Fire Kit

Ah, the tiny, yet versatile Altoids tin. I love all the stuff you can do with these. I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a while. Especially since I made my fire starters!

As usual, you start with an empty Altoids tin. Then gather together your items.

In my fire kit I have:

•a flint and steel, found in the camping section at Walmart

•a standard Bic lighter, found anywhere

•lint, found in the lint trap of your dryer

•waterproof fire starter, directions on making and using found here

I wrapped the fire starter in aluminum foil to stop it from spreading it’s stickiness.

Then I put a rubber band around the whole kit to help hold it closed. This kit can help when camping, or, as mine will, it’s going to eventually be in my 72-hour bag.

Let me know how yours turns out!

Fire Starters

Fire!!
I married a former volunteer fireman, so I have a healthy respect for fire and it’s safety requirements. That being said, there is something so fun about watching a cotton ball burn!
I am slowly falling into the world of prepping. I know that word has many different meanings to people. It could be the “lunatic” survivalist living off the grid in the Rockies or it could be the lady down the street who has a month’s worth of food stored in the basement. I think I’ll wind up somewhere in between when all is said and done.
I’ve been piecing together 72 hour bags (I will blog about them when they’re done), and Tony and I’s bags will include fire starter kits (Again, more to come on that).
While looking into the fire kits, I found this very detailed website with instructions on how to make a very practical fire starter. The original blogger made 600 of them, I started smaller as I’m seeing how it all works.
To start, you need:
•ziploc baggie
•cotton balls
•Vaseline  (I did use the Walmart brand because the main active ingredient was the same and it’s much cheaper)

Put a handful of cotton balls in the bag, add enough Vaseline to coat the cotton balls, then just start mushing it all up.
This was a strangely gratifying process because it feels really weird in the bag and you don’t get all slimy.

After letting them set for a few hours, until Tony got home, we of course had to try them out.

All you have to do is take the cotton ball and tear it open, yes it will be slimy, but in a survival scenario, you’re just trying to stay warm.

This little experiment also gave us the benefit or trying out my firestarter that I bought in the camping section of Walmart. A match or lighter will work as well.

Now part of you may be wondering why you don’t just use your match or lighter to light your kindling, and I have the answer. After watching this cotton ball burn for over 3 minutes, I realized how easy it would be to lay kindling over it until it lit. A match will not stay lit in strong winds and you don’t want to use all of your lighter fluid trying to start a fire.

These cotton balls, in a protective coat of the Vaseline, will continue burning in high winds. The original blogger also said that they will be waterproof once the Vaseline has set.

All in all, this is a fun little prepping, or even just a camping, supply to have in your arsenal.

Happy pyro playing!