A while ago I put together a small kit for firestarting purposes, a lighter or two is decent but having multiple means to make a fire is always a good idea. This kit should go somewhere in your BOB that is easily accessible such as an outside pouch or pocket, something you can get to without digging around. It is also a good idea not to keep every means to make fire in just one place, if you have more that one bag as part of your BOB then have something you can use to make fire in every one of them. I ordered a new sheath for my survival knife which should arrive in a week or so. The sheath has an external pouch for storing essentials, in that I plan to have 1 bic, tinder in a plastic bag, 10' of paracord, photon micro, some water purifying drops and a leatherman micra.

The eye dropper is for use with the laquer thinner, the thinner is flammable as all hell and excellent I have found for assisting in starting a fire. The eye dropper allows you to strategically place the thinner on your tinder and reduces waste. A VOA vial is for volatile organic compounds for use in labratory conditions, I buy them in bulk from a medical supplier. They have a nominal volume of 40ml and have a temp range of -40°C to 125°C.

For matches I like match safes but they take up more room than I would like so I keep them rolled up in ziploc freezer bags and change out the bags monthly. I only keep matches on hand as an added redundancy, I am not a fan of matches. Flares I have found are about the most effective means to light a fire FAST, in this case you don't even need to prepare tinder just make sure your log cabin/teepee etc is built right with some small twigs or sticks and have the rest of your material ready. As the flares last so long you will have no problems getting your fire going. Of course the flares are only for an emergency (even as defined when already in a survival situation) because they could be used for signaling. I keep other flares for signaling purposes seperate from my firebag.

I have experimented with many other accelerants and catalysts for helping start fire but have found laquer thinner to work so well I stick with it. It is more flammable than gasoline and most lighter fluids and burns hotter. I keep that in the vials and the vials in seperate plastic bags. Some people may find this dangerous but I see no difference between what I do and carrying around a plastic container of compressed flammable gas. I used to keep a mini propane torch in my firebag but lost the cap screw and have been looking for a replacement rig ever since. They are wonderful though, 60 min burn time on a low flame setting and reuseable, unlike flares.


Here is a list of the things I keep in my firebag, what do you have in your BOB?


-2 bic lighters with adjustable flame
-optically pure, high power plastic magnifying lense
-3 birthday candles
-magnesium rod w/flint and steel striker
-12 strike anywhere matches coated in wax
-1 VOA vial with laquer thinner
-2 VOA vials with cotton balls soaked in vaseline
-eye dropper
-2 cut down 15min road flares