[pct-l] Fw: How To Light A Fire Instantly In Snow, Ice, And

[Russell Mease]

Here is what I do that works well.  Thanks to Tony Nester from Ancient
Pathways, a survival school based out of Flagstaff for this tip - You take
a cottonball and dip your finger into a jar of vaseline, and smear the
cottonball with the vaseline until it is good and wet.  You can use 2
cotton balls if you want something more substantial.  now use a small
square of tin foil, set the wet cottonball in the middle and fold the foil
over and around the cottonball until it is encased in the foil and about 2
inches by 2 inches square and flat.  now cut an "X" in the middle of the
foil just enough to be able to pull out some cotton fibers.  You light this
cotton with a match or a firestarter and it will burn a nice flame for a
LONG time.  It is also re-usable....just fold down the foil to re-cover the
cotton and store in a zip lok bag.  You can use one of them dozens of
times.  It ways next to nothing.

-Russ
http://russmease.blogspot.com

-----Original Message-----
From: James Vesely
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 1:41 PM
To: Edward Anderson ; pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Fw: How To Light A Fire Instantly In Snow, Ice, And
Wind

I have found that by soaking cotton balls or round cotton makeup pads in
liquefied wax make great emergency fire starters they are water proof
and burn for a long time.

Jim

Hi Gang,
I thought some on this list might be interested in this. A handfull in a
small Ziplock wouldn't weigh much or take up much space in your pack.
MendoRider-Hiker