I make and carry cotton pads that have been swiped through candle wax. Summertime with dry kindling a half pad is all that's needed. For winter and/or wet kindling a whole pad or better, use 2 or more of them in different areas of the kindling pile. Burn time for a 1/2 pad is at least 5 minutes.

To make: melt any candle wax on hand (I buy old candles at yard sales, colour and fragrance don't matter) in a double boiler style assembly - I use a meat pie sized foil pan in a small saucepan. Take each cotton pad and using a pair of tongs, swipe it through the molten wax. Do NOT soak in wax, you want them lightly imbedded with the wax. Too much wax and you'll have no cotton pad left to fluff and light. Lay each pad on a cookie sheet lined with either parchment paper or tin foil. When dry, cut in half with scissors and pack. I use an old Altoids tin that holds 9 or 10 half cuts of the pads.

Agree with cotton balls - my go-to for several reasons: 

1) Cheap
2) Compact
3) Waterproof
4) Excellent for use with firesteel

DIY video on making these things: 

https://youtu.be/6tO128u78FY

The only issue in the winter is that having a fire starter alone will not have sufficient heat output to warm the hands (in order to process more wood). So I like to carry kindling from the previous night. Obviously this does not work for the first night. 

If planning to arrive late, I would gather kindling at the start of the trek, keep in in the bag so it's ready for the 

I collect dryer lint and bring a small ziploc baggy with me. It's probably not as efficient or effective as cotton balls and wax but it's perfect when you're too lazy to actually melt the wax or apply the vaseline. I just keep a container on the top of my dryer and instead of throwing out the lint, I save it. 

We make these up using egg cartons, old candles and dryer lint or wood shavings.




 

Last edited by RobW (11/11/2015 10:33 am)

Increase the vaseline content for a longer burn time. 

If you work vaseline in with your fingers at a room temperature, you will get fluffy balls with a short burn time (yes, I know this statement wins the internet). These are easier to ignite with firesteel. 

If you melt the vaseline over a stove, then add the cotton balls, they will be very saturated and will result in a longer burn time. On the other hand, the cotton fibers will be harder to fluff up, and it may be a bit harder to ignite with firesteel (although with proper technique it's a breeze - press the firesteel down onto the cotton ball, scrape slowly and with pressure). 

Cheers,
M
 

I haven't seen many mentions of Esbit fuel tabs, which I've been using for emergency cooking.  They need a flame to ignite, but they burn hot and long to help get a fire going.

I drive past a lumber shop that dresses the rough lumber in house. Out front they pile the "edges" that have been sawn off. Its pieces of kiln dried hard woods like maple, oak, etc... that are about 1 inch square and eight feet long. I chop them down into 1 foot lengths. And bring along a dozen or so for wet and cold weather trips. They have been the best thing I have found so far....but you still need something like paper, bark, etc... to light it, but not much.

Its kiln dried cut offs of dressed lumber so there are no bugs.

I also second the egg carton thing!

 

Birch bark is my go-to material...the stuff is amazing!  I too am a fan of Balsam Fir blisters.  I love the smell it gives off as well.  This may sound strange but I usually bring a road flare if conditions are soaking wet.  They burn long and VERY hot and will give you a good head start on your fire.