Survival Fire Starters

There are many survival  fire starters to choose from for emergency preparedness and any of them would be good to have if in a situation you needed to make a fire to keep warm or for cooking.  Having to start a fire with with a twig and string would not be ideal. Of course you can acquire butane lighters, regular lighters and matches, but if they get wet or it's windy they are much harder to use if wanting to start a fire. A better option is choosing survival fire starters that work in wind or rain.  Here is a list of different survival fire starters: magnesium fire starter, strike force fire starter, flint fire starter, water proof matches, FireStik and fresnel lens.

Fresnel Lens

Magnesium Fire Starter and Flint Fire Starter

Magnesium fire starters are great to have being that they can be used quite a bit and at any time.  They can start approximately 500 fires with a quarter size shaving pile of magnesium at the size of 3/8 thick, 1" wide x 3" long  The flint can have over 25,000 times of striking, which is plenty for 500 fires worth.  It can get up to1800 degrees in temperature.  Great to carry magnesium fire starter in storage or 72 hour kits.

Strike Force Fire Starter

Strike force fire starters are great to use when everything is wet.  They are made with included Wet Fire tinder that is lit by scraping the striker down the flint, making a spark twice as hot as a standard match and burn at more than 1800 degrees. The Wet Fire tinder burns longer when actually wet making it a great survival fire starter.  Of course with any dry tinder it would ignite it very easily.  Strike force fire starter are quite safe to use and can be used for normal camping stoves such as the backpacker stove.  They are odorless, non-toxic, and smokeless and can also be found online or at some of the bigger sportsmen's outlets.

Water Proof Matches

Water proof matches are matches as it says but in addition have a blend of non-toxic chemicals formulated to light in wet conditions.  They usually come in boxes of 50 and the match box striking surface is treated with  a moisture resistant coating so that the matches can easily light.  Water proof matches can be obtained almost anywhere that sells camping equipment and online.

FireStik

There is also Firestik which work with air pressure.  By pushing down the Stick into the cylinder rapid pressure heats up the air and causes the end of the Stik to burn.  You then blow on the end to get it hot and then place it onto leaves or other burnable materials.  They are quite expensive but are workable.  It might be cheaper to consider one of the survival fire starters above.

Sawdust Wax & Fire Starters

Sawdust and wax fire starters can't start a fire in and of themselves but are great to get a fire going once you got a flame. They can be made at home or can be bought at a few rare places online.  There are a few different kinds of wax fire starters made but all are workable.  They will burn for a long while before going out, making it if you need to start some bigger kindling out on the run it will work great for this.  They are very light in weight and can be thrown into storage for emergency preparedness or into your 72 hour kits.  Much better than having lighter fluid in your packs which could easily spill and also flare-ups once lit on your kindling.   They are usually made by melting some wax and mixing it with either sawdust or paraffin and then pouring it into paper condiment cups and let dry.