Conversation with a park ranger made me rethink my fire-starting kit

I was camping up near Lassen last month and a ranger named Dave saw me unpacking my usual lighters and fire starters. He said something like 'you've got 6 ways to make a spark but nothing to catch it with if it's wet.' That actually hit hard because I realized I spent $40 on fancy gadgets but never tested them in the rain. Now I carry a cheap candle stub and a few cotton balls with vaseline as a backup. Has anyone else found their go-to gear isn't the flashiest stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

barnes.morgan9d ago

Wait so you spent $40 on fire starters and never even tried them in the rain? Thats wild man. I did the exact same thing with one of those fancy ferro rods and some tinder tabs. First time it was damp out I was out there scraping away for like 20 minutes with nothing to show for it. The cotton balls and vaseline thing is legit though. Ive used that trick in actual downpours and it lights up in like 2 seconds. Dave the ranger sounds like a legend.

eric_wright779d agoTop Commenter

Yeah I read somewhere that a guy tested a bunch of those store-bought fire starters in wet conditions and most of them failed. The cotton balls soaked in vaseline was actually one of the only things that worked every time in his tests. I think it's because the vaseline repels water and burns hot enough to dry out damp kindling. Dave the ranger probably knew that trick long before the internet made it popular.