EQUIPMENT TO LIGHT THE FIRE

THE EQUIPMENT NECESSARY TO LIGHT A FIRE

In a survival situation have any tool to light a fire, it will certainly make life easier.

MATCHES:

You can choose to bring a simple lighter or a box of matches better if anti-humidity and windproof.

If the matches are wet you can pass them through the hair, of course, if the matches are waterproof there is no need to dry them.

You can make waterproof matches by dipping in nail polish or liquid paraffin. Another method is to cover the matches with candle wax.

Surely the matches are the most recommended in a survival kit. They make easier the lighting of the tinder, there is no danger they break, as can happen with a lighter. Sometimes a lighter can not work, for example, if it gets wet or the temperature is too cold or if there is strong wind, also a lighter may break while the matches at most can be broken at half and if one does not work you can always use another.

LIGHTER:

If you opt for a lighter choose a rechargeable model (bringing the eventual lighter fluid), small, durable and piezoelectric (the one with the stone tends not to work well if mechanism is damp or wet). Better to choose a transparent model so you can monitor the gas level.

The zippo can be an excellent alternative to the lighter, but if it gets wet or if there is strong wind it becomes difficult to use it. If you choose the zippo is also necessary to bring gasoline to recharge it. In addition, a drop of gasoline on the tinder helps you to light a fire quickly even in adverse weather.

FLINTS:

If you have/find a flint or pyrite you can exploit their sparks to ignite the flame.

FIRESTEEL:

Another tool to start a fire is the firestriker or firesteel (an “artificial flints” that are made with ferrocerium alloys). The firesteel is always recommended in survival manuals, because you can use it a large number of times and in any weather situation.

Its use is very simple, you must scrape a metal tool against firesteel to create sparks.

The firesteel is one of the most reliable tools to build a fire in bad weather. The created sparks are extremely hot: about 3000 °C (5,432 °F).

It is completely waterproof. It works wet and continues to create sparks in humid environments, in rain and snow, with strong winds and at any temperature (cold or hot).

The firesteel life may range from 1,000 ignitions until, and beyond, to 10,000 ignitions depending on the model.

Why firesteel produces sparks?

During the rub, the metal tool being harder than the ferrocerium, scrapes the bar peeling away small splinters, which in contact with the air are transformed into sparks. This occurs due to the thermal energy which develops during the rubbing.

LENS:

In any survival kit it is always advisable to bring a lens to light the fire using the sun’s rays. The lens is a great way to spark a flame but this method has big limitations: it can not be used at night, if the sky is covered, if the weather is bad, if there is wind, if the sun’s rays are not strong enough, and it’s unusable in certain areas of the planet.

BOW DRILL:

In case of total absence of tools for the lighting of the fire you can opt for the friction method. That is, by rubbing two pieces of wood in order to produce the ember for the tinder.

To use this technique you can build a bow drill, read the following article for more information: LINK.