Ok guys, another question from the "newb" What do you think of fire paste and have you found it to be effective. My main goal with the fuel tabs or the fire paste is to have a reliable fire starting method. So, whats the word on fire paste. Thanks.

Fire paste is another viable option. You may want to take a deep breath and set your priorities. For some people firemaking is a philosophical ritual conecting them to primal people's and some Rousseau concept of 'THE NOBLE SAVAGE.' Thats fine if you want to become skilled with ancient bowdrills and rub out whatever frictions you have with modern stresses. If, like me you just want instant gratification then a portrait of Bin Laden on my tarp works great when illegally hiking the desert bombing ranges. Those jets dropping napalm on it give me a fire better than my best efforts 100% of the time. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> The nice thing about this most essential of skills and resources is the easy redundancy and availability of several methods. Try them all. We all develop our favourites, and with 3 options it is problematic if we could fail in most situations. I doubt I will ever need to make an ice lens again. But I can, along with all these other often arcane methods. The ultimate test would be to hop in a very cold shower, go outside in poor light and with your weak arm alone make a fire with each of your chosen methods.

I generally use Mautz Fire ribbon to prime or preheat my gas stoves. Works great for that. I've also started a fire using it as tinder a time or two, just to see how well it worked. You can "decant" some into a film cannister sized container (I'd recommend a small Nalgene bottle, or something similar with a wide, secure, screwtop lid--not an actual film cannister) for easier portability.

Chris' suggestion to try your available methods (with or without cold shower) is a good one. That way, you'll know, & hopefully be familiar with, what works at all, & what works best for you.

The last time I built a fire, I did it on a snowy morning on my wood-fired grill, using a piece of damp wood from the woodpile, a Mora knife, & a Swedish FireSteel...just to practice & demonstrate to the kids--but no fire paste.

Bottom line: it's a good product, but should be part of an array of tools at your disposal, not the only one.

Regards,

David

I've never tried fire paste so I really don't know anything about it, but what I use is something I make up in advance of a trip out. I save remnants from candles and I take some fat wood and chop it up into very small slivers then I melt the wax from the candles and put the fat wood or dried saw dust (with just a touch of charcoal lighter on it) in an old ice tray and pour the wax over it, when it's cooled I put it in an empty Pringles can and it works great. It also gets rid of all the old candle scraps I have laying around.

I used fire paste for preheating my Optimus stove and it barely did that in the worst weather.If you're looking for something along those lines, IMO a small container of white gas would do you better.

For major rain/wet wood I always carry at least one road flare. If the situation is so bad that you need really serious fire starting help, a road flare is it. It will burn , once lit, in almost any weather. Keep it in a vacuum sealed bag and it will be ready when you need it.

I'm apposed to anything that can leak and contaminate other PSK items. <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> How about a butane lighter, some treated cotton balls and a ferro rod with a good scrapper. A few small sticks of fatwood is good insurance for keeping your kindling going.

Some wood, a sharp knife and a ferro rod is all you need for dry conditions. Carve a pile of thin wood curls and ignite it with your ferro rod. All six of us (11, 11, 14, 21, mom and dad) in my family were able to do it. <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Keep a ferro rod and a pocket knife on you all the time and you have a good chance of starting a campfire. You can also avoid the possibility of having to use fire-by-friction. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />