A Layered Approach to Firestarting

[rightisright]

I know this goes against the "old school" vibe of this forum, but I have found the new weather/wind resistant butane lighters to be awesome. Hotter flame than regular lighters and they work in nasty situations (weather-wise).

[308Mike]

I know this goes against the "old school" vibe of this forum, but I have found the new weather/wind resistant butane lighters to be awesome. Hotter flame than regular lighters and they work in nasty situations (weather-wise).

Boy, what do you have against friction-produced heat (you know, OLD school)?

I still love using those old "wind-proof, water-proof" matches with the head of the match about 20x larger than the usual matches. Those things keep a flare about 10x longer than the usual matches and are *almost* like little flares in their ability to start small fires (but aren't nearly as "traditional" or "adventurous") and in poor weather don't always work as well as the older methods.

[Lokidude]

I know this goes against the "old school" vibe of this forum, but I have found the new weather/wind resistant butane lighters to be awesome. Hotter flame than regular lighters and they work in nasty situations (weather-wise).

The little piezo-ignited ones? They burn like a house on fire. I love em. Hot, concentrated flame is a very good thing.

[Combat Controller]

Unless you are at altitude... Also, if you need tinder and know or are a smoker cigarette butts can work in a pinch.

We like new methods here! We just know the old ones work!

[308Mike]

Unless you are at altitude... Also, if you need tinder and know or are a smoker cigarette butts can work in a pinch.

We like new methods here! We just know the old ones work!

Like a small pinch of C4?

[moose42]

Like a small pinch of C4?

I'll remember that the next time I'm camping. Cuz you know I usually carry a block or two of it when I'm in the back country. You never know when you might need to blow up a downed tree on the trail.

[blackeagle603]

One of our instructors in land survival training at Eglin made a case for never cleaning your belly button.

He demonstrated. Pulled up his shirt, dug out a wad of lint and -- Voila!

[308Mike]

Like a small pinch of C4?

I'll remember that the next time I'm camping. Cuz you know I usually carry a block or two of it when I'm in the back country. You never know when you might need to blow up a downed tree on the trail.

Det cord is more appropriate for using on trees, so you can save the C4 for better uses. After all, there are VERY FEW problems that can't be solved with the appropriate amount of high explosives!!

[SoupOrMan]

Like a small pinch of C4?

I'll remember that the next time I'm camping. Cuz you know I usually carry a block or two of it when I'm in the back country. You never know when you might need to blow up a downed tree on the trail.

Det cord is more appropriate for using on trees, so you can save the C4 for better uses. After all, there are VERY FEW problems that can't be solved with the appropriate amount of high explosives!!

Tell me about it. It didn't work very well as the conclusory part of my argument paper on the rise of the meritocracy in Tang Dynasty China. You detonate ONE pound of C-4 in a tightly-packed college building and suddenly YOU'RE the bad guy...

[Combat Controller]

Yeah, det cord is better for logging. I left out the fun stuff as it is a mite hard to get for normal backpacking but if the SHTF and you end up with a couple of blocks, go ahead and light it. Just don't stomp on it!