How to Start a Fire?
You are on a hike, camping, or on a mission, and night falls. You have only one desire: to make a small fire to warm up your meal, your feet, and your morale. Here are several simple and effective ways to make a fire and enjoy a good hot drink when you are far from home.
- 1) Fire Starter
The lightest and easiest solution. There are indeed fire starter kits that include a magnesium block with a scraper that allows you to start a fire quite easily. Simply scrape the magnesium block with a blade to get some shavings, then use the blade on the scraper to create sparks and ignite the magnesium shavings. This solution, which may seem outdated, is nevertheless very useful and compact. Moreover, it works in all weather conditions and has an excellent lifespan (we are talking about several thousand fires!). This method of ignition does require the use of a blade. But rest assured, most fire starter kits include one, and all hikers, military personnel, and survivalists always have a knife on them. There are also kits based on the same principle with cotton balls, a highly flammable material.
- 2) The Lighter
A classic, effective, and proven solution. However, do not expect to start an effective fire quickly with a basic cigarette lighter. There are lighters specifically designed for extreme conditions. For example, the Highlander Windproof Turboflame lighter can operate up to 3000 meters in altitude and, as its name suggests, is wind-resistant. Its powerful flame (which can reach 1300°C) can ignite any twig, piece of cotton, or magnesium shavings. However, depending on the duration of your outing, it may be necessary to bring some fuel with you to refill the lighter along the way.
- 3) The DIY or Most Basic Method
Matches and wood! A solution that is not very practical because it is not applicable in all situations: there is little chance of starting a fire with wet wood or in the rain with just a few matches! However, it could work with fire starter tablets, like those in the BCB kit (which are hexamine blocks, better known in France as methenamine). French combat rations also have fire starter blocks that work the same way: just put them in contact with a match to ignite the block.
- 4) The Stove
Bigger and heavier than all the solutions listed above, the military stove remains the simplest and fastest solution to start a fire. The major drawback is the fuel that must be carried along with its container, which must be kept whether it is full or empty. You are not going to leave a gas cartridge in nature... Modern stoves can heat liters of water in a few minutes and guarantee bright and constant flames.
- 5) Integrated Tools
Another solution related to the very first one since we are talking about various objects that include a fire starter. For example, Rothco manufactures a knife with a paracord handle that includes a fire starter. Thus, you benefit from a knife, useful for cutting, slicing, and all other tasks specific to this tool, and you can also use its blade to scrape the fire starter. In another style, there is the multi-tool Leatherman Signal. This stainless steel tool has 19 tools (pliers, wire cutters, wire stripper, knife, saw, hammer, awl, can opener, bottle opener, knife sharpener...) but most importantly, as it is the focus of this article, a sharpening stone and a Ferrocerium fire starter, the same material found in modern lighters. It offers a wide range of uses and allows for many possibilities in the field. This solution is, in our opinion, the most practical because it offers maximum versatility and remains the most compact and usable.
We hope these little tips will be useful to you. Feel free to share your opinions and suggestions in the comments!