My Fire Kit

[klickitat]

Here is a picture of my core fire kit that I carry into the woods with me.

The container is a plastic soap box that I covered in 100 mile hour tape to make it a little more durable. There are two tiroxane fuel bars, a mag fire starter, disposable lighter and a small Gerber knife.

As a part of my complete pack I also have an aspirin bottle with PJcotton and 4 tea candles. However I did not put those in this picture because I only started using those this season and have not had extensive time with them like I have with this kit. BTW: I joined this board after reading about the PJ/cotton mix.

Any how, some may think that the trioxane fuel bars are not needed if you know where to get dry tinder and fuel. Maybe. You see I live here in Western Washington also know as the Wet side of Washington and yes no matter what you can find dry tinder if you know where to look. The problem is that we always assume that we will be building a fire at our leisure.

What happens if you hurt your hand and can not scrape the mag bar, use a bow drill and so on? What about falling and hurting your back or breaking a leg? I think about these things and for me the trioxane fuel bar will allow me to start a fire using wet tinder and or fuel to at least get a fire started no matter where I fall or no matter how disabled I am.

I have never practiced with an injury. I should! I think tomorrow when I head out for a morning bear hunt, I might try to do a one handed fire and tea after the hunt.

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[beetlejuicex3]

Nice little fire kit, thanks for the pics.

UST makes a the Blastmatch and Sparkie which are sparking device that can be used one handed. They're on the pricey side for fire equipment but Ebay has some cheap chinese knock-offs that may be worth checking into.

BCB/Proforce Nato matches are quite amazing if you've never tried these out. They light well even when both striker and match are wet. It would take some fumbling but it could be done with one hand.

I've never liked lighters that much, but for no good reason.

greenbeetle

[klickitat]

One of the points I was trying to make is that if you are hurt bad, you may not be able to pick and choose your tinder and fuel. In a wet environment, you may have to use wet fuel and a small ember is not going to dry the fuel out for a fire.

I know because I learned my lesson on an over night fishing trip. While fishing for sturgeon on the banks of the Chehalis River in the pouring rain we decided finally that we needed a fire. We had paper and found some small tinder, but could not get any of the fuel to take off because we just could not get it dry enough. In the day light it might have been easier to find some wood that would work. If you get injured though, you may not have the ability to go find wood. You might be stuck right where you lay and have to try and build a fire with what is at arms reach.

[finallyME]

Nice setup. Maybe I will take pictures of mine and post. Mine isn't that dissimilar than yours.

[Rick]

Klick - That's a nice fire kit. I completely concur on the "what if I'm injured" piece. That BIC lighter is easy to work and the PJ/cotton just works.

Greenbeetle - Just a couple of thoughts for you. Those NATO matches are good but you will only have as many fires as you have matches unless you know how to carry your fire with you. Think how many fires you will have with a BIC lighter. And....if you run out of fuel you still have a striker that you can use one handed and use to light tinder.

I just keep my stuff in a zip lock baggie but it's on the same order as yours. I do carry a fire steel and char cloth as well.