Originally Posted by
ElevenBravo
Mmmm.... Zack... I share your pain.
I tried for 2 hours to get a fire started in a light rain... to all fail. I was running a spark rod and no brought from home tinder.
Spark a dry cotton ball, it goes up right away and burns just long enough to get small kindling started.
Remember the rule of wood:
Kindling:
Thick as pencil lead
Thick as pencil
Thick as thumb
Firewood:
Thick as your wrist
Thick as your calve
If you get it going strong, thick as your quad
If you can find fatwood, great! Take a decent knife and SHAVE it into a big bundle, spark it a few times, it "should" catch. Ive done it at home, Im sure Ill fail in the field! HA HA!
I had planned on doing a video on this subject. (kindling, etc... etc...)
Ive been in the military for almost 2 decades, Infantry... Been outdoors a LOT. Nothing humbles an ego than to fail at getting a fire started, most people have no idea it is an art not just a skill!
Practice your art at home, so when you get in the woods you have the skills.
And, as an emergency backup friend, it would be foolish to not have a modern tool (Bic lighter) as a backup in the event your art & skills fail you but you are in a true to life emergency situation, but you didnt bring any... because your ego got in the way of common sense (Think borderline hypotherm).
Hell, Ill admit... tucked in the bottom of my ruck is a road flare... because no matter what (wet, rain, wind), when you MUST have fire, ROAD FLARE. :-)
EB