I like to use cotton balls and petro jelly. I might also mix in steel wool into the cotton for wet or hard start situations or magnesium shavings. This is more of a 2-4 min burn with 2 balls. If you want to prolong the burn use wax and that easily doubles or triples the burn time. Just gotta understand you tinder or kindling type and how much burn you need to light the kindling. I will also use cotton balls with petro jelly and then wax dip. I also like to use toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls. Set them upright on wax paper and stuff with dryer lint or cotton balls in about 1" segments and add fill with wax. When full add more lint then pour in wax, etc, etc. Cut off 1/4" to 1/2" segments to burn. The roll automatically gets saturated from the inside out with wax. I also use Jute twine, sisal rope or Manilla rope also saturated in vasoline, but usually use wax coating. Wax is the best for water tight. Just note that wax is harder to light so for the toilet paper rolls I will slice the paper roll and attempt to fray the cut edge, or rough up the inner lint to catch a spark. Also on the twine or rope balls I will leave a tail to peel back the wax and fray the ends to help take a spark. Sisal is the most difficult.
In this picture small starters from top L to R, - 2 cotton balls petro jelly impregnated and wax dipped (~5-7 min burn time), 2 cotton balls petro soaked with steel wool (can be lit with flint or 9V battery, same ~5-7 min burn time), Small bundle Jute twine wax dipped (~5 min burn time).
Bottom row are larger fire starters L to R - Toilet paper roll with dryer lint and filled with wax (3/8" slice ~10-15 min burn time, Sisal rope bundled and wax dipped (~10-15 min burn time), 10 petro jelly soaked cotton balls wrapped with toilet paper and bound with Jute twine (~20-30 min burn time).
