro rod, but it took a couple attempts. If you have a magnesium bar attached to the ferro rod then that will certainly light it.

You can get a case(36 bars) for less than $5 at Brigade Quatermasters, or 108 bars for $13. I don't use them regularly but I don't remember them smelling particularly bad. At this price I think it's definitely worth keeping some boxes in your car and a case or several in your house.

riedmur,

Same here; the army still had C-rations when I left in 1986. The TRIOXANE tablets seem very similar to Wet-Fire tablets.

Let's have a TRIOXANE vs Coghlan's Emergency Tinder burn off! Expose it to water and light with a ferro rod. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Yeah, so we can finally agree on the best, cheap firestarter to use for our kits! <img src="/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

I can tell you from experience that it is impossible to light an Esbit tablet using sparks. But those tablets are a different formulation from Triox. Just to let you know that they are NOT the same.

One trick I learned from my days in The Corps was to sprinkle salt on the burning tablet. It gets rid of the noxious odor. You still have to be concerned about carbon monoxide as the salt doesn't change that.

Perhaps they have improved the tabs since you got out of the military. I burned one of the old 1 5/8 inch tabs in the kitchen sink recently and I didn't detect any foul odor. In fact, no odor at all and no smoke. Just a hot, blue flame that, to me, was very impressive.

Again, I caution anyone buying them to be sure you are not getting the old tabs which were less than half the size of the current version.

Nonetheless, thanks for your input.

Boone

Just got a Blastmatch the other dayand I tried it out last week on a hike. The trioxane caught the first time. One tab (one third of a block) gives plenty of time to get your fire started, assuming you have the proper amount of dry kindling. If your tinder is dry, a few shavings are enough. It certainly allows fire-making more certain than using field tinder alone.
I include Trioxane in my kit for both fire making and fuel for an Esbit stove.

If it's to be a test let's make it complete

Wet Fire Tinder
Spark Lite Tinder
Vasoline, Cotton
Coughlins Tinder
Shavings
etc ???

Woodsloafer, clear something up for me about the size of these new tabs. I see several eBay auctions that give the size of the tabs as 3 1/2 X 1 1/2. Looking at those advertised by Brigade Quartermaster, they give the size as 2 1/4 X 1 1/4.

What size are you using? Either is larger than the old tab which was 1 5/8 X 1 1/4. I have several of them.

Thanks.

One more to add to the list is the old boy scout firestarter made from dryer lint, old candle stubs, and a carboard egg carton.

I've experimented with all of the above and my conclusion is that the egg carton are the best at starting my charcoal up when I am out cooking with my dutch ovens. If they do the best job for that, then they should be superior to anything else for getting a real fire going. They are bulkier than any of the rest, but they are also the least expensive.

Couglan's tinder works pretty good too, and the Triox tabs got the job done at the last elk camp I worked. Still, them egg carton firestarters are just a tad more reliable and the flame is just that much bigger that the charcoal seems to light up better with it, especially in a wind.

Do the egg carton/Lint/Wax starters catch a flame very well from a spark?
I'll add them to my list.
Also, I have to order the Coughlins Tinder from REI. Will Take a few.
Thanks

They can, but you have to engineer them just a bit to get the right proportion of lint and wax at the point where it will catch the sparks. I've done it on two to three strokes several times.