Water Proof Matches & Flint Firestarter

When faced with our worst case survival scenario, building a fire should always be in the back of our minds. Fire can add comfort to the worst situation. Used for boiling water to make it safe to drink, cooking and warmth, without fire we can't survive for long.

Waterproof Matches - Easiest Fire Building Tool
The most simple way to start a fire is with matches. Waterproof or Stormproof matches are by far the best since you don't need to worry about a little water getting on them and making them useless when you need them most. The storm proof matches are nicer as they flare up hotter than normal matches with less chance of getting blown out by wind. In a SHTF situation this is one more advantage in your favor.

A good idea to always keep all matches in a waterproof container as additional  insurance against moisture. If you get caught in a down pour, you will be happy to have your matches nice and dry. Keep a container full of matches on each person and a large bulk package in your bug out bag to restock from.


The Exotac MatchCap Match Case is one of the nicest match cases I have found for keeping matches dry. It is made from lightweight aircraft grade 6061 black anodized aluminum. Built into the case are two match strikers and a lanyard loop. The Exotac Match Case is waterproof to 16 feet and will do a great job of protecting your matches from the harshest elements.

As a back up, its a good idea to keep a flint or two in your pack in case you run out of matches. This gives one more simple way to start a fire with dry tinder. Depending on how dry the tinder is, a flint can take a lot more effort to get a fire started than with matches. Take good care to protect your matches and use them sparingly so they will be there when you need them. Trust me the matches and a flint beat making fire by rubbing two sticks together  anytime.


When Starting a fire with a flint, again it is very important to use dry tinder and protect the sparks from wind. You can also buy pre packaged tinder sticks, to keep in your emergency pack to make fire starting chores so much easier.


Ultimate Survival Technologies Blastmatch Fire Starter is the flint I keep in my bug out bag. It generates a stream of super heated sparks, that are actually much hotter than a match. In case your Blastmatch flint should get wet all you need to do is wipe it off and it still works. It also comes with it's own carbide striker, so you won't need to use your knife. Another very popular flint is the Swedish Firesteel a bit more compact than the Blastmatch, it works equally as well and costs a few dollars less.

Water Proof Matches, Match Case and a good Flint is something no bug out bag should ever be without.

FIRE
Now a long long time ago.....Wait! Its not really that long ago when Mankind needed to be able to make fire to survive, In fact in huge areas of the earth people still need this skill to get through each day.
So how is fire relative to us today in the age of technology and electricity?
Well think of the scenarios that could happen to you, In an urban enviroment most of us are lucky to have electric or gas to make our hot water, cook our food, wash our clothes light the house and keep us warm. So what if the power goes out? this couldnt happen to me well never say never.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/08/14/power.outage/
This is one example of a lightning strike causing major disruption within Canada and the United States.
Now living in the prairies of Canada we tend to get very frigid weather for at least 4 months at a time and if we lost power we would have no way of heating, eating, lighting in fact doing anything.
So what are some easy things that could be done to plan ahead for such a scenario?

Well I keep around the house a number of cheap Bic lighters, matches, candles, 3 flashlights and 1 headlight, 2 small gas stoves and obviously lots of warm clothes.
with these options I could survive for some period of time.
Now what to use in the wilderness? If you head into the wilds for a camping trip or a hike you need to carry some form of fire starting, for 2 reasons really, one being a planned hike and second the possibility that something happens and you end up stuck in the wilds for longer than planned and your fun hike turns into a survival scenario.
I have been researching lots of ideas on the net and you tube and the following are the items that I find would work for me.

1/ Bic lighter I would carry 2 but be warned if they get wet they wont work and if its really windy they wont work, but they are cheap!
2/ Some kind of butane stormproof lighter is a good idea I have the Windmill Trekker which has a large fuel tank and is good in 80 MPH winds.
3/Magnesium block, these are solid blocks of magnesium which is stable in this form, with a knife you scrape off a pile of shavings and use the striker on the other side to ignite. The blocks are cheap and create a high heat for starting tinder, the main disadvantage is the wind again, the shavings are easily blown away!
4/Swedish fire steel, this is a very popular method a piece of high grade flint and striker which again creates very hot sparks, these are pretty much fool proof.
5/Ultimate survival technologies Blastmatch, this again creates very hot sparks
6/Cotton wool ball soaked in vaseline, these are a great tinder and once you fluff the balls up the cotton will burn in most conditons for a good 7-8 minutes, carry a dozen of these and youll have fire at any time.
7/Char cloth, this is just pure cotton that has been burnt inside a sealed metal tin till its charred, again this catches sparks very easily. Again this is cheap just cut up an old pure cotton T-shirt!
8/9V battery an wire wool, now this is a genius idea, just take some wire wool used in the kitchen and brush the surface with the points of the battery and watch the sparks take in the wool, again simple and cheap.

Theres also lots of "primitive"methods of fire starting but these are highly skilled techniques that you need to practice a lot to be able to rely on these methods, personally I make sure I have a combination of the options above to give me peace of mind.