What do you think about putting fireplace/barbecue tinder into survival kits? How does it compare to vaseline-soaked cotton and specialized survival tinders?<br><br>I played with fireplace tinder a little and it require quite a lot of sparks to ignite, but it burns for a few minutes with a flame large and hot enough to ignite large pieces of wood.<br><br>(there may be more than one type of fireplace tinder on the market - I'm talking about solid, brown... something... probably many pressed layers of paper soaked with something petroleum-based but I'm not sure what it really is)

Usually those tinders are a sawdust and parrafin wax compressed cake. They do take a bit more effort to ignite. If you want to carry a small tinder directly in a PSK they work well. I like vaseline and cotton balls because #1 you can stuff a good quantity into various small containers ( 35mm film canisters, ziplocks etc.) #2 it's inexpensive to make up a supply #3 you can play with it under various conditions and "get to know it". Even small expenses can add up in this pursuit, ask anyone who has attained the near martial arts oneness with lifeboat matches ;o)