As far as tinder goes, I've always had very good luck with cotton balls mixed with Vaseline.

The trick, though, is not to use too much Vaseline. The purpose of the Vaseline is to make the cotton ball burn longer and possibly to increase its water resistance a little, too much Vaseline will inhibit the cotton ball's ability to catch a spark and pretty much just give you a useless gooey mess.

So how much is too much? It's tough to describe without showing/feeling in person. With that said, if the tinder, when you're done making it, can stick to the wall....it has way way too much. What you should have when you're done will look just like normal cotton, but slightly yellowed and only a tiny bit greasy to the touch/squeeze.