For wet wet firestarting, the best thing I have is an adjustable bic lighter or a jet lighter that works well (but they don't last very long)...

With the bic, you can hold the flame for 30+ seconds and dry out your tinder with it. Then it ignites. For high winds, jet lighters are a plus.

Of course, if they're cold, they won't work... So what. Just put them in your chest pocket and they're always warm and ready to go. If they're wet, soaked in water or whatever, just dry them off. As soon as the flint is dry, they work again.

I don't like matches, and I don't like fanc firestarting devices. I carry this:

- adjustable, brightly colored bic (not a piezo-electric one, just a regular flint, non-childproof, and if possible the clear model so you see if there's any fuel left).
- Swedish army fire steel with cotton balls soaked with some vaseline on the outside
- Jet lighter (in very high winds only)
- fresnel lens (great for sunny days when you don't really need a fire <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />)

I play with the fire steel and fresnel often, but never really needed them (yet). The adjustable bic is what the monolith in 2001 space odyssey was representing... The adjustable bic should have streets named after it. The adjustable bic has saved more lives than penicillin and anti-sismic constructions together...

Cheers,

David