A while ago I put together a small kit for firestarting purposes, a lighter or two is decent but having multiple means to make a fire is always a good idea. This kit should go somewhere in your BOB that is easily accessible such as an outside pouch or pocket, something you can get to without digging around. It is also a good idea not to keep every means to make fire in just one place, if you have more that one bag as part of your BOB then have something you can use to make fire in every one of them. I ordered a new sheath for my survival knife which should arrive in a week or so. The sheath has an external pouch for storing essentials, in that I plan to have 1 bic, tinder in a plastic bag, 10' of paracord, photon micro, some water purifying drops and a leatherman micra.

The eye dropper is for use with the laquer thinner, the thinner is flammable as all hell and excellent I have found for assisting in starting a fire. The eye dropper allows you to strategically place the thinner on your tinder and reduces waste. A VOA vial is for volatile organic compounds for use in labratory conditions, I buy them in bulk from a medical supplier. They have a nominal volume of 40ml and have a temp range of -40°C to 125°C.

For matches I like match safes but they take up more room than I would like so I keep them rolled up in ziploc freezer bags and change out the bags monthly. I only keep matches on hand as an added redundancy, I am not a fan of matches. Flares I have found are about the most effective means to light a fire FAST, in this case you don't even need to prepare tinder just make sure your log cabin/teepee etc is built right with some small twigs or sticks and have the rest of your material ready. As the flares last so long you will have no problems getting your fire going. Of course the flares are only for an emergency (even as defined when already in a survival situation) because they could be used for signaling. I keep other flares for signaling purposes seperate from my firebag.

I have experimented with many other accelerants and catalysts for helping start fire but have found laquer thinner to work so well I stick with it. It is more flammable than gasoline and most lighter fluids and burns hotter. I keep that in the vials and the vials in seperate plastic bags. Some people may find this dangerous but I see no difference between what I do and carrying around a plastic container of compressed flammable gas. I used to keep a mini propane torch in my firebag but lost the cap screw and have been looking for a replacement rig ever since. They are wonderful though, 60 min burn time on a low flame setting and reuseable, unlike flares.


Here is a list of the things I keep in my firebag, what do you have in your BOB?


-2 bic lighters with adjustable flame
-optically pure, high power plastic magnifying lense
-3 birthday candles
-magnesium rod w/flint and steel striker
-12 strike anywhere matches coated in wax
-1 VOA vial with laquer thinner
-2 VOA vials with cotton balls soaked in vaseline
-eye dropper
-2 cut down 15min road flares

windproof ligther
waterproof matches
lifeboat matches
firesteel
trioxane (spell?)
fatwood

I think it's VERY important to have a 'quick and easy' method to start a fire and a 'last resort never ending' way to start a fire.
Quick easy = ligther or match
Never ending but harder to use = firesteel



A blast match is nice but heavy and when testing I broke the striker off. I wouldn't rely on one but you could use the steel inside it with a knife of scraper.

Keep an eye on your wax coated matches, It will soften up the matches after a period of time. I use fingernail polish on mine to waterproof them.

Firesteel
Bic lighter
Spark-Lite w/tinder
NATO or REI matches

A dandy do-or-die fire starter is a shortened hwy flare. You cut one to about three inches long behind the head with a hacksaw, trim a little wooden plug to fit the cut end, and hold it in place with some small nails. Shortened that way, will burn for five minutes or so, and hot enough to dry any damp wood, as long as it is not too large. Guarenteed to start, even with gloves on, or numb hands.

In the past I have on occasion found shipments of flares that for some reason did not like to start easliy, so I would suggest trying a few before you cut your small ones, just to make sure they are easy lighters. That of course is assuming that you have access to a large supply. If you have to just buy a few, you are on your own...

Welcome, Olaf.

In my BOB and ditch kit (the kit between BOB and the PSK), I have:

4x match cases, w/ ~25 laquered matches and 3 stay-lit birthday candles each
3x small Bics
2x spartlites w/ lots of tinder tabs
4x small candles (tinder)
magnesium fire starter
magnifying glass
cotton balls and neosporin (patrolatum (sp) base, burns real well)
cotton balls presoaked in wax
dry gas (used as Trangia fuel)
Esbit tablets

And that doesn't even include the PSK!

You can't tell I live in a cooler climate or anything. :P

I forgot I have alcohol swabs too they are in my FAK but they are AWESOME at starting fire.
Some sparks and bam it burns hot and also has dual use <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Yeah alcohol pads do go up well, and dual purpose, score.

Not really good for a BOB or PSK, but the other day we had a big bonfire for the church.

About a 1/2 gallon of diesel fuel and a Zippo. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Magfire Pro
REI matches
2 Mini Bics
Zippo
Sparklite
Sparklite tinder
Wetfire tinder
Vaselined cotton balls