Here's what I did for petroleum jelly (I don't know if it is a good idea or not...)

1) Fly internationally somewhere. Collect the toothbrush and toothpaste they give you on the flight.
2) The toothpaste I got was in a small plastic squeeze tube with a screw-on lid. Exactly like a regular toothpaste tube, but miniature (about 1.5" long). If yours is not like that then find something else.
3) Empty the tube (the toothpaste in these is like gelled washing up liquid with peppermint oil and ground glass). Rinse, dry and leave in a warm place so it's really dry.
4) Get a small syringe (pharmacy) and a piece of heatshrink tubing about 2" long (electronics hobby shop)
5) Shrink the tubing onto the syringe. It'll grip tightly and make a small diameter nozzle.
6) Put your tub of jelly in a warm place for a while until it is runny.
7) Fill the syringe with jelly, inject it into the tube. Use the nozzle to start injecting at the bottom of the tube, and withdraw the syringe as you fill the tube, this should ensure the tube is full from the end with no bubbles.
8) Put the top on and label the tube.

You now have a small amount of jelly in an easy-to-dispense form. Take some *dry* cotton balls with you and smear a little jelly on them when you are ready- less mess. Also, use the jelly on some tinder or twigs to help a fire get established.

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