Since i live in a wet area, i always seem to have trouble finding dry tinder without doing a lot of extra work, so i usually carry some with me instead. One of the ideas i came up with last year, was using a pencil sharpener to turn sticks into wood shavings. This was working very well, and i could even store the shavings inside the pencil sharpener. See pic...

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Then i got another idea. Pine hamster bedding. When i was younger, i worked at a pet store, and i remember having to sweep this crap up off the floor all the time. It's dry, comes in small or large bags for pretty cheap, and even has different sizes in the bag. Bigger peices, and crushed up stuff at the bottom.

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Just a small handful will give you plenty of tinder to get small sticks burning. The crushed up stuff at the bottom even takes a spark nicely from a ferro rod. I have tested this and it works perfectly. Now i carry a small bag of it in my pack all the time.

The bedding also makes a great addition to dryer lint or cotton balls as it gives you a longer burning coal base.