What do you think would be your first choice for starting a fire in a survival situation?

Assuming that you have several options available.

When taking outdoor trips for recreation, it makes sense to vary the methods of firemaking to develop and maintain those skills, but in a "best case" survival scenario, what's your first choice and why?

Usually I have 4 options:

the first one is a BIC-lighter: because it's so simple and fool-proof!

Redundant options I have available:

2 Firesteel

3 Wind/waterproof match

4 magnifying-glass

Other things you could do:

5 Potassium-permanganate, sugar and sulfuric acid.

6 primitiv methodes: fire-drill, etc.
(good luck with the last two......)

WP... works first time, every time <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Troy

I always like to poke into the cold ashes of the past for these questions. Waaay back some brave soul picked up a burning stick from a natural fire, probably after scavenging a burned animal that tasted a bit better than the raw stuff they grabbed from a lion kill. The advantages for warmth, illumination, hunting and protection were and remain obvious. The methods have expanded from sparking stones and friction devises to flint and steel, the chemical age of matches, P/P and TNT <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> . Everything has elements of the older system; friction, flint and steel, fuel. It's ironic, but that old standby the match is almost obsolescent! With tobacco smoking and wood fires disappearing from our urban lifestyle they may soon join knives as social suspects! I carry and am more or less competant in using all these strategies. My primary tool is a cheap old bic lighter. When your wet, cold and shaking the others take a steadier hand. My fantasy kit is to stand on the highest peak, draw down the powers of Heavens like Mickey Mouse as The Sorcerer's Apprentice sending fireballs on the day's frustrations. Makes me all warm and fuzzy just imagining it <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Hailstone,

I like the way you think! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

-Blast

Really, my first choice for "best case" would be dry strike-anywhere matches. But for most practical applications, a flint and steel; it works the same all the time even in bad weather.

IMHO, it's the fuel and preparation that's the more important than the spark or flame choice....

Well as a nasty ole smoker, I always have a butane lighter of some sort. one in my pocket, one in the car, several in different kits. I also have mag fire started which I am practiced with and can usually start a fire with minimal effort. For awful, wet, conditions I keep several road flares in each car. If you can't start a fire with one of them, you need a boat.

That's an easy one. My first choice would be a Bic lighter. Followed by Sparklite+Tinderqwik.

My number one choice has been and will always be a MagFire Pro or Swedish Army FireSteel coupled with a healthy supply of tinder. Number two, carried in my mini PSKs, is either a BSA HotSpark or Mini Mag Sparky. Number three is a BIC lighter. I keep the BIC as #3 as I want a foolproof one handed firestarting mechanism with me in case I'm somehow disabled or reliant upon an untrained person to light a fire for me (or themself.)

After a couple incidents in extreme wet weather conditions, I think a few pieces of good tinder almost as important as the ignition device selected. A few pieces of TinderQuik, Coghlan's Emergency Tinder, or vaseline impregnated cotton balls can make a huge difference between success and failure, especially if relying upon someone with limited skills to start a fire for you.

For those carrying potassium permanganate as an ignition device, glycol (car anitfreeze) carried in a leakproof container in a separate section of your pack can be a safer alternative to sulphuric acid. An eyedropper full of glycol added to a small pile of potassium permanganate will cause ignition in seconds...

M

I think that this is very much a consumables issue. "Best case" presumes that you are unhurt and have access to adequate amounts of wood etc. Under those circumstances I would use my swedish fire steel. Purely because of it's low rate of wear & tear. Alterativley I would use my blast match. With or without a wetfire cube as circumstances dictate. Matches and or lighter would be reserved for last as they represent the greatest rate of consumption in terms of the no of fires you can make.

For the first few fires I'd use a Bic and some tinder. I doubt I'd worry about running out of fuel until much later. Even in a "best case" scenario I would expect there to be a lot of jobs to do, so I want to use the method which is quickest and most reliable and leaves me free for other stuff.

COOL... that's even better than the WP <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />.

Troy

Ditto on the fuel prep.

Troy

After have using the MagFire Pro I would say it is the best ignition source with Coghlan's Emergency Tinder as the best tinder. I also like to have some fatwood for kindling.

A good fire lay with air space under the tinder, treated cotton for tinder, fatwood for kindling makes for an unstoppable fire. The only thing better would be charcoal lighter fluid or a car flare, I don't plan on carrying that stuff!

Is that TSA approved? <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Oh sure! Where are you in Iowa? I'm east central.

I grew up in east central...sounds like L.A., doesn't it? Now in north-ish central.

Mt Vernon... Less George Washington

In an urban scenario, my first choice would be
a Bic lighter and my second choice would be my
Magfire. In the outdoors my choice would be:

1. Bic lighter
2. Bic lighter #2
3. Zippo
4. Magfire
5. Sparklite