Hello everyone, this is my first post here! I've been hiking and camping for years, but don't get out all that often. My son has shown an interest and I want to start getting out more this year. My question is what is the best fire starters that you use? I have a flint and steel in my kit, are some better than others or is there something even better?

I don't often start a fire while out backpacking, mostly because I'm hiking at altitude (10,000ft+) in the Southern Sierra and fires aren't allowed. However, when I do I use a match.

Howdy, and welcome!

I use the exotic Bic flint lighter, of which I always have at least two, stashed separately. Have given up on piezo lighters, matches are now of poor quality and I usually don't have good enough tinder to get away with a flint and steel.

Cheers,

A carry a couple of bic lighters too. I keep a couple of the tiny ones for backpacking. Hard to go wrong with those.

I usually bring something to help get a campfire started too. I have a nice supply of fat pine that's all split into small pieces and I take about a pencils worth with me. If I didn't have that I'd bring some other fire starter. Those wax/sawdust fire starters work great, as well as cotton balls rubbed with a little vaseline.

Here is a whole thread on starting fires...several pages..I guess this comes up more often than I thought.

http://www.backpacking.net/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=171933&page=1

J.

Go on YouTube. There are dozens of videos on fire starting, many of which are pretty well done. One interesting one I saw is made from a piece of braided jute soaked in wax and threaded trough a short piece of brake tubing. You light it with whatever you have and it burns really well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsI6H0zx0BA

The guy who made the video owns www.wintertrekking.com the great traditional winter camping site.

I have several firestarters - cheap Bic style lighter, REI waterproof matches (work like a sparkler, not the cheap Coughlin matches) and a Sparkie sparker. I may make one of these rope and tube starters to go with them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwKaJkgiCWw

other choices - cotton balls soaked in Vaseline or wax-you can use an egg carton as a mold.

Thanks everyone! I also carry a small Bic, I just thought that was sort of cheating and I should make my fire in a little more primitive manner. Although two of the small Bics are probably lighter than my one flint!

I like my Swedish fire steel, pretty light and goes always with me. Day hikes to weeks. It is a no fail easy way to start a fire.

Lighter fluid.

If I go backpacking or bicycle touring I really don't like camp fires. They just makes your cloths smell like smoke for the rest of the trip. Also nylon clothing gets ruined quite easily.

The couple times I backpacked with my kids we just joined others at their camp fire. And it's fun how they insist starting a fire with the macho fire starter kit instead of using a lighter.

There's no such thing as cheating when it comes to lighting fires. "All's fair in love, war, (and lighting fires)"

There can be times when you absolutely, positively must get a fire going. It can literally be a mater of life and death, although usually it is just a welcome convenience. It is interesting how many of us carry redundant means of ignition. The weight penalty is trivial and the benefits can be enormous.

I got one of those ultralight firesteels from BPL back when they sold stuff. It worked ok, but the steel kept falling out of the handle....

I tried one of those small maratac lighters from county com (http://countycomm.com/lighterfamily.html). I liked that they were waterproof and that they could fit on a keychain with my pocketknife and my photon light. But, it fails to light on a consistent basis and the fuel leaks out of it over time.

I am back to using 2 mini bics. I stowe one in my cookpot for convenience, and one in my first aid kit for backup.

I also take a couple of those coughlan fuel tabs for firestarters. I bought a bunch of them years ago on sale at Galyan's for dirt cheap. I typically cut them up into smaller pieces in the field. Easy.

Agree! Although learning different firestarting methods is worthwhile both from the sense of accomplishment (it's not easy) and the possibility that someday, somewhere, it will come in handy.

A followup on Bics: They have two fail points--magically disappearing flints and jammed spark wheels. I don't know how or why, but it's reason enough to stash a spare.

With a self-igniting stove, I sometimes never use the lighter at all.

Cheers,

I don't carry my spark maker anymore, though I did for a long time in addition to the bics.

But I do still practice with it now and then. I still haven't tried the bow drill method, but I still intend to

I mentioned before that I found an artifact here in the Ozarks that is probably called a "Nutting Stone". From what I've found out there's not a lot known about how they were used, but they are common artifacts (I've never seen another like this one though). Two cited uses are for starting a fire using bow drill and for cracking nuts.

I think this one was for starting fires, and I think I know how it was used. I'm very tempted to try it out:





More pictures of the nutting stone here.

If you think using modern methods is cheating, read this-it might change your mind-
http://www.jacklondons.net/buildafire.html

Remind me to stick to the summer months if I ever go up there! That's harsh!

By the way, which is the nutting stone, on the left or on the right! Kidding I'm just kidding!

from what I can see of it, I'd say its a large vertebra. It definitely looks like a fossil to me. It also has been modified by a human. How to use it? probably put the drill into it, put some wood shavings around it in the hole, push and spin and blow on it.
Jim

Then pour some white gas on it, get out your lighter or sparker and light your fire.

Definitly a bowdrill fire starter. Either the stone used to hold the spindle but more likely the stone that held the tender and ember! Not bone, but stone (pipe stone or calinite)drilled from both sides with a flint drill. Very cool! ( minored in anthropology)

It's a sand timer. You put sand on top and it slowly goes through the hole to the lower compartment. When all the sand is through your water in the microwave has just the perfect warmth for immediate consumption.

You're all nutz. That's a dart sharpener. I have a modern version in my dart box.