5 Homemade Fire-Starters, Perfect for Building Survival Fires
Cold months provide the perfect excuse to spend a little time in the garage, prepping for next year’s camping season. Investing a few hours now will have you ready to go at a moment’s notice come spring.
Next season, forget packing in newspaper. Here are some homemade fire-starters, perfect for building a marshmallow-toaster or a survival fire:
Boy Scout’s Favourite
Soak cotton balls in petroleum jelly (Vaseline), and then stuff them into a film canister (you still have those, right?) or other container. These little fireballs light right up and provide a couple of minutes of flame.
Dryer Delight
Stop throwing away that valuable dryer lint! Spend the winter collecting it, stuff about four litres of the stuff into a garbage bag, and then mix in about two tablespoons of citronella lamp fuel. Compress then use to start a fire.
Sawdust & Egg Cartons
Collect sawdust from your home-reno projects over the winter, and then fill the slots in an egg carton with the stuff. Pour in a little melted paraffin wax, let dry. These egg-shaped waxy sawdust balls, once broken apart, work well as fire starters.
Duct Tape
What isn’t this stuff good for? In a pinch, a loosely bundled-together ball of duct tape will burn like hellfire, enough to set kindling ablaze.
Rubber Tubing
Not recommended as a standby for obvious reasons, but if you find yourself stranded in the woods after getting an un-repairable flat bicycle tire, a six-inch chunk of rubber tubing will light right up and burn hot enough to ignite kindling.
PS. Did this fire starter guide inspire you to get outside and live the adventure?
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