Several companies market the rope type firestarters saturated with an accelerant. They will start fires, but cost around $8 each per. You can buy regular hemp rope, cut it into 6 inch or so sections, melt paraffin, and soak your rope pieces in the melted wax. Wrap ‘em in a little box with a ribbon, and give to the recipient of your choice for a birthday, Christmas etc. present. Good video!
My fire kit is. A Ferro rod, bick lighter, and water and windproof matches for starting a fire. My tender is cotton balls with Vaseline, or dryer lint. If it damp out I'll use a T-candle or prank birthday canles you can't blow out. Dryer lint works great and it's FREE. I use it the most. My philosophy is simple, KISS.
There's NOT one best or 100% way for the two primary survival needs - Fire and Water. That's why I have multiple ways to take care of each... Fire - Bic lighters, Ferro rod, Lifeboat matches, Fresnel lens, and two pill bottles of cotton balls covered in Vaseline. And if I've got something electrical with me, the battery will kick sparks. Water - Boil (w/fire), Purification tablets, Sawyer filter, Primary and secondary water containment. Great, thoughtful video ! Enjoy some tears for me....
I usually bring several ways to make fire, I like fatwood also. When it's really rainy and damp I like to use the military Trioxane bars, I always have some of that with me. Helped me start a fire in cold /wet/damp miserable conditions.
I'm gonna give that black beard a try ! Currently working on making some Firestarter from , saw dust , waste oil and not sure what else I'm gonna use ... but they were free so ,I'm gonna come up with something. Maybe just for the fire pit , then experiment for kit use and camping , best part is its free !
You can make some cheap fire starters by melting one of those block candles from the dollar store and then dipping tampons or cotten balls rolled into sausage shapes in there. After they set you just roll them up in kitchen wrap.
Nice Pipe !!!!!!!! There you go you needed to have a seat and relax , I use Cotton balls with Vaseline , but keep charred material in my tins and fat wood . I even take old pallets and break them down into 8 in pcs for emergencies I always try to have multiple dry sources
Noticed on your gear dump vid that you had a roll of 36 bankline it has some kind of oil in it, you can smell it. I haven't tried to use it but I think it should burn well.
Great video. I think in real survival situations probably the most used and effective are: 1. Bic lighter 2. Matches Rarely used in real survival situations but I would add ferro rod and road flares. For emergency tinder , cotton/vaseline , rubber innertube, esbit blocks. I don't think the bow drill/friction fire is very realistic and I have never heard of it being actually used in a real survival situation. I have nothing against bushcraft but bushcraft is not survival. Often knowing a broad range of skills is important...small engine repair so you can get the fishing boat small engine working again...get the chain saw working...ect. Anyway I went way off into the weeds... thanks alot.
Never really have bought a ready made kit like that before. Bought steels and strikers, done the cotton balls with Vaseline before. Have not yet worked on the fat wood technique yet. It's on my list of stuff to do among many other things. Cheers beer's up
I've never used the Blackbeard setup but I usually carry chunks of the cheap Walmart sawdust / wax firestarter blocks . And you Better of gave Riggs a piece of bacon ! Another great video my brother .
Ha1 Nothing more subjective or more likely to start arguments than fire starters/kits. Well, knives, but we'll hold that for another time. If I'm carrying a bulky fire kit I want a bulky 6" ferro rod to go with it. No need to go into detail about my kit but you owe it to your fingers to have a Bic EZ Reach along. If I'm doing anything serious I will also pack a mini Bic and a regular Bic in a waterproof case but the EZ Reach does not require your cold, wet fingers to come in contact with the spark wheel and it can be pushed into a tinder bundle, not just held along the outside.
I make my own fat rope. Take half inch burlap rope cut into 3-4” sections. Find a small tin or a junk pot you have laying around,heat up some wax to a SLOW SIMMER(important step). Wax from an emergency candle works the best. If you burn the wax it will not be as effective. Drop the pieces of rope in the pot or tin. Let them sit until the rope stops bubbling. Another important step,the bubbles are all the air and water being pushed out by the wax. Once it’s done bubbling take the rope and a let dry. You can use the whole piece or pull off a single strand. Fray the ends of the rope for easier ignition. Great vid brother!!
Hello and Greetings from MN. I usually watch your videos on my smart TV so i can not comment. Anyway, I learned about the MGRS grid system little over a year ago and have been learning more and more each month. practicing with protractor, pace count, and that kind of stuff. You've taught me a lot on compass use. I've always thought I knew compass work, I've been playing with compass for several years. bearings, pace count, locating terrain features to triangulate where I am. The MGRS has opened up many new doors (to the outside world to practice). Now when I look at coordinates from websites and books, i wonder why they are still using degrees and minutes? It's so much easyer to find a location with the MGRS grid. Plot it out, locate your location, determine distance to said spot. Anyway, thanks for all your videos, i discovered you about 2 months ago and i think I've watched every one.. maybe 95% of them at least. take care, and I'll keep filling your canteen up with comme tears when ever I can. Mike
Good stuff brother. MGRS is super easy - but it doesn't take into account a non-flat earth, which Lat/Long does. Only folks who use that are aviators and sailors though. Most everyone else uses some form of the UTM model.
Great insights today Top! I’m just north of you in the foothills if the Cascades and it’s great to know the old skills, but I never travel with a Bic wrapped with Gorilla Tape or a small Ranger band… fat wood is definitely our one redeeming resource with all the pines we have… maybe it’s the balance of things, who knows! Keep up the Fire!
Always been skeptical of the plasma lighters . Guess because it has to be charged. Probably dumb on my part . Black Beard is going to have to pick up the pace before I trade it for lighter pine . Their product looks ok but it doesn’t look like it burns as hot as rich lighter . May be bias on my part . The pup was ready for some exercise. I think we started drinking tears at the same time. Have a great evening
Stoker... Good video on a fire kit. I'm not familiar with that brand but I just go with my kit I put together at home from different items. My kits main items: Bic lighters, ferro rod / striker, ESEE Firesteel with char cloth, several tender types like vasoline cotton balls, fatwood, storm matches, magnifying lens, jute twine and other fire starting material I may throw in. Did I mention Bic lighter, g?? All contained in a 5 X 7 waterproof zip container. Pacific Northwest stays very wet so it's good to have a fire kit with you. Tears of a commie... I have to agree with the person below. Great content and channel sir ... 🔥🇺🇸👍🏻🍺
Question / video request for you. On one of my winter trips I ran into a problem keeping a fire going. Camping next to a creek in 30 ish temps, everything on the ground was frozen, standing dead trees & branches were saturated & frozen so they wouldn't catch. Everything I found was saturated through then frozen solid. All of the fire starters are great to get the initial flame but getting an actual fire burning enough to dry / burn fuel was my challenge. I was only able to get a small flame which wouldn't catch any tinder on fire, just smoked for bit then went out completely, couldn't blow it into a flame. Any tips & suggestions on how to get a sustainable fire going in those conditions?
Usually, depending on the size, the center of standing dead trees is dry. I recommend doing it right from the start, slowly start the fire and place wet wood around the fire, at some point you will have a nice fire Once I was in the same situation my friend fell into the river and everything was wet and frozen.. long story
To add on - I’ve found we don’t often get enough kindling needed to build enough heat to burn some of the wet wood. It can be frustrating. I will work on a video taking and using wood that is soaked in a bucket to help - but can’t promise when it’ll be up
PBR? Did you lose a bet? My wife bought me one of those plasma lighters for Christmas. Love it. Vaseline is the best fire starter I’ve used, I just stick with it since its never failed me. Stay safe.
Can't say that I've ever heard of blackbeard but seems to be adequate and anything that works in a pinch is great to have, myself I keep cotton/Vaseline balls and a few sprigs of old fat wood with my charcloth for starting tinder in my kit, I've always heard that commie tears work great but I just can't seem to part with any, goes to good with the pbr lol, as always Top great video and content, cheers to you and Riggs and can't wait until the next conversation!
Tears of a Commie. Wasn't that song by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles? Starting a fire with wet wood starring Riggs The Wonder Dog. Guest appearance by Top Stoker. Bravo Zulu.
Anything is good when you can wash it down with Commie tears. My kit has 2 lighters, fat wood(I'm in Florida, so lots of fat wood around),ferro rod,Altoids tin of cotton balls dipped in Vaseline, and an Altoids tin full of paraffin cubes for grill lighting. . Think I'll go have me some of those Commie tears right now.
So the question is, who is making the fire. Are you depending on someone else to do that, and what are the chances they know to find and use pine pitch. For those in a situation that requires skill set they dont have, its good to have clearly marked packaging. Being prepared means having the preps that other people didnt provide for themselves. As an example, the first thing in my pack is another pack so as to make use of that second person, even if that second pack is just a pillow case.
Fire...? I don't use the stuff and if I need to light my cigar or pipe I either quit smoking (no fire) or bum a lighter. I seriously don't know how to cook....lol. Thanks for making the video. 😊🇺🇸😎
4/27/2022 One of the 5 C's of survival is Combustion. Having the ability to MAKE fire is essential. I believe that there should be at least 4 different ways to make fire in your COMBUSTION kit, your choice, Mine are; 1 STRIKE ANYWHERE matches, waterproofed if possible. 2 two BIC lighters. 3. two feral rods, and 4 two magnifying glasses, one of which is on my compass. To supplement these I have serval accelerant SURE FIRE products, 1 a small bottle of hand sanitizer and cotton 2. a small disc container containing pads with an impregnated flammable substance (sold by Self Reliance Outfitters), 3, a piece of lantern wick and thick felt. OH yes, and 4. my secret starter, magnesium powder (it only requires a spark and will ignite in a driving rain). Add to this kit any birch bark and fat wood I can find and a small bag of dry tinder, your choice. Notice every item has a backup. all but the tinder and my big feral rod fits into a 3 x 4 x 2 tin box, and that entire kit has a small backup, that's how important fire making is to me. I used to carry a flask of kerosene to cover the wet condition (I called it liquid match). Then one day I set my pants on fire, using that stuff, I learned a lesson about stinking thinking that night. Bill, I know you are looking at that "Black Beard" kit, but making fire is one of, if not the most, important skills anyone who goes into the wild should have. Primitive methods are important too, but our modern world has put those methods on the back burner, so to speak, and normally folks using them are just showing off, When I see a show off, I shut them off. Great job, once again. I have 3 people I pay attention to; Dave Canterbury, Frank Bush ( he lives near you in Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC) and now YOU, everyone else seems to be just showing off, especially Bear Grills. ;-)
I eat tomatoes like apples lol. I don't think many people realize just how bad of a butt whooping the PNW can put on people. It rains for 7 months on the west side. Some of the best ALONE shows have been in the PNW
Just comes to show, knowledge is worth more than kit.
Several companies market the rope type firestarters saturated with an accelerant. They will start fires, but cost around $8 each per. You can buy regular hemp rope, cut it into 6 inch or so sections, melt paraffin, and soak your rope pieces in the melted wax. Wrap ‘em in a little box with a ribbon, and give to the recipient of your choice for a birthday, Christmas etc. present. Good video!
Awesome man!
My fire kit is. A Ferro rod, bick lighter, and water and windproof matches for starting a fire. My tender is cotton balls with Vaseline, or dryer lint. If it damp out I'll use a T-candle or prank birthday canles you can't blow out. Dryer lint works great and it's FREE. I use it the most. My philosophy is simple, KISS.
Hell yeah!
Thanks for the lesson..as usual a relaxing ,stress free class
Hey Victor! Thanks brother.
There's NOT one best or 100% way for the two primary survival needs - Fire and Water. That's why I have multiple ways to take care of each... Fire - Bic lighters, Ferro rod, Lifeboat matches, Fresnel lens, and two pill bottles of cotton balls covered in Vaseline. And if I've got something electrical with me, the battery will kick sparks. Water - Boil (w/fire), Purification tablets, Sawyer filter, Primary and secondary water containment.
Great, thoughtful video ! Enjoy some tears for me....
Right on brother!
i used to make my own from sawdust pitch then dipped in wax works good in wet weather
Hell yeah!
I usually bring several ways to make fire, I like fatwood also. When it's really rainy and damp I like to use the military Trioxane bars, I always have some of that with me. Helped me start a fire in cold /wet/damp miserable conditions.
Enjoyed the video.
Regularly harvest fatwood from pine trees. A couple in the yard have supplied plenty 😁.
I keep a road flare nearby always works good
Indeed!
Thanks for everything man
Thank you for sharing your knowledge Sir. Great video as always
👊🇺🇸
Bill, its always a treat to see a new video from you. Love the content and the simplcity. Happy New Year man. Keep up the good work.
Same to you brother!!
I'm gonna give that black beard a try ! Currently working on making some Firestarter from , saw dust , waste oil and not sure what else I'm gonna use ... but they were free so ,I'm gonna come up with something. Maybe just for the fire pit , then experiment for kit use and camping , best part is its free !
Free is awesome! Saw dust & wax works great! Best of luck in your experiment!
Holy smokes that's a lot of rain!
Great looking sandwich too.😋
You can make some cheap fire starters by melting one of those block candles from the dollar store and then dipping tampons or cotten balls rolled into sausage shapes in there. After they set you just roll them up in kitchen wrap.
Nice Pipe !!!!!!!! There you go you needed to have a seat and relax , I use Cotton balls with Vaseline , but keep charred material in my tins and fat wood . I even take old pallets and break them down into 8 in pcs for emergencies I always try to have multiple dry sources
Thanks for sharing!
I like how it says this was posted 1 hour ago, but i saved it to my playlist yesterday 😂
Interesting!
Noticed on your gear dump vid that you had a roll of 36 bankline it has some kind of oil in it, you can smell it. I haven't tried to use it but I think it should burn well.
The blackbeard stuff is just a fancy take on cotton balls infused with petroleum jelly.
Great video. I think in real survival situations probably the most used and effective are:
1. Bic lighter
2. Matches
Rarely used in real survival situations but I would add ferro rod and road flares.
For emergency tinder , cotton/vaseline , rubber innertube, esbit blocks.
I don't think the bow drill/friction fire is very realistic and I have never heard of it being actually used in a real survival situation.
I have nothing against bushcraft but bushcraft is not survival. Often knowing a broad range of skills is important...small engine repair so you can get the fishing boat small engine working again...get the chain saw working...ect.
Anyway I went way off into the weeds... thanks alot.
Glad you did, because there’s a lot of truth there.
Never really have bought a ready made kit like that before. Bought steels and strikers, done the cotton balls with Vaseline before. Have not yet worked on the fat wood technique yet. It's on my list of stuff to do among many other things. Cheers beer's up
🍺🥃
Good Top! Doing a bowl and a brew with some of them tears,steak and a dog... oh yeah!
🇺🇸🥃
I've never used the Blackbeard setup but I usually carry chunks of the cheap Walmart sawdust / wax firestarter blocks . And you Better of gave Riggs a piece of bacon ! Another great video my brother .
You bet I did! 🥃
@@STOKERMATIC good man !
Ha1 Nothing more subjective or more likely to start arguments than fire starters/kits. Well, knives, but we'll hold that for another time. If I'm carrying a bulky fire kit I want a bulky 6" ferro rod to go with it. No need to go into detail about my kit but you owe it to your fingers to have a Bic EZ Reach along. If I'm doing anything serious I will also pack a mini Bic and a regular Bic in a waterproof case but the EZ Reach does not require your cold, wet fingers to come in contact with the spark wheel and it can be pushed into a tinder bundle, not just held along the outside.
Good thoughts amigo!
Outstanding
I make my own fat rope. Take half inch burlap rope cut into 3-4” sections. Find a small tin or a junk pot you have laying around,heat up some wax to a SLOW SIMMER(important step). Wax from an emergency candle works the best. If you burn the wax it will not be as effective. Drop the pieces of rope in the pot or tin. Let them sit until the rope stops bubbling. Another important step,the bubbles are all the air and water being pushed out by the wax. Once it’s done bubbling take the rope and a let dry. You can use the whole piece or pull off a single strand. Fray the ends of the rope for easier ignition. Great vid brother!!
Thanks for sharing that brother!
@@STOKERMATIC your welcome!! I forgot to mention to fray the ends of the rope. It is easier to ignite.
Hello and Greetings from MN. I usually watch your videos on my smart TV so i can not comment. Anyway, I learned about the MGRS grid system little over a year ago and have been learning more and more each month. practicing with protractor, pace count, and that kind of stuff. You've taught me a lot on compass use. I've always thought I knew compass work, I've been playing with compass for several years. bearings, pace count, locating terrain features to triangulate where I am. The MGRS has opened up many new doors (to the outside world to practice).
Now when I look at coordinates from websites and books, i wonder why they are still using degrees and minutes? It's so much easyer to find a location with the MGRS grid. Plot it out, locate your location, determine distance to said spot. Anyway, thanks for all your videos, i discovered you about 2 months ago and i think I've watched every one.. maybe 95% of them at least.
take care, and I'll keep filling your canteen up with comme tears when ever I can. Mike
Good stuff brother. MGRS is super easy - but it doesn't take into account a non-flat earth, which Lat/Long does. Only folks who use that are aviators and sailors though. Most everyone else uses some form of the UTM model.
Great insights today Top! I’m just north of you in the foothills if the Cascades and it’s great to know the old skills, but I never travel with a Bic wrapped with Gorilla Tape or a small Ranger band… fat wood is definitely our one redeeming resource with all the pines we have… maybe it’s the balance of things, who knows! Keep up the Fire!
Awesome to hear man!
Always been skeptical of the plasma lighters . Guess because it has to be charged. Probably dumb on my part . Black Beard is going to have to pick up the pace before I trade it for lighter pine . Their product looks ok but it doesn’t look like it burns as hot as rich lighter . May be bias on my part . The pup was ready for some exercise. I think we started drinking tears at the same time. Have a great evening
Heck yeah John. 🇺🇸🥃
Stoker... Good video on a fire kit. I'm not familiar with that brand but I just go with my kit I put together at home from different items. My kits main items: Bic lighters, ferro rod / striker, ESEE Firesteel with char cloth, several tender types like vasoline cotton balls, fatwood, storm matches, magnifying lens, jute twine and other fire starting material I may throw in. Did I mention Bic lighter, g?? All contained in a 5 X 7 waterproof zip container. Pacific Northwest stays very wet so it's good to have a fire kit with you. Tears of a commie... I have to agree with the person below. Great content and channel sir ... 🔥🇺🇸👍🏻🍺
Heck of a kit brother!
I have used black beard fire starters they work well however I agree they should not be our primary source for tinder
BIC lighter, 1st time everytime !
Excellent education 👏
🇺🇸🇺🇸🥃
Great video brother
awesome video man. In a hard condition, I would use Breachpen, road flare, or 3m gasket adhesive. I used only 3m once because I was lazy that day 🤣🤣🤣
There you go!
good info man, thanks!
🇺🇸🥃👊
black beard firestarters as a tertiary layer .
Question / video request for you. On one of my winter trips I ran into a problem keeping a fire going. Camping next to a creek in 30 ish temps, everything on the ground was frozen, standing dead trees & branches were saturated & frozen so they wouldn't catch. Everything I found was saturated through then frozen solid. All of the fire starters are great to get the initial flame but getting an actual fire burning enough to dry / burn fuel was my challenge. I was only able to get a small flame which wouldn't catch any tinder on fire, just smoked for bit then went out completely, couldn't blow it into a flame. Any tips & suggestions on how to get a sustainable fire going in those conditions?
Usually, depending on the size, the center of standing dead trees is dry. I recommend doing it right from the start, slowly start the fire and place wet wood around the fire, at some point you will have a nice fire Once I was in the same situation my friend fell into the river and everything was wet and frozen.. long story
To add on - I’ve found we don’t often get enough kindling needed to build enough heat to burn some of the wet wood. It can be frustrating. I will work on a video taking and using wood that is soaked in a bucket to help - but can’t promise when it’ll be up
yep I would add in my experience take the time to get plenty of kindling. The smaller your pieces the more likely you are to get that fire started
PBR? Did you lose a bet? My wife bought me one of those plasma lighters for Christmas. Love it. Vaseline is the best fire starter I’ve used, I just stick with it since its never failed me. Stay safe.
There you go!
Can't say that I've ever heard of blackbeard but seems to be adequate and anything that works in a pinch is great to have, myself I keep cotton/Vaseline balls and a few sprigs of old fat wood with my charcloth for starting tinder in my kit, I've always heard that commie tears work great but I just can't seem to part with any, goes to good with the pbr lol, as always Top great video and content, cheers to you and Riggs and can't wait until the next conversation!
Right on brother. 🇺🇸🇺🇸
Good video, fat wood is hard to beat. That Black beard looked pretty good to though.
Yeah. It’s not bad. Don’t know if I’ll replace it when it’s gone.
"Tears of a Commie" priceless...
Tears of a Commie. Wasn't that song by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles? Starting a fire with wet wood starring Riggs The Wonder Dog. Guest appearance by Top Stoker. Bravo Zulu.
😂🤣😂
Anything is good when you can wash it down with Commie tears. My kit has 2 lighters, fat wood(I'm in Florida, so lots of fat wood around),ferro rod,Altoids tin of cotton balls dipped in Vaseline, and an Altoids tin full of paraffin cubes for grill lighting. . Think I'll go have me some of those Commie tears right now.
Heck yeah! 🇺🇸🥃🇺🇸🍺
So the question is, who is making the fire. Are you depending on someone else to do that, and what are the chances they know to find and use pine pitch. For those in a situation that requires skill set they dont have, its good to have clearly marked packaging. Being prepared means having the preps that other people didnt provide for themselves. As an example, the first thing in my pack is another pack so as to make use of that second person, even if that second pack is just a pillow case.
Always good to be prepared!
look at all that pitchy goodness
Fire...? I don't use the stuff and if I need to light my cigar or pipe I either quit smoking (no fire) or bum a lighter. I seriously don't know how to cook....lol. Thanks for making the video. 😊🇺🇸😎
Us old Cold War vets always appreciate some "tears of a commie".
🇺🇸🇺🇸
4/27/2022
One of the 5 C's of survival is Combustion. Having the ability to MAKE fire is essential. I believe that there should be at least 4 different ways to make fire in your COMBUSTION kit, your choice, Mine are; 1 STRIKE ANYWHERE matches, waterproofed if possible. 2 two BIC lighters. 3. two feral rods, and 4 two magnifying glasses, one of which is on my compass. To supplement these I have serval accelerant SURE FIRE products, 1 a small bottle of hand sanitizer and cotton 2. a small disc container containing pads with an impregnated flammable substance (sold by Self Reliance Outfitters), 3, a piece of lantern wick and thick felt. OH yes, and 4. my secret starter, magnesium powder (it only requires a spark and will ignite in a driving rain). Add to this kit any birch bark and fat wood I can find and a small bag of dry tinder, your choice. Notice every item has a backup. all but the tinder and my big feral rod fits into a 3 x 4 x 2 tin box, and that entire kit has a small backup, that's how important fire making is to me.
I used to carry a flask of kerosene to cover the wet condition (I called it liquid match). Then one day I set my pants on fire, using that stuff, I learned a lesson about stinking thinking that night.
Bill, I know you are looking at that "Black Beard" kit, but making fire is one of, if not the most, important skills anyone who goes into the wild should have. Primitive methods are important too, but our modern world has put those methods on the back burner, so to speak, and normally folks using them are just showing off, When I see a show off, I shut them off.
Great job, once again. I have 3 people I pay attention to; Dave Canterbury, Frank Bush ( he lives near you in Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC) and now YOU, everyone else seems to be just showing off, especially Bear Grills. ;-)
Great stuff! And I appreciate that!
Too expensive for most people
I eat tomatoes like apples lol. I don't think many people realize just how bad of a butt whooping the PNW can put on people. It rains for 7 months on the west side. Some of the best ALONE shows have been in the PNW
So true!
Anyone who goes into the woods without a Bic lighter in their pocket is a fool.
How'd you get a canteen of Putin's tears?
😂🤣😂