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