I have seen a lot of fire starters on amazon and some ways to start a fire on you tube.A 9 volt battery and steel wool seems to be carried by hunters ,preppers,survivalist.what fire starters would you be packing.

I carry 3 when hiking.

A sealed in package bic lighter
Weatherproof matches
A magnesium fire starter with a pellet can full of lint.

I carry 3 when hiking.

A sealed in package bic lighter
Weatherproof matches
A magnesium fire starter with a pellet can full of lint.

would you use these fire starters for long term storage,(pack it and put it away).

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Best firestarter you can own:

- Go to any fast food establishment, and grab as many napkins as you can without drawing suspicion.

- Go to a local store or online and buy some wax. Any type will do, as long as it has a normal candle/paraffin wax melting point, and not something ridiculously high.

- Melt the wax

- Fold the napkins into as small a square as desired, saturate the napkin in the liquid wax, then allow to dry.

- When you are ready to use the wax napkin, simply unfold a corner and light it.

- Protect the flame for about 10-20 seconds to ensure there is a good ignition.



I have been making these for over a year as a primary starter for my biochar process.

These firestarters  are water resistant during carry and in light rain, wind resistant once the flame has burned for approximately 10-20 seconds, and has a consistent burn rate between 10-15min, depending on the size of the napkin.


Napkins: free
Wax: $2  ($20 for 10lbs, of which I only used 1 pound for the last batch)
Pot from goodwill: $3
hot plate/stove: free, assuming you already have one.


Total cost for 100+ firestarters: $5, which translates to 16+ hours of firestarting capability.


The only downside to these firestarters is that they must be ignited by flame, i.e. a lighter. But I would rather carry 2-3 BICs or water resistant/proof lighters and have a consistent flame that burns for at least 10min to start my fires than to play around trying to be tacticool with a survival firestarter that is far less effective and efficient, especially in a climate like Hawaii.

thanks man, that's some good information that I will try out.

would you use these fire starters for long term storage,(pack it and put it away).

Yup. If I open the factory packaging on the bic I replace it with a new one.

And lint makes for great kindling.

Combine mine and Q's and you should be set. 

Another good fire starter is dryer lint.

You collect dryer lint, put them in egg cartons (cardboard) then pour wax (old melted crayons) when hardened break them up into individual fire starters.

roll some cotton balls or dryer lint in petroleum jelly.
For storage, grab straws from a fast food place of your choice, preferably the ones with wider straws,
Cut the straws into about 1.5"- 2" sections, then seal 1 end of the straw,
Stuff the cotton ball or lint into the straw then seal the other end.
Store in a old pill bottle or ziploc bag. The straws keep the firestarters from getting wet, and you can just light  the straw when youre ready for your fire.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Mini-Straw-Fire-Starters-easy/

A link from the past.  https://2ahawaii.com/index.php?topic=1304.0;nowap

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Jelly ftw.  think dual purpose... in an emergency, you cant press one out with wax napkins now can you? 

The petroleum balls are not cost efficient or as effective as wax.

The balls absorb too much petroleum, and the petroleum is messy to work with. And the balls burn no more than 5-9min on average if made in the standard fashion. If you soak the balls for extended periods of time to absorb more petroleum, you run the risk of not having enough dry surface area within the cotton ball to successfully take a spark or even a flame.

Another down side is that  petroleum balls actually way more and take up more space than the wax napkin, being that they must be stored in some sore of container.

I started with petroleum balls, and thankfully discovered the wax napkins after hating them so much; far easier to work with and far more effective/efficient.

Jelly ftw.  think dual purpose... in an emergency, you cant press one out with wax napkins now can you? 

Q probably could. 

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I recently discovered that by pouring potassium permanganate in with glycerin I have  something that will spontaneous start on fire. Check out videos on you tube. It really doesn't take much either. Just bought the two chemicals on Amazon too.

I recently discovered that by pouring potassium permanganate in with glycerin I have  something that will spontaneous start on fire. Check out videos on you tube. It really doesn't take much either. Just bought the two chemicals on Amazon too.

interesting I gotta check that out..

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Hard to get potassium permanganate locally.

Usually its readily available in snake bite kits, but unless you have access to a chemist it could prove hard to get.

And be careful buying large amounts of PP. It's monitored by the ATF and FBI.

I got 1 pound through amazon for something like $10