Show Us Your Fire Kit

I've been playing around with my new fire kit today and thought I'd post a pic and invite others to do the same.

This one is housed in the tea tin, with a mesh bag inside to hold the contents when I use the tin to make char cloth. The other contents are:

Small folding knife
Mini BIC
Mini tylenol bottle with strike anywhere matches
Ferro rod with magnesium block attached
Tube of spf lip balm
Tea light
Jute twine
Cotton lantern wick
Piece of hoof fungus
Esbit tab
Med vial with: cotton balls, pine pitch, birch bark, pine and cedar shavings
Rubber bands



Future Upgrades:
-switching rubber bands to ranger bands
-impregnating the jute twine with wax
-adding char cloth

That is a very comprehensive kit.

Looks a tad heavy.

Blake

www.outdoorquest.blogspot.com

???

Is this really fungus off of horse hooves? We have horses, but I must say I've never thought to try using their "byproducts" as fire starters!

Nah. It's called that because it looks like a horse hoof. It's also called false tinder fungus. It grows on trees and makes awesome tinder. I dry it and use it as tinder but have seen You Tube video where it worked when wet. (Dave Canterbury, I think.)

EDIT: Here's DC's video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdXOQ_bg0...e=results_video

It could definitely be lighter, but I like the variety of this one. I've got another in an Altoids tin, that works just fine along with my EDC if I'm packing light.

EDIT: If it truly came down to it, my edc LM Wave sheath carries a ferro rod and a couple of cotton balls. You know what they say though, variety is the spice of life!

In your neck of the woods, carrying a little extra weight to insure the ability to make fire is a really good idea. Here in SoCal it was in the low 80s today - a perfect day, but even here we have storms that can make carrying extra fire makers worthwhile....

Very true!

If you're worried about the weight of that little kit, you would probably faint if you saw the firestarting kit I am putting together! Granted, mine is part of an emergency kit for a truck which has a towing capacity of several tons. I am always keeping an eye on threads like this to see what I can add to my kit. Notice how I perked up when bacpacjac mentioned "hoof fungus". I was thinking, "Hey! I don't have any of that in my kit, but I have horses where I could get some." Alas, it looks like I will have to continue treating my horses hoof fungus with anti-fungal medication rather than harvesting them for firestarter.

Playing devil's advocate here, but how do you decide which tinder to use at any given time?

I keep it simple and usually just have a bic lighter and a firesteel, along with some cotton PJ cotton balls. I start looking out for natural tinder as soon as I think I might need it. The cotton balls are backup in case natural materials are not readily available and/or if the lighter fails and need something to catch a spark from the firesteel easily.

Thanks for this thread, BPJ. I gather this fire kit is for a backpack?

As Hikermor notes, in your [northern] neck of the woods, I'd also err on the side of heavy with fire gear.

I need to research char cloth more. Didn't know a tin would be necessary for that.

Sorry no pics here but a remark about lint

Everyone talks about dryer lint as an excellent firestarter. The other day, I was helping the wife emptying the vaccuum cleaner and there was lots of dust in it, but also lots of lint ( from vacuuming the carpets).

I haven't tried it yet but looks like ready to use if you put up a little with removing the fine dust, or even washing it.
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As far as my fire kit is concerned, mine is a bit heaver and bulkier and it is meant for the car trunk, not for a pack. It has the following :

One homemade esbit-type stove made from a can ( 3 inch diameter )
One homemade esbit-type stove made from a square electrical outlet box (4x4 inches)
two different boxes of esbit-type tabs (unknown manufacturer and brand)
One box ( 1 kilogram ) of coal briquettes
assorted sparkers ( 1 firesteel + 1 flint sparker + 1 empty lighter )
2-3 boxes of matches

Keep in mind that this fire kit is meant for extremely hot regions. It has no full butane lighter ( I have such lighters around in other kis but not left in the car trunk )

Wow!
Backup on top of backup.
Ok then, how about one more---a small vial or can of lighter fluid aka Coleman fuel?

How about a Bic lighter and the tinder from one of DR's PSK's. Seriously, that's it. Everything else will be gathered on site ... or not.

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BPJack,

I don't carry a kit per se, but this is my fire stuff which gets dispersed throughout pack and pockets.

In no particular order:

Brunton storm lighter, fully fuelled (pocket)

Mariner matches x 12 w/ 2 striker strips. There's a couple of tinder quick mashed in there as well to keep the matches from moving about, and for... Well ...tinder if I need it I guess. The lid has glow tape glued to it. (This goes in my pack)

Home made deer horn fire steel thingy and striker(pocket)

Coghlans wax tinder in zip bag (pocket)

And lastly (Yes, I know you are all laughing), but that is a road flare across the bottom there. You Americans (except maybe the ones in Alaska) don't know what cold really is. Up here, when you need a fire in an emergency you need it yesterday, no messing around with little bow drills and char cloth and types of fungus ....that's fine for keeping the skills sharp, but when It's -50 deg cel I ain't messing around with that BS. If I can't get a fire going with this, then I don't belong in the woods at all. It's sealed in plastic and rides in my pack. Makes an obviously descent signal too (as designed)

And that's it. Nothing fancy or elaborate. I usually won't ever need anything more than the lighter as it burns hotter than hell. It must ride in a warm pocket to work however, as compressed gas doesn't like the minus temps much.

Well said Stephan. Some people carry multiple knives, weaponry, or whatever but, IMO, cold, wet, windy Canadian with winters make multiple fire starting/extending redundancies worth the extra weight and space. (The kit isn't really that big or heavy, even if I added what I carry in my pockets.) Besides sharpening my fire skills, or those of my son or Scouts, shelter and fire are absolute musts in the winter. Finding dry tinder, kindling or fuel isn't always a simple matter. Sometimes it takes a while to get a fire going and, as you say, when you really need it, you need it yesterday.

I haven't tested it yet, but I'm hoping that when I do, the contents of this kit will be enough to boil water, regardless of what other natural tinder/kindling I can find.

Well, here's what you need to do. Wait till the next freezing cold day(like today @ around -25 ish)
Soak your gloves in water a few minutes. Put them on and go into your back yard for 20 minutes or so.
Once your hands are nice and cold, take your fire tin and try to light a small fire using the components you have. If you cannot get a fire going you may want to reconsider some of the things you are packing. I bet you would be surprised at how hard even a BIC lighter can be when your hands are so cold.

I'm not trying to sound snarky either, but to truly test you kit would be under the worst conditions. I am willing to bet you may reconsider a few of your tins components after such a test.....

I'm totally with you Stephen. I had a hard time lighting my mini BIC and an esbit cube a couple of weeks ago on a cold windy day. That experience was actually the inspiration for this new kit, hence the multiple redunancies. (Bic, matches and Ferro rod.) Oh! I also swaped the BIC I used to edc for a push button butane lighter!

I hear you girl. A BIC is o.k but those push buttons jobbies are better. It's easier to push a button than to roll the wheel on the BIC any day off the week. The only problem is keeping it warm so the fuel doesn't lose pressure. I can't say enough about that brunton. Not cheap at 80 bucks, but worth it. I carry the matches and fire steel in case the lighter runs dry or breaks.

With the flare I don't even need to worry about tinder really... I can just rip arm sized dead wood off the ground and toss the flare in the middle.
I don't want to be making fuzz sticks when my hands are cold either. I like having all my digits.

I'm itching to try the flare thing. Sounds like a great sure fire fire. Cold and wet can equal death and you don't want to be fussing around. Quick, easy and dependable is the way to go.

low 80's eh? grrrr... green jealousy rears it head. It's -45*C with the wind chill today. But then again, we don't have any earthquakes.

I usually use whatever I can gather in the area, and save my kit for emergencies, except if I'm teaching or play... I mean, practicing.

Yes, I intend to carry it in a backpack - day tripping or overnighting. I also have something similar in my GHB and the family BOB.

I don't think you need a tin to do charred materials. I've only done it a few times in the past couple of years. (Learned about it through ETS, actually. thanks gang!). I've used an Altoids tin, but think you just need an almost airtight (need a way for the gasses to escape, like a hole in the tin top) fire-proof container. les Stoud used a piece of airplane metal in an episode of Survivorman.

As things stand, when I head into the woods my primary fire kit (though not actually a kit) is carried on my person and consists of a firesteel, my F1 knife, and a little Ziploc of PJ cotton balls in my pocket ... for backup (and other uses) I'll usually have a small lighter in a pocket too.

In a pack I'll have some backup items ... mainly a Spark-lite with some Tinder Quick tabs and an extra lighter.

This now seems downright minimal in comparison to my Canuck brethren .

Well, yes and no Denis.

We all do different things and have different requirements. For some folks, an "adventure" consists of a day hike around a well groomed national park with the wife and kids and the fire kit will be pulled out to light a small fire to toast a few smores, boil a bit of tea and wow the kids. There are people here and there, and your car may be a few hundred meters away in the parking lot. For those people, great. Its not such a big deal because you are not in any real danger. YMMV

For me, I will hop on a snowmobile and scoot off for and hour to find that secret little lake no one else goes to in order to do a bit of ice fishing. There is no one around for miles. My truck is an hours drive away, and if I break down or go through the ice with my machine I am in serious trouble. Even though I check the weather before I leaves, and even though I tell my wife exactly where I am going and when I will return there is no way help would (or could) get to me that fast if there was an accident.

Thats why I carry a road flare. If I end up in the drink I can rip down branches and other dead wood, light the flare and toss it in the pile. So long as there is enough of a platform and the flare dosn't sink I WILL have fire. No need to find tinder, or make fuzz sticks, or fuss around with char cloth and jute twine and all that mess. I can even light the thing with my teeth if I had to. it's a nice bit of confidence for me to have such a simple and effective item in my bag.

Now when I am simply boiling tea, or lighting a stove, or trying to impress a couch potatoe friend I will use the other methods.

BPJack - you can get the 15 minute flares at Canadian tire for 5-6 bucks. Some apparently burn underwater once lit.(never tried it myself) No thrill like overkill when it comes to getting a fire going in a rush. Just be certain the flare is not on deep snow or you will quickly find out how far it is to the ground. The flare will still be burning, but under 10 feet of snow which is counter productive. Also, you can only light them with the striker. If that gets wet you are pooched so make sure you keep it dry. I may vaccum seal a molotov cocktail to supplement my road flares..... I hate being wet and cold.

If that carpet lint isn't treated with a flame retardant, I'd be surprised. Try it before you trust it.

I agree. many carpets are made with a fiber called olefin. It is a plastic material and if you were able to light it with a spark, it would emit toxic fumes.. Dryer lint can also be primarily plastic fiber, depending on what was dried.

about 3:15 into this video.

http://ilbob.blogspot.com/2011/12/whats-in-my-fanny-pack-12-7-11.html

Video of an interesting fire starter that I never would have thought of. You can cut it open and stuff some other kindling in there as well if you need to. There are probably lots of household items that are flammable that we don't think of as being a fire starter... It pays to look around and check out what is available, garbage is seemingly everywhere, even on remote islands.

http://en.video.canoe.tv/video/ping-pong-balls-are-incredibly-flammable!/2011329104001

We're stuck inside today with a serious case of cabin fever and a brand new Altoids tin so here's another, more simpler one for you, Blake:





Small leather pouch with:

-ferro rod on jute twine leash
-tiny knife on jute twine leash
-char cloth
-tampon

Oh please, Steve. Ever hear of a little bump in the road here in the colonies called Fargo, North Dakota? Seven layers and I was frozen by the time we made the hanger. I absolutely refuse to go back there. Very unpleasant for a desert boy.

Doesn't some company cut down road flares and calls them hotshots?