Well here are my fire starting experiences:

Back in the English summer of 2002 I fancied myself as getting ?average? at creating fire with my Swedish Fire Steel. I had it proudly attached to my knife sheath so where my knife was fire was too.

While scouting up the hill towards my local pad of trees is I gathered pieces of straw of the land and seeds of nettles bushes. Once between the trees I?d put the nettle seeds on top of the straw and would get my rod out. Only two or sometimes three strikes were needed to ignite the seeds (how can Ray Mear only do it with one?). The underlying straw would be picked up by my hands and cupped so that the straw would cover the top of the burning seeds and off it went?

I was proud it didn?t need any supplements from my PSK, only materials used.

Average was not the word that came to mind when I practised my fire making skills in the Scottish hills during the late summer of 2004. Unable to find straw or seeds I was looking for natural alternatives. The best I could come up with was dead bramble sticks which were still of the ground and using my knife to create slithers. Also created feather sticks in as kindling. This didn?t work even though it is softwood (it grows fast). Also had a newspaper with me in case with which I couldn?t even light it! Nor with candle from PSK or with lighter TERRIBLE! <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Lesson learned: learn to use a range of different materials.

When I go out camping I have a small fire lighting kit packed into a small waterproof container (old British army NBC container which held eye washing fluids). It contains a candle, rubber strips, hexamine fuel (excellent fire starter!), BIC lighter, some wax and three fireworks (create loud bangs more as a signalling device than fire starter).

In addition to this I carry a few long dry sticks of fire wood where I can take shavings of to use as tinder and the sticks itself as kindling. Once the fire is going I can split new sticks, lay it to the heat source and have dry kindling for the next fire.

Now even though the Zippo has had some negative publicity on this forum (not this thread) I am still contemplating owning one.

Reinhardt