The Ultimate Campfire (disaster fire) Trick--video

This trick, like many, should be old hand, but like a lot of techniques if you don't practice it, or see it in action, it's a lot harder to do in a crisis. Click here to watch a quick video on the ridiculously easy and long-lasting cotton-ball-and-Vaseline fire-starting trick.

ok..i'm sold.i have always been down on make-do replacements for the real thing like military heat tabs and such but that seems to work as advertised--

Ive always heard about read about these but never tried them. What would be the best way to store them in your vehicle?

I now keep a bunch in in a simple, small, plastic, used Vaseline jar.

I'm experimenting with cotton ball and wax right now, which seems to start fire just as easily and not messy. I can toss a few into my pocket and not worry about it if I wanted to.

I would think even in the Summer in Canada it gets warm enough to make wax pretty sticky--especially in your pocket. Plus, it's harder to use wax to keep your lips from getting chapped.

One old suggestion from here on the forum years ago was to stuff PJ soaked cotton balls into plastic straws, then plug off the ends or heat seal them. You could even tie a string around the ball for easier extraction (as with a feminine hygiene product).

That's the tricky part, you have to get the right mixture thus hardness, soft enough to easily fluff up with finger and hard enough to not messy.

Besides it's not really a problem unless you leave it in the car, air temp is typically below 35°C in summer.

Metal matches are fine, so long as you have two good arms.

Whilst I carry and use a metal match, I much prefer a lighter or lifeboat/REI type matches in an emergency. Both of whom can be employed one handed.

If you want to use a metal match buy a one handed variety. Like the Blast match.

Try using an empty film container, for those fossils that still use 35mm film.

whistles innocently - wanders off - DW has the 35, I don't take pics

Vaseline works well, as does vapor-rub. You can mix in various waxes, mineral spirits, kerosene, petrolatum to get the mix, temperature-viscosity curve, you want.

Point being that a gel is generally easiest to work with. A mix that is soft at -20F is a messy liquid at 80F and a mix that is handy at 80F is a solid block at -20F. Vaseline, by itself, soaked into cotton balls, assuming the Vaseline doesn't leak out and christen the contents of your pack, turns into a bottle of oil with cotton at the bottom in Florida summer heat.

A stopgap measure is to use more cotton and less Vaseline. But this means each ball burns a shorter time. Blending in wax, I add a splash of naphtha to get it all to mix and allow the mix to stand so the naphtha evaporates, allows you to have a stiffer mix at higher temperatures and still have a long-burning fire-starter. A lot depends on your comfort and ability at bathtub chemistry. Experiment with different stuff and find a formula that works for you.

An interesting variation that seems to burn a bit hotter is called pine tar. It is more like pine oil. It was a vital marine resource into the 20s and was used straight for keeping hemp ropes from rotting, stirred into oakum to caulk their boats, and combined with wax on both on boats and ashore to make canvas water resistant.

Not exactly ground breaking info. This kind of technique has been around for a long time. At least as long as I can remember, and I am closing in on 52.

But its a pretty basic kind of thing to have available, and not a bad thing to bring it up now and then.

I think a lot of people have no idea how easily common things like cotton balls, dryer lint, or TP can be ignited to get a fire started.

Adding the PJ is nice because it burns a lot longer and hotter then just the cotton ball, giving you time to get a fire going.

Personally I am kind of a fan of having the PJ in a container of its own, rather than premixing it into the cotton balls.

"That will burn for 5 minutes. If you can't build a fire around that, you have other problems."

Loved that line!

Yeah, this is definitely old news...

I usually have a few in a ziplock baggie for this purpose. I either use a firesteel (2-handed) or a Spark-Lite (1-handed) to light it.

I also tend to keep a bag of ready tinder/kindling helpers like birch bark or fatwood. Makes even a damp situation much much better.

IF you are into multi-purpose items, try using your Neosporin Plus and any hair, fabric, fuzz, lint, bandage, bark, string or even a COTTON BALL if you don't have any of the others.

I went to using dryer lint and carrying mineral oil in a small eyedropper bottle. It works just as well and I don't get vaseline all over my hands, that stuff is difficult to clean off.

For more bang, scraping some magnesium into the dryer lint starts it up first try and in wet conditions.

I have sometimes experimented with using lip balm in this roll. Seems to work in warmer temperatures when you can kneed it into a cotton ball. I suppose if the wax got too cold to work you could simply cut a chunk off with a knife, roll it in a bit of cotton cloth cut from the always useful, but expendable, bandanna and light the corner.

I find that lib balm is pretty handy, and even more handy if you get the stuff with a significant sunblock rating. A touch smeared on the nose, ears and lips makes a big difference preventing sunburn. I have also used lip balm to prevent rust and lubricate simple mechanisms like a the old P-38 and jackknife. Seems to work pretty well.

The combination of lip balm, sunblock, fire starter, lubricant and rust blocker covers a lot of ground in a small package.

I don't like the vaseline coated cotton balls. Too messy and not the easiest to remove the vaseline from your fingers when the temp is below freezing.

Carrying a few pieces of birch bark is a better alternative to cotton balls. The bark burns even when wet and can be found in much of NA which makes for an easily obtainable and eternal re-supply source.

Most times, though I carry a candle in my PSK. The candle can be cut into round slices about the width of a few quarters (coins) and the wick is easily lit for fire starting purposes. A 6" candle will make many fires and is cleaner and easier to work with then the vaseline coasted cotton balls.

I used candles as well for a number of years, but I finally tired of their continual melting and the resultant mess. This was in Arizona, where the pack often spent time in a vehicle. My preference now is for hand snaitizer (alcohol), which seems to work pretty well in warm to cool conditions. It probably isn't too good in very cold weather.

Ambient temperatures clearly are rather critical is determining the best, and most convenient, scheme to employ.

Check me on this:

Fluff up one end of the cotton ball.

Squirt some sanitizer on the other end of the cotton ball.

Light the dry end with the means of your choice.

Would that warm and vaporize the alcohol in the sanitizer, even in cold temps?

Hard to light birch bark or a candle with a spark. Not true of the vas/cotton option.

Scrape the bark with knife to make fluff first and it'll catch, but candle, no clue how to light that with firesteel.

Birch bark lights easily from a fire steel...if you know the proper methods. As for the candle, I carry 3 methods of fire starting (fire steel, wooden matches, BIC lighter) at all times so a candle is still a viable option for me.