Much agree, char cloth is awesome.
And they make the tiny Altoids tins, have you seen those? Then you can carry a small portion in your pack or kit, and have a tin to make more.
That's a neat website with the tutorial, thanks for posting that.
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Moderator
Much agree, char cloth is awesome.
And they make the tiny Altoids tins, have you seen those? Then you can carry a small portion in your pack or kit, and have a tin to make more.
That's a neat website with the tutorial, thanks for posting that.
Member
I keep a "clean" Altoids tin for carrying the char cloth in my pack as the one I use to make the char cloth is covered in soot and I don't want that stuff getting all over my gear.
Small Altoids tins......hmmm, need to check them out. Thanks for the tip!
Moderator
No problem, they are usually in that "impulse buy" area right next to the checkout stand.
Banned
a tube of shoe goo type stuff form the shoe shop.(its a shoe glue)
works well. i am never w/o the following
knife
life boat matches
steel wool
fire tabs form survival inc
shoe goo
magnesium rod
all small and can carry in small zip lock
cary l/b matche's, steel wool and mag rod duc taped tp my knife.
jjw
Member
I tried some "Maya dust" a while back. Stuff was garbage. Wouldn't light after five minutes of constant sparks from a ferro rod. I really like the Wetfire cubes.
Member
Birch bark is an amazing firestarter. The oils in it will light even when its wet.
Senior Member
+1, Also a big fan of lighter'/ Fat wood/pine knot. So widely available in south east, I don't even bother packing any.Originally Posted by STONE-YARDER
^^ Read with southern accent !^^ and blame all grammatical errors on Alabama's public school system.
Technique is nothing more than failed style. Cecil B DeMented
"If you can't eat it or hump it, piss on it and walk away."-Dog
Go where the food is.
Moderator
What is the shelf life like on those Wetfire cubes? I have thought about snagging some. Would they be okay to leave in a vehicle for a few years? Through the heat/cold cycles?
Thanks.
Member
Per manufacturer, they should have a shelf life of 5 years. The key, and Wetfire's only weakness IMO, is that they will only last if the packaging is intact. If it's somehow busted, the shelf life drops to only about 3 months. I've pulled Wetfire cubes out of my car and lit them after going through some pretty hot and cold cycles for about a month or two, so as long as the packaging is intact, I would assume you're fine. Some folks apparently owned some cubes from the company back before they were even Ultimate Survival Technologies; after nearly 15 years in storage, they lit first time.
Now the upside to having a 3 month shelf life once opened is that you can reuse it. I don't think people who bash on this product utilize this aspect. You can light it, blow it out, and re-light it. It will be instantly cool once out. That means you can use just half a cube to light a fire, and use the other half later. Or you could even use the cube to light a larger bundle of tinder, shake it out, then use it again and again.
Moderator
Cool, thanks very much for the info and detailed response.
Remember those small Pelican cases that the NRA sold a few years back? They had a mirror, whistle, Blastmatch and some Wetfire cubes? I snagged 5 or 6 of those, and was going to replace the tinder in them.
I am betting it was exactly what you said. The packaging probably got popped open, and that was what did them in.
I may just do the char cloth as an add-on to them. Never hurts to have multiple methods.
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