Firestarting gear – and its protection

If your firestarting gear failed, you might want to stop and think about the cause of failure.

For example, if your matches got wet, then maybe you need a durable match safe. If your Bic lighter wouldn't light, maybe it was because it was cold and the butane wouldn't vaporize (so store it in a warm pocket). If your Bic lighter just broke, then that is rare. If the Bic lighter would not light because you did not exercise the child-resistant button, then that is a user error that you can be trained for.

When I head into Yosemite, I'm generally carrying a lighter in a pants pocket, another one in the stove kit, and a flat book of matches, wrapped in plastic wrap, somewhere else in my pack.

OBTW, I prefer the slightly oversized butane lighters. They hold a lot more butane, so they last longer.
–B.G.–

Elizabeth, let me start from the bottom of your post and move up.
You should never go hiking/backpacking, even on remote day trips without the Hiking Essentials

Also some kind of fire starter like a Light My Fire Swedish FireSteel Mini , or Storm Proof Matches as part of that kit.

Read through the Essentials stuff and then study up on it.

For those who don’t want to go elsewhere to read:
Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, 7th edition, © 2003 by The Mountaineers now lists the TEN ESSENTIAL SYSTEMS:
(this has not been edited for BPL types)
1. Navigation
Added to the obligatory map of the area and the base plate compass must be the ability to use them. This requires training, study, and practice. Navigating with a map alone is also a necessary skill. Attach a whistle to your compass lanyard.
2. Sun Protection
Sun glasses and a sunscreen are an obvious addition to a pack. Sun protection should come from SPF 35 sun screen lotion, dark glasses approved for altitude and reflective snow fields, and long sleeves, gloves and hat rated for strong sun. Have a sun skirt on the hat or wear a bandana under the hat and over your neck and ears.

3. Insulation (extra clothing)
This brings us to extra clothing – the most essential of the list. In Central Oregon, the weather can change in a very short time, leaving people shivering in shorts and vulnerable to rain, sweat and wind induced hypothermia. Hiking fast may keep your body heat up, until you “bonk” or “run out of gas” (glycogen), or have to hike slow with others, go slow to find your way or have to stop and tend an injured companion or stranger.

Cotton clothing, soaked in sweat, rain or melted snow, hold water loosing 70% of its insulating value and has caused the death of too many people. Layers of polypropylene, pile and Gortex are the equivalent to the wool underwear, pants, shirts, sweaters and coated nylon jackets of the 70s and before. Polypro, pile, softshells and Gortex had not been invented when Everest was first summited. However, they all used layers to 1. wick body moisture, 2. to adjust insulation and 3. to cut off wind and rain. Remember, layers must be “pealed” to avoid sweat soaked clothes! All of this essential seasonal personal clothing and equipment must be accommodated in a sturdy day/summit pack large enough to hold it. Garments or equipment tied to the outside are likely to catch on something, get wet or lost.

A larger day/summit pack is needed for the light but bulky pile or wool insulation layers in the winter.

4. Illumination
A small flashlight can assist in finding a lost or injured person. Also, many hiking groups have returned to the trailhead after dark. Headlamps now weigh in at 3 ounces!

5. First-Aid Supplies
A first aid kit sized to the trip is a must. First aid supplies can fit in a Ziploc baggie and should deal with cuts and scrapes with small and large Band-Aids, Neosporin and mole skin. In June and July, add mosquito repellent for the woods. Have OTC drugs and a personal prescription pain medication for that broken ankle. Weight can be 4 ounces. Don’t forget the toilet paper!

6. Fire
Waterproof matches and a fire starter can be combined in an adjustable propane pocket lighter. Remember, when you most need a fire, it will be windy, wet and cold. Do not depend on being able to start a fire. Learn how to stay warm without a fire. Don’t try to be a “survivalist”.

7. Repair Kit and Tools
A small knife should be light and sharp – a tool kit knife is heavy and of little use. I carry the smallest Swiss Army knife and six feet of duct tape.

8. Nutrition (extra food)
Extra food should be carbohydrates in the form of easily digested quick acting fat-free fig newtons, jelly filled breakfast bars or ClifBars with a bit of protean to aid utilization. Glycogen (sugar or starch) is the one essential fuel that must be replaced during a hard hike or climb or an unexpected cold wet night under a tree – most people have ample stores of the other essential muscle fuel: fat.

9. Hydration (extra water)
Add extra water or the equipment to obtain it (stove for snow or a filter for summer), to your list. In the summer you may need to drink a gallon or more per day. In the winter you may be able to get by with three quarts if you are careful not to sweat. Use electrolyte replacement powder such as Gookinaid or Gatorade. Remember that only two quarts of water weigh almost four pounds plus 12 oz. for the two Nalgene bottles! Instead, use Nalgene or Platypus plastic bags that weigh one ounce per quart. I am not a fan of bladders, but they are popular at this time.

10. Emergency Shelter
Emergency shelter can range from a 9oz. Emergency Bivy Sack sold by Adventure Medical Kits for about $30. to a four season Gore-Tex $200. bivy bag, pad and 20 degree sleeping bag. You can not shelter on snow without an insulating pad such as the Cascade Designs RidgeRest three-quarter length, 9 ounce ensolite foam pad, strapped to the side of your day or summit pack.

I'm definitely a fan of firesteel-type fire starters paired with appropriate tinder (check out the one available in the BPL store) but it does require a little more practice than a lighter. On the upside, once you master the technique, about the only way for it to fail is to lose it.

I've recently transitioned away from lighters and matches altogether, and carry a firesteel, tinder-quik tabs, and a couple of wetfire tabs instead. The whole kit only weighs about an ounce, and is about as bulletproof as they come when packaged in an aloksak.

If you are interested in making the change, I recommend carrying a "backup" lighter for a while until you've gotten lots of practice and are %100 confident in you fire building skills.

Good luck, and good hiking!

I keep a mini-bic in my pocket and another one in my first aid kit. The first aid kit is kept in a small aloksak to keep everything waterproof. Rarely, if ever, have I had to dig into the one that is in my first aid kit.

I neglected to say that I *do* always carry backup, stormproof matches, and I've never had to use them. (I've had them in a Ziplock though; and will move them to a more waterproof location).

I never knew that Bic lighters had to be kept warm. I've tried to light them on some pretty cold mornings; maybe I should just sleep with the lighter inside my bag.

Usually I just use regular matches to light stoves. Honestly, I never did figure out why (aside from wind conditions or the matches getting damp somehow) matches would fail. It seems that some matchbooks I've had just were old, worn out, and didn't want to light. Do matches wear out? Are there certain brands that don't work very well? How can they be tested prior to a trip?

(Again, I *do* carry stormproof matches as a backup, but would still like to be able to bring and use up regular matches since they are so cheap and easy to find.)

Are there benefits to a firesteel over a lighter besides running out of lighter fluid? All I use my lighter for is to start either my canister or alcohol stove, and the occasional campfire.

The benefits I see vs lighters are these:

1. Don't have to worry about running out of fluid
2. I've actually broken a few–not really sure how, but it happens
3. Poor lighter performance in the cold–as mentioned, this can be alleviated by keeping them in a pocket close to your body
4. Lighters can be troublesome in very wet weather since they will not light if the flint gets wet. I've also had issues storing them in my cookware if everything wasn't thoroughly dried before packing.
5. There is a definite cool factor when you tell people you don't carry lighters or matches : )

For me, fire building is just fun. It's a skill that I value and enjoy practicing, and using a firesteel simply enhances the experience. For most people a lighter will probably be the most convenient option, but a firesteel can be a completely reliable backup (or primary item) if you know how to use it.

First of all, let me state that I think Coghlan's Waterproof Safety Matches are terrible. I can't tell exactly, but it seems as though the match's igniting end degrades over time and gets soft and crumbly. Then when it is struck across the striking surface, it just smears over it.

I have good luck with ordinary paper matches, ordinary grocery store matches, and REI stormproof matches.

I never buy lighters that have an opaque fuel case, because I can't tell how much butane is left. I always get the transparent types.

Firesteels and all of those are kind of nice to have, but I only use them for special situations. A magnesium bar is nice to have with any sparking tool, but mine never sees much use.

Each year, when I go out for my first X-C ski trip, I always take a few minutes to do a practice micro-fire on snow. I allow myself only one butane lighter and one Sierra cup. I collect twigs, build a tiny fire, then melt snow in the metal cup to make hot water.
–B.G.–

A lighter does have to be warm to work, but a minute or two in the front band of your undies does the trick.

Firesteels cannot get "wet" in the failure-inducing sense. They're a good second option, but do require really good tinder. Finding really good tinder in the wild is not a simple skill.

I always carry a lighter, a small firesteel, and a 1 oz nalgene jar stuffed with dryer lint and denatured alcohol. I used that combo to make a fire in a full-on downpour last summer, which made a night out in minimal clothes and a space bivy not too bad. (Evidence here: http://vimeo.com/5721780)

While you ought to always have some "stuff" with you out in the woods, for me the !0 Essentials are variable depending on the trip, terrain, season, etc. Knowledge is way more important. During my aforementioned search for dry wood, staying calm while cold was harder and more relevant than anything.

One problem with denatured alcohol and dryer lint is that the container might leak. I prefer a non-leak system, so I use an old plastic 35mm film can (remember those? I have a million of them). In the bottom half, I fill it with soft wax, either Sno-Seal (for boot leather) or Chapstick. Then above that in the top half, I fill it with dryer lint or else jute fiber. My sparking tool is elsewhere.

A pinch of lint or fiber with a pinch of wax on it is just right for fire starting.
–B.G.–

Hi Elizabeth

I carry a standard Bic lighter in my cooking pot, in a tiny (MYOG) nylon bag to keep it clean. The one lighter has lasted me for maybe 6+ years, with a LOT of walking and lighting every year. I check the gas contents before every trip.

I carry a spare mini-Bic in my tiny first-aid kit. I have never used it. But, a little reserve is nice.

My wife carries a box of ordinary matches wrapped up in several layers of plastic in a pocket in her pack. It's never been used. Hum – it must be over 10+ years old now – I should haul it out and check it.

Lighters don't 'fail', unless mistreated or abused. They can of course run out of gas, but I use the transparent/translucent ones so I can check. Just as I look after the rest of my gear, I look after my cooking gear and the lighter.

I know some like to carry a whole range of emergency gear, but this is Backpacking LIGHT, not 'bring the kitchen sink'. My own opinion is that it is better to have a small amount of good reliable gear and to look after it carefully (and know how to use it).

Cheers

Elizabeth,

A firesteel is great, but that requires practice and knowledge of what natural materials will catch a spark well. Or, carry cotton balls in a waterproof container. They light easily, and mix in some Vaseline, which help them burn longer. Dryer lint doesn’t always work, because it depends on the material the lint is from. Be sure to get plenty of practice in, as it’s no fun watching the wind or even the striking motion itself blow your carefully prepared tinder away on the first try. :)

I carry two Bic lighters as a backup firestarting method, one wrapped in foil to keep it clean and mostly dry, and another in my pocket so that it is warm and quickly available. I also carry two small trick birthday candles–the kind which are difficult to blow out. Lighting the candle with a Bic is easier than striking a match, and the candle lasts way longer.

Lighters can be hard to use in just the conditions where you need them most, with cold and wet hands. If you can keep the lighter safe from misuse by children, removing the childproof spring makes the lighter much more effective in a potentially dangerous situation.

I used to carry a lighter in my pocket, one in my stove kit, and one in my emergency kit; I kept a small plastic vial of matches w/each lighter, and generally carried a flint/steel. I weighed that stuff one day, and found that it came out to about a half pound.

I re-thought what I use and how. Now I carry one mini-bic in my pocket, and one ferro rod. That's it. Matches don't make sense to me; they're the most prone to failure and moisture problems. You shouldn't need to carry backups of backups. You can't really kill a ferro rod; it'll always work.

My kit does include ~8 smaller cotton balls; I melt some petro-gel in a saucepan, stir in the cotton balls. Wrap them in 2 or 3 little piece of aluminum foil to seal up, and also so I can use the foil as a kind of wick former. I've gotten over 8 minutes of burn out of one cotton ball in wet and windy conditions that way, and they light great w/the ferro.

I don't carry matches mainly because they take up so much space and weight for the aount of fires they can build. A lighter will last alot longer and can be kept in a waterproof container just like matches can be kept.

I bring with me:

Zippo Lighter to light my cigars.
LMF Mini ferro rod
2 or 3 Landmann Firestarters

Almost everywhere I go there will be birch trees which provide plenty of natural tinder. I usually pick off a few pieces from every tree I pass and put them in my pocket as I go along. Both my front pockets are stuffed by the time I get to camp. With a few scrapes on my LMF mini and the birch bark i have collected I can easily get a fire going in every type of weather conditions.

I occansionally bring a Flint, steel and char cloth in a tinder box for fun.

Joseph