Thursday, December 25, 2014

The Evolution Of A Pocket Fire Kit

I hope this post finds you happy and full of Christmas joy. Hopefully your day was spent with those you love or at least doing something you love! If you missed my Merry Christmas Post You Can Find it HERE. Here is my Christmas Greeting to you and your family from yesterday!

Need Help Getting Your Fire Started? Try a few of these methods:  Dryer Lint Tinder Bundle  (LINK); Gorilla Tape Tinder Bundle (LINK); Rub Cloth (LINK); Dragon Ball Fire Starters (LINK); Char Cloth (LINK); Solar Ignition (LINK); One Stick Fire (LINK); Fire Pad (LINK); DIY Fire Starter: Cotton & Petroleum Jelly Modification  (LINK); Camp Fire vs. Survival Fire vs. Cooking Fire (LINK); Building a Sustainable Fire In Wet Conditions (LINK); Split Match Trick (LINK); Survival Resources 4x Fresnel Magnifier (LINK).

As I was preparing to film the quick flint/steel video earlier this week I pulled out my fire kit and couldn't help but notice how much it has changed just in the short time I have been doing this blog. This got me thinking..... do all of you change up your fire kit as often as I do or do you simply stick with one tried and true method?  I nearly always light my fires with my 1/2"x 6" ferro rod that is always on my hip or if time isn't pressing I will use flint/steel or magnification. As far as tinder it is usually natural materials gathered or dryer lint (just because I have it in surplus from work and home) unless I make a new batch of fire starters and need to teat them out. I do like to keep a variety of fire starting methods available in my fire kit and when I have time I practice with each method. 

Need Help Getting Your Fire Started? Check out a few more of my Fire related articles:  Dryer Lint Tinder Bundle  (LINK); Gorilla Tape Tinder Bundle (LINK); Rub Cloth (LINK); Dragon Ball Fire Starters (LINK); Char Cloth (LINK); Solar Ignition (LINK); One Stick Fire (LINK); Fire Pad (LINK); DIY Fire Starter: Cotton & Petroleum Jelly Modification  (LINK); Camp Fire vs. Survival Fire vs. Cooking Fire (LINK); Building a Sustainable Fire In Wet Conditions (LINK); Split Match Trick (LINK); Survival Resources 4x Fresnel Magnifier (LINK).

Pocket Fire Kit Version 1:

1) In my first post containing my Pocket Fire Kit (LINK) you can see it wasn't 100% worn in yet as I had only made charred materials a handful of times before this point.

2) The kit contained two of my fire pad fire starters (LINK), Four Dragon Ball Fire Starters (LINK), alcohol pad, four tinder quick fire starters, small hunk of steel wool and a hunk of 100% cotton for making future char cloth.

 Pocket Fire Kit Version 2:

 
3) My second post that contained my Pocket Fire Kit was my article detailing my Large Fire Kit (LINK). This kit contained magnesium shavings, two Dragon Ball Fire Starters (LINK), two of my fire pad fire starters (LINK), four hunks of fat wood, 1 bag of fat wood shavings and 1 hunk of 100% cotton material for charring in the future.
4) At this time I was carrying two fire kits, one of which was a dedicated flint/steel kit as pictured above. The kit contained char cloth (Learn how to make it HERE), charred lamp wick and 20+ pieces of char cloth.

 Pocket Fire Kit Current Version:

5) So what does my pocket fire kit look like this Christmas, before I get a new toy or two I need to test out? It is a well worn Altoids tin still with a standard "c" striker that I secure to the outside via four ranger bands. Click HERE to see the "C" Striker in action making a traditional flint/steel fire.
6) So whats in the kit these days? "C" Striker, mini Boc, Flint, well used Altoids tin, Charred cotton material (Learn how to make it HERE), four tinder quick, one bag of magnesium shavings, one hunk of 100% cotton material, two alcohol prep pads, one hunk of chaga, one dragon ball fire starter (LINK), two of my fire pad fire starters (LINK), one small ferro rod with high magnesium content from firesteels.com, one hunk of fat wood and a small hunk of rope which will ignite via flint/steel or magnification. 

 Don't Have a fire Kit? Buy One Here


Conclusions:

My pocket fire kit is always carried on my person in addition to the fire starting materials I carry in my Micro 10 C's Kit (LINK), the 1/2" x 6" ferro rod I keep with my PLSK1 on my belt and the small ferro rod I keep in my BHK Short Trail neck sheath. While you will see that I don't have fires all that often unless it is to cook, keep away bugs, keep someone with me warm, security (from predators) or potentially signaling I don't usually have a fire just to have one. Especially during hunting season I prefer to camp without a fire to avoid scaring off game and accomplish this through proper clothing and proper sleep system/shelter. While I try to limit my reliance on fire in a wilderness setting aside from cooking, I do understand it is what keeps us at the top of the food chain and because of this will always have multiple means of lighting a fire at a moments notice on my person. You never know when you may fall into a freezing creek, have a mechanical injury or get caught out during a storm and need rapid rewarming to prevent hypothermia (Once again remember proper clothing saves lives!). I look forward to hearing what you keep in your kit, how often you are in that kit and what you always seem to reach for when lighting a fire. 

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