Potassium Permanganate isn't really a messy chemical to carry, a small vial carried in a Medical Kit is always useful for certain medical needs such as its use as an antiseptic etc. The idea behind this chemical reaction is really about improvisation. Take a chemical from the medical kit, mix it with some antifreeze you may have from a vehicle or some sugar etc. Mix it in a sheet of dry cloth or paper; instant fire. Same idea would be to use a battery to create a spark to ignite tinder or use with some wire wool. These techniques are certainly easier than making fire through friction fire lighting. An example would be in the film 'Castaway'. Toms Hanks character had a torch, which means he had a battery, he failed to attempt to create fire using the battery, instead ended up using the fire plough method. I know what I would have attempted to use in the first instance to make fire.