the fallacy of firesteels

I like the suggestion for carrying multiple ways to start a fire as well as having something you are confident in. Personally I use a Ferro rod and a Mini Bic for my fire starters, and carry a small bit of fatwood with me for just in case.

That said the difficulty of finding dry enough and fine enough tinder and even of starting a fire with a Ferro rod are overstated by the OP. With a little practice any stick can be turned into tinder with a knife quickly and effectively. And a vast number or materials can be used as a tinder with varying levels of ease and effectiveness. I have seen someone cut a live branch and ignite the wood from it with nothing but a Ferro rod.

At the end of the day though for me there is nothing like the pure convenience of a Bic lighter. I've never been a fan of matches personally, and as always one should use what works best for themselves.
 
if you can't touch thumb to pinky, you've got a LOT less than 10 minutes of functionality. In fact, you might have already passed the point t which you could still help yourself.
 
You all know this, right? Butane lighters are great - so long as they don't get too cold. At freezing, they totally cease working except as a weak ferro rod. The matches and regular ferro rods still work. That's why, as noted above several times, it's good to have multiple ways to start a fire.

And fire is more than a 98.6 tool, right?
 
keep your lighters (plural) inside plastic bags in and next to your body and the cold/wet wont be an issue. The wind problem is best defeated by deploying your poncho/tarp. There's little to no value of a fire that's out in the wind/rain, anyway. You still have to stay warm and dry while you go out and get the firewood, water, etc. So you still need the proper clothing and a quick, easy, portable means of providing shelter for yourself

I do believe in multiple forms of firemaking, A Freznell lense, a campmore matchcase/whistle/compass with vasolined cottonballs and stormproof matches, an altoid tin, half of it a 3 wick beeswax candle, the other half full of charred punkwood, with ranger bands holding it shut. A couple of ferrorods, a couple of lighters. Total weight a couple of ozs and very little bulk. There better not be all that many (crisis) firestarts, or you're doing way too many things wrong! :)
 
I recently picked up a couple of these, they seem to work well

http://www.exotac.com/fireSLEEVE/
Cool little item. Shame the price point is so high. $15 to carry and protect a $1 lighter. Still I wouldn't refuse one if it appeared under the Christmas tree.

Over the years I have found that most lighter failures are a result of accidentally depressed gas levers. I did have a couple fail in long term storage when their flints disintegrated. My guess is too much humidity over time (these may have been cheapies, not Bics). I have done a two-fer where one lighter had a worn out flint and another was out of gas, using one to light the other. Likewise I never had one fail to work in cold weather. Keeping it in a pocket next to the body is no problem. Failing that just sticking it in a warm armpit for a few minutes works.
 
I know a guy who figures you should carry a bic for every point of failure: fuel, flint, wheel, valve. I treat them as a consumable, use them, and have a spare handy.
 
I keep a mini- 3 wick candle for "hard-start" occasions. It can be lit with a spark, as well as with the Fresnel lens and burns long enough to ignite a 'teepee" of feathersticks set up around it and will do so many times. After the beeswax is used up, the little container and wicks can be used with animal fat, fish or nut oils. The wax has other uses, too. Most of the time, if it's rainy, etc, the answer is to have the right shelter/sleep gear, etc, rather than light a fire. The fire stuff is boy-scoutism run amok.
 


I read through most of the thread, the first couple dozen posts, skimmed the middle, and then the last page :eek:

I wondered the same thing as the OP for quite some time. It seemed a few years back that there was this explosion of ferro rods and use of flint to start fires for what appeared to be EVERYTHING.

I'm an Eagle Scout, and I don't remember ever starting a fire with a ferro rod. I remember being frustrated beyond belief that the BSA hotspark just didn't want to work for me and I was never taught the uses and implications of it. It wasn't until my college years and after joining the forums that I taught myself how to use a ferro rod with the assistance of this forum and the miracle of YouTube.

Part of my EDC is carrying a mini bic just in case as an old scouting habit. I don't smoke or need it for anything in particular but having fire on the spot is one of our modern gifts. When I go out camping (mostly car camping now with my family) I make sure I have matches and for fun I keep my ferro rod close by.

I posted a pic of the trio that I use and carry when necessary.


Sent from my electronic multi-tool.
 
"The fire stuff is boy-scoutism run amok."

"BE PREPARED." John "Lofty" Wiseman, SAS survival instructor for many years.

"Be Prepared." SEAL Survival Guide: A Navy SEAL's Secrets to Surviving Any Disaster

Sounds right to me.
 
of course that's why. secret compartment de-coder rings, surprise in crackerjack box, all the same thing manifested. Ditto "god" of course. kid stuff.
 
Contempt for the opinions of others, especially when those opinions are shared by world-renown experts, is unlikely to earn you respect here. It will only get in the way of communication, even when you have something of value to share. But flame on as it seems to suit you. :yawn:
 
Got to this one late, but as others have said; having several ways to start a fire is the best bet. personally I have over a half dozen ways to start and maintain a fire in my kit. I have Fat wood, Mini infernos (http://www.selfrelianceoutfitters.com/) char cloth, Bic lighter, fire steel, flint and steel, a 9 power magnification lens, as well as chemical hand warmers, steel wool (with or without a battery will create a great flame), cotton balls and petroleum jelly.
I have tried to think of every way to start a fire and put a small amount into a fire kit.

I'm not a minimalist by any means. My go to Moto is two is one, one is none and several is better.
 
as long as the total of the kit is not more than a couple of ozs and bulk is not more than a couple of packs of cigarettes, it's all good. May I suggest putting dessicant in your fire kit, so that everything is kept dry? I do not use dryer lint or steel wool. too bulky and 'one use only" stuff for me to pack around. I do keep a short pc of insulated wire in the kit, since the battery from the light or the cell phone can be used with the wire and the candle or the vasolined cotton balls to catch a spark. A high quality flint, some charred punkwood and a carbon steel knife go a long, long ways towards being certain of a fire-start, long term. A few stormproof matches, in the campmor matchcase (which is a whistle and a compass) are an excellent addition, too. But you have to pick a sheltered spot and have the right gear, at least a poncho or tarp, or the fire is soon going to be extinquished by rain/wind/snow. It takes a lot of wood to keep a fire going, and in wet conditions, you need a cover and a rack to dry out and keep dry your firewood. So the decision to make a fire is a lot more complicated (if you actually NEED one) than the average guy grasps at first.
 
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