In any survival or emergency scenario, the ability to create fire is a must-have. Fire is useful for all sorts of things in the outdoors including keeping yourself warm, cooking food, making signals so that rescuers can find you, having a source of light at night, and even just providing a psychological boost to your morale. To that end, having tools to start a fire is essential for anyone who recreates in the wilderness for any length of time, whether it is a day hiking, a weekend camping trip, or a week-long hunting expedition.
A fire starter of any kind should always be carried and is one of the Ten Essentials for heading outdoors. However, there are many different kinds of fire starters, and it might be confusing to find the one that works for you. Most people can get by with matches or butane lighters but there are times when these might not be available or function properly. Here is a rundown of the different kinds of fire starters available:
- Matches – If you decide to carry matches in your pack, be aware that household matches bought from any grocery store will not work if you take an unexpected swim in a body of water or your pack gets wet somehow. The best matches to have are those that are waterproof. This means that they will relight even after being submerged. Some matches from outdoor retailers are also windproof and come in a handy plastic carrying case so that they do not get damaged in your bag.
- Butane Lighters – Butane lighters offer more durability than matches but they also require lighter fluid and this has to be replaced occasionally. You could find yourself out of luck in a survival situation if the fluid in your lighter has already been depleted. Plus, high-quality butane lighters are more expensive than matches and other fire starters.
- Magnesium Fire Starters – Usually made of magnesium and a steel knife, there is a whole class of fire starters besides matches and lighters. To use these striking tools, you scape off tiny bits of magnesium using the knife or another metal tool. The tiny flakes of magnesium heat up to create the spark. Other fire starters might be use different kinds of materials like ferrocerium to generate enough heat.
It is not enough to just carry a fire starting tool. Anyone who has tried to start a fire knows that you also need tinder, a flammable material to get the fire going. Tinder can be found in a large variety of sources, whether it is from the natural environment around you or synthetic man-made sources. The best tinder that can be found in Mother Nature includes dried pine needles, dried grass, cattails, and scrapings from the inner bark of birch, cedar, poplar, or cottonwood trees. Synthetic fire starting materials include things like dryer lint, fire paste, cotton balls coated with Vaseline, and InstaFire.
No matter what kinds of fire starter tool or tinder you decide on, know how to use them! The ability to get a fire started is one of the most important survival skills to have.
