Thank you for the info, everybody. Experimenting with cotton balls with various types of fuels has been an ongoing project, with PJ being the gold standard for the fuel. PJ balls is in my plan for tinder that's waterproof-ish. Another is bike inner tube, and I'm aware it's not really tinder but more so kindling. The straws with the cotton balls will be another project of mine.

Originally Posted By: Glock-A-Roo
...A key improvement is to put a little "dish" of aluminium foil under the PJ ball. This keeps the liquified PJ on hand for ongoing burning, instead of it dripping into the ground or fire platform.

<drumroll please> grin

OK everybody, I am going to reveal what may be the most durable, leakproof(ish), accessible, and compact container yet for PJ balls: Nalgene vials. I triple up a long strip of wax paper to make a U-shaped sleeve, stack the PJ balls down into the vial in the sleeve, fold the ends of the sleeve on top then pop on the cap.

The vial's diameter is perfect for the PJ balls, it is as compact as you can get, it keeps leaks at bay in warm weather (so your other gear doesn't get greasy), and you can use the different sized vials for different sized kits. When needed you just pop out a PJ ball as from a Pez dispenser. I use the smallest vial in my mini kits and the biggest one in my belt-mounted kit. Works great.


Great suggestions, thanks. I have ignored the addition of foil around PJ balls, until now. Regarding the Nalgene vials, I'm not totally getting your explanation. If I just get the materials, will it become clear to me?

EDIT: I think I get it now.
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