cottonballs or solid fuel tabs?

M

mr_dove

Joined
Apr 12, 2004
Messages
90
which of these two would work best under less than perfect conditions for getting a regular fire going? The cotton balls sounds like an economical options but I'm not sure if they outperform trioxane and esbit.

I hear that esbit is better than trioxane, any opinions there?
 
IMHO, and in my experience... Cottonballs/vaseline.
1) Particularly if you're going to use a spark rather than a flame to ignite. I can stretch out the cotton ball into a gauze like tissue.. and catch sparks easier.
2) I stash impregnated cotton balls in pieces of soda straws (see other threads about that idea). I can have them stowed everywhere. They (so far)
haven't seemed to deteriorate over time.
3) Triox may have a shelf life, particularly if there are any pinholes in the foil packaging.

HOWEVER, fuel tabs themselves may be sufficient AS a fire rather than just starting a fire. Cottonballs/vaseline won't.
 
I think the triox and esbit fuel would be a better choice in some situations and my choice would be the esbit fuel over the trioxane because esbit burns without putting out toxic fumes while the trioxane fuel is toxic.

I try and keep my esbit fuel for my stove and carry a couple of ignition sources and a couple of good firestarter/tinder sources like the spark-lite tinder and pitchwitch which is a pitch firestarter that works great in wet weather. I also experiment with other tinders and ignition sources while I'm out hiking and hunting.
 
I use cotton balls with vaseline for spark rods only. When I have other means of ignition (read: a Bid lighter) I'm just using "find-it-anywhere" tinder... Doesn't need to be perfect when you already have a flame.

I prefer Esbit over Triox... But I use it as fuel or extreme emergency firestarters.

Honestly, I often carry both, even if I don't use any of them much ;)

Cheers,

David
 
i often carry both as neither takes much space, if you plan on making a kit i would reccomend the cotton balls, as the triox will evaporate througha any holes in the foil wrapper. i have used both, they work well for starting fires and the trioxane is ok in an esbit stove for boiling a cup of your favorite beverage.

alex
 
It used to be vasaline cotton balls in a film canister, but stuffing them in a straw is the way to go. They are waterproof and small enough to store bunches of them all through your gear, and they aren't so messy. I like to cut the straw open, scrape a little magnesium on there, and a tiny spark catches it easily. At about 1 1/2" long, they burn for about 2 minutes, and they burn pretty strong. Good stuff.
 
I got both, plus the starter that comes with the Spark-Lite kit. Just depends on what I feel like using at the time.
 
either of the two items is great for starting fires, just carry both, the trioxane bars will get a fire going easily, so will the vaseline soaked cotton balls, the trioxane will heat up a cup of water for you easily, so you might not need to start a fire. both take up little room and have negligible weight.

alex
 
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