Fastest tinder pile to get 10" flame

[5Cent]

Guys, part of the endurance course for the F&S TOC is starting a fire with flint and steel. There will be a thin cotton line, approx 10-12" high that the fire needs to break before I can move on.

They will be supplying cotton balls, vaseline, hand sanitizer, and a small portion of cotton string. We can bring our own tinder... so my question is what would you make your "nest" out of. Remember speed is the important part here, not quantity or coals to start a true survival fire. I am will be mixing in some char cloth, but what natural grasses, etc would you all recommend?

 

[dante322]

redcloud already said it, cattails, fluff em out and light em.

 

[RRJJ]

LAst night I was comparing charcloth to dryer lint, by far, dryer lint is far superior to char cloth. In many cases dryer lint would ignite on one spark from the flint and char cloth took several tries. If dryer lint is an option I would trust that over char cloth. I think char clog is neat and it will still have a place in my survival kit, but I will be carrying far more dryer lint than anything.

 

[5Cent]

LAst night I was comparing charcloth to dryer lint, by far, dryer lint is far superior to char cloth. In many cases dryer lint would ignite on one spark from the flint and char cloth took several tries. If dryer lint is an option I would trust that over char cloth. I think char clog is neat and it will still have a place in my survival kit, but I will be carrying far more dryer lint than anything.

Yep, completly forgot that lint is in the nest too. Not sure how, but yes it will be...great reminder!!

Dante good call on the cattails. I faintly remember that from back in the day, the search begins tomm.

 

[Archertl]

Dryed flax fibers if you can get a hold of it is a great nest material. they are harder to light but they burn longer. Dryer lint does catch a spark fast but onces its in flames it doesnt last very long. Natrual fiber ropes (manila twine and sisel rope ) also make great nest materials because most of them come soaked in karosene. I dont care for cat tails just because they dont hold the nest shape very well and find it works best to hold the nest up in the air and blow into it from the bottom. If I was in the competition I'd make a nest out of flax and manila rope. Then use steel wool as the spark source but if steal wool wasnt allowed then I would use char choth over dryer lint if it was me (Ive been doing this for long time you have play around to find what works best for you). Good Luck.

 

[RRJJ]

Totally agree with archerl on the lint and the fast burning flame it produces.

 

[deerburger]

Tinder quick and Wet Fire are awesome if they are allowed. Some crushed up Wet Fire catches a spark pretty great and gives a solid flame even when it is wet (hence the name). I've never tried dryer lint, but it is good to know I can make a fire from materials found in my belly button.

 

[Jackalope]

Guys, part of the endurance course for the F&S TOC is starting a fire with flint and steel. There will be a thin cotton line, approx 10-12" high that the fire needs to break before I can move on.

They will be supplying cotton balls, vaseline, hand sanitizer, and a small portion of cotton string. We can bring our own tinder... so my question is what would you make your "nest" out of. Remember speed is the important part here, not quantity or coals to start a true survival fire. I am will be mixing in some char cloth, but what natural grasses, etc would you all recommend?

Does it have to be flint and Steel... How about 9v battery and Steel wool?

[video=youtube;7eT-buIKUpY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eT-buIKUpY[/video]

 

[Matt]

I think everyone here has covered the sparking flame issue, but the other consideration is the height of the flame. When I was in Boy Scouts, we competed every year in the Klondike competition, basically a weekend camping trip that had winter survival competitions. The one competition that I always rocked in was the fire competition, but the rules were slightly different. You had to burn through three strings, the top one being about a foot and a half up, but then the fire had to last for I think 10 minutes on it's own. Our secret weapon was dry vine bark. Other than rain, the hanging vines would stay relatively dry. We would take piles of the stuff and use that on top of our tinder pile, then pile kindling on top of that to hold the flame. But, if the only aspect is to burn the string and not last, just use a big pile of vine bark. It has loft to it when piled and will burn rather well. Give it a shot.

 

[Geezer]

wud bout gas and a match - wtf

 

[RedCloud]

Another thing that is pretty flamebale is the Common Reed Grass. The fluffy tops go up very quick when a spark ignites it. Found that out the hardway when I was 6 maybe 7 and mom had some in a vase in the kitchen :smiley_cry:. We was able to put it out but not before the curtains got torched and the ceiling turned black...lets just say my dad was not happy when he got home from work .

http://www.ohiodnr.com/dnap/invasive/5reedgrass/tabid/2000/Default.aspx

 

[5Cent]

Great tips guys, thanks a ton. The rules are only tool = steel/flint, and tinder. No man made rope, synthetic fire starters, etc. I will be practicing this week with different nests and will post results. Keep the ideas coming! This guy needs to win this $25K, but more for putting Ohio on the map and personal pride for my skills.

 

[CJD3]

Is it Birch Bark one that has oils in it and will light even when wet?

 

[deerburger]

Is it Birch Bark one that has oils in it and will light even when wet?

It is birch bark, but I was under the impression that it only "caught" with an actual flame and not a spark. It'd be good to have on the pile once the flame catches on some cattail fluff or crushed up cedar bark.

 

[Beentown]

How about adding a little non dairy creamer...I was doing this in Junior High.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UC029cdUGI&NR=1

Beentown

 

[RedCloud]

Just checking in to see if you had time to test out any of the ideas and curious to see what you found out.

 

[5Cent]

Just checking in to see if you had time to test out any of the ideas and curious to see what you found out.

Not yet, works been beyond crazy. I have all my materials gathered except for some vine bark, which I'll get tonight and get it in the garage to dry off some. I will be hopefully (and I'm praying here) be lighting/timing them all tomorrow as we're heading south Sunday morning

 

[swantucky]

Have you had a chance to talk to Chris yet??

 

[RedCloud]

Not yet, works been beyond crazy. I have all my materials gathered except for some vine bark, which I'll get tonight and get it in the garage to dry off some. I will be hopefully (and I'm praying here) be lighting/timing them all tomorrow as we're heading south Sunday morning

I wish you the best of luck and hope something in this thread will work and help you to the road to VICTORY !!!!!

 

[5Cent]

Alright guys, had a chance to put a few things to work tonight.

By far the best results (time and height) was a combination of dryer lint, cattail fluff, and dried grass! One good stroke on the fire steel and the lint took off. I rolled the nest over to introduce the cattail fluff and poof! The dried grass took hold and within 10-15seconds I had a flame close to 20" high!

The vine bark did burn well, but due to it's density (like most wood products), it needed a good flame to really catch. We did have rain this morning and I'm sure it affected it's flammability some, but for what I am looking for it is out. In a survival situation though, it will definitly be used!