Get it going with this stuff. You could look for tinder (cat tail fluff, bark shavings, pine needles) when you’re cold and wet, or you could pull out your stash of manufactured pyronics (I made up that word) and get warm before things get nasty. We tested each of these out and documented their burn-times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[nggallery id=86]Coghlans’s Emergency Tinder<\/strong> $4\/10 tabs burn time: 7:00 GearScout Approved<\/strong> PRO: Waxed cotton filament is just an old school earplug. When dry, these light with the smallest spark when pulled apart. Each tab is super compact and burns for a long time. CON: Can be a challenge to keep lit in high winds, flame not as tall as some other tinder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [singlepic id=1030 w=225]Tinder-Quik Fire Tabs<\/strong> $2.50 pack of 10 tabs burn time: 2:20 PRO: These cotton wads use less wax than the earplug style Couglhan’s Emergency Tinder but are as small and easy to light. CON: Limited burn time and also must be kept bone dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [singlepic id=1011 w=225]GreenHeat<\/strong> 12 1oz packets\/$8 packets burn time: 10:20 http:\/\/www.adventuresurvivalequipment.com\/ PRO: A thick ethanol based gel that lights easily with a spark and burns slowy. Even the wrapper can be used to extend the burn time. Spread the goo around your kindling and it’ll do it’s thing. CON: Long term storage of a gel packet can be a little worrisome. Greenheat comes from South Africa and is a bit difficult to find in the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [singlepic id=1018 w=225]Light My Fire MayaDust<\/strong> $5\/1 oz. burn time: 1:45 1″ diameter, 1\/4″ high pile PRO: It’s light. CON: Mayadust was nearly impossible to light with a spark in a dry fireplace, so we worry about using it in the wind and wet without a lighter. It didn’t burn for a very long time, either. Maybe we should have used more, but for $5 a can we only used enough to allow 10 fires from the tin. Failed to ignite when wet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [singlepic id=1017 w=225]Lightnin’ Bug Fire Starters<\/strong> $2.95\/8 buds burn time: 7:10 PRO: Like the Firedust, we found the Bugs lit best with a lighter or a match. But once lit, they burned long enough get our kindling going without fail. Keep it dry, though, it’s mostly compressed wood. They’re cheap and compact. CON: Brittle composition. Will burn much faster when broken up, however.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [singlepic id=1007 w=225]Esbit Solid Fuel Tablets<\/strong> $6\/12 tabs burn time: 13:45 PRO: Esbit is more of a fuel than a tinder. After about 40 strokes under a flint rod with no ignition we proved our point. But, if you are packing a lighter or matches, these things work as effective kindling to light up firewood sans tinder. CON: Will not light without an open flame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [singlepic id=1008 w=225]SolKoa Fastfire<\/strong> $8\/8 tabs burn time: 9:00 GearScout Approved<\/strong> PRO: Crumble a bit of this little white block to provide some surface area add the tiniest spark and you’re good-to-go. The more you crumble, the faster it burns, though. Fastfire is effortless to light, has a long burn time, a tall flame and burns after being submerged in water. CON: The packaging. Keep the foil wrapper from getting punctured and you’re fine. Once exposed to the air, the tabs will become ineffective in a few weeks. It’s also only available directly from SolKoa at press time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [singlepic id=1031 w=225]Ultimate Survival Tools Wetfire<\/strong> $8\/8 tabs burn time: 6:40 PRO: Wetfire seems identical to Fastfire. Wetfire is an incredible firestarting material that’s widely available. CON: The differences are in the packaging and the quantity you get. Wetfire uses a thinner foil wrapper and the tabs are about 1\/3 the size of those you get with Fastfire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Get it going with this stuff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":69,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[69,17],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1859],"class_list":["post-58709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gearscout","category-off-duty"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"GMYE3YQDLNHMVLFJMFW4GLQBCA","arc_canonical_url":"\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2009\/12\/11\/burn-baby-burn-tinder\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n