How To Build a Self-Feeding Fire - Wilderness Survival Skills
YouTube- How To Build a Self-Feeding Fire - Wilderness Survival Skills



How To Make Fire In Wet Conditions Part 1
YouTube- How To Make Fire In Wet Conditions Part 1



How To Make Fire In Wet Conditions Part 2
YouTube- How To Make Fire In Wet Conditions Part 2

Any time I go camping or what not I always bring my lint bag and fire starter. I collect lint from my dryer screen and put it in a zip lock bag. It makes starting a fire extremely easy. I also have one of those magnesium/flint fire starters. Super easy to use and takes almost no time at all. Of coarse it's always a great idea to know how to make a fire from just sticks but if I plan on going camping why not take it. It's light and compact.

How to light a fire with just flint striker and dryer lint - YouTube

Duct Tape Fire Starter w/magnesium bar - YouTube

Fire Tricks Duct Tape Bird Nest - YouTube

Winter Camping -The Long Fire - YouTube

Any time I go camping or what not I always bring my lint bag and fire starter. I collect lint from my dryer screen and put it in a lip lock bag. It makes starting a fire extremely easy. I also have one of those magnesium/flint fire starters. Super easy to use and takes almost no time at all. Of coarse it's always a great idea to know how to make a fire from just sticks but if I plan on going camping why not take it. It's light and compact.

How to light a fire with just flint striker and dryer lint - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65helTdEEz4)

I use dryer lint as well. It packs down well taking up no room or weight. It has failed me before because the lint is mostly cotton and will absorb moisture. In one incident I had a triple fail, both Bic lighters failed and I was not able to get a start from a fire striker on the dryer lint. All three points of failure were due to my unknowing. The dryer lint oborbd the moisture from snow even though it was elevated off the ground. Sparks from a flint and steel are at about 800 degrees, where as sparks from a feral rod (Sp?) are at about 2000 degrees. Another favorite for a making a birds nest for taking a spark is jute twine. Un ravel the twine and fluff to gain surface area for sparks. So far no let downs with this resource.

In one incident I had a triple fail, both Bic lighters failed
Re: keifer,
I'm not trying to start shit or pick a fight with you I just find it hard to believe that you have such poor luck with using Bic lighters.
A quality product I've used for decades and have always found to be remarkably reliable. What is it you are trying to do with it, weld steel or build a campfire?
Find some tinder, light it up, and go from there. What's so tough about that?:confused:

I've never made or used a feather stick before, so I made one today and gave it a try. It worked rather well. I believe the piece of wood was a bit on the large side, but still caught well and provided enough heat to catch the larger pieces.

Re: keifer,
I'm not trying to start shit or pick a fight with you I just find it hard to believe that you have such poor luck with using Bic lighters.
A quality product I've used for decades and have always found to be remarkably reliable. What is it you are trying to do with it, weld steel or build a campfire?
Find some tinder, light it up, and go from there. What's so tough about that?:confused:

Generally speaking they are dependable. But when Bics get cold problems can happen. The one time I had problems was with two lighters from the same package and both failed. They worked prior to that one campout and when I made it home they worked, but they did not work in upper elevation winter conditions. My wife, a smoker, later explained to me the same problem she has experienced as a skiier. "Just hold it in your hand for a minute to warm it up." Well shit, now I know. Like I said Mike, the problems were my unknowing at the time and it seems to me that if you too had been in a situation of cold weather then maybe you too would not have known the simple solution to the problem. Between us, maybe your lighter would work because it is in your pocket, or being handled every so often while lighting up a smoke. I dont smoke so I dont carry lighters in my pocket.
Also something to think about is the lower levels of oxygen in upper elevations. Heat-fuel-oxygen: when the fuel is cold, and the oxygen low, ......well you get the point.
BIC Lighter Tested In Snow At -14 C Temperatures - YouTube

The five minute fire,five minute shelter.
As a test of skill, can you build a fire in five minutes, and put up a shelter in the same amount of time?
Anyone care to post up results?

5 Min Fire and Shelter Conversion.wmv - YouTube

The five minute fire,five minute shelter.
As a test of skill, can you build a fire in five minutes, and put up a shelter in the same amount of time?
Anyone care to post up results?

5 Min Fire and Shelter Conversion.wmv - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_TZxMhIe9M)

Fire yes, shelter no. That's why I always carry a Zippo and two groundsheets and a poncho with me. :)

Hardcore Homeless Winter Survival Tactics - YouTube




Winter Survival - YouTube

Fire yes, shelter no. That's why I always carry a Zippo and two groundsheets and a poncho with me. :)

I am inclined to say you could accomplish this task. Maybe you interpreted the word shelter to mean something a little more involved than what the task actually calls for. For shelter we are talking about a 7x10 tarp lean-to shelter. Maybe that is real close to what you have when you mention ground sheets. If you already have in place the tie-outs on the corners of the tarp, erecting a lean-to is actually fairly easy with minimal cost in time or energy expense.
I tried this test last night and was able to get a sustainable fire, erect lean-to shelter and 12 oz. of water brought to a boil in just four minutes.
I am by no means an expert, just one step above a wanna-be, in which case classifies myself as a gonna-be. I would bet ten bucks you could do this.

For shelter we are talking about a 7x10 tarp lean-to shelter. Maybe that is real close to what you have when you mention ground sheets. If you already have in place the tie-outs on the corners of the tarp, erecting a lean-to is actually fairly easy with minimal cost in time or energy expense.


Okay, I misunderstood. Yes, most certainly then.

The poncho and two groundsheets makes an almost infinite number of configurations possible, but the standard setups for a poncho are so easy, the first completed at 3:35 to sleep, though the sides should be much lower, on the ground, and the second completed at 6:00 for during the day. You can then build a branch shelter around it at leisure. You should have something like a boma, even if just a little fence of sticks around the tent entrance or around your tent to keep away animals.


Military Poncho Shelters Type I & II - YouTube

One then just lays down the groundsheet, and the other groundsheet is then used to cover up any gaps, and/or wrap up you and your kit in need etc.
You can use both groundsheets instead of a poncho to make the top cover, but they are a bit heavy, especially if one adds strong wind, or rainwater on top.
Hammocks aren't that easy to set up where I go to usually. Ponchos are lighter and easier to carry, but also tear and aren't much use as shelter or keeping out cold or damp, or in a real storm, so one can alternate between using a poncho or groundsheets for overhead.

If you put a stone at the one end of the poncho and a container, you can catch rainwater too, and prevent it pooling in the poncho.

I prefer not to sleep at night, but to sleep mid morning to mid afternoon. There's more going on at night than during the day, and in the wilder areas, its best to be wide awake dawn and dusk, as that's hunting time.
It also reduces sickness if a hammock isn't a good option, as cold and damp air mostly circulates 1 to 3 feet above the ground at night, and if awake at that time, you are above that layer, much better than spending hours asleep in that layer.

Temps seem to flip over to very cold around 2 to 2:30 am, so if I should sleep at night, I prefer to have finished sleeping by then, so am awake when its cold, and can ensure I'm warm.
The second groundsheet is ideal for that, as you can wrap it around you like a cocoon.
It's best to wear natural fibres such as cotton and wool. Wool if one sweats lets it escape, and also even if wet, still keeps you pretty warm.

What I've found helps a great deal, especially if out for say a long weekend, is to have a proper branch built shelter, warming and cooking fireplaces set up, small latrine and rack/crosspole to put your kit up on off the floor, and dig a channel around your shelter to divert insects and light rain away.

Then you can have a more or less secure place to return to if things get bad, or you have a lifethreatening situation, and then wander off and set up temp shelters.
What they never seem to show in these survival situations is that usually you are in shock, dazed and badly injured, and in atrocious weather when emergencies occur.

So it's best to have a proper place set up, then if you wander off and don't need it, so what. Making camp is actually most of the fun.
But if you do, at least you know you won't have to setup a camp in a major storm from scratch, or with a broken arm or leg, or after being bitten/scratched etc.
If injured, you may be there for days, so its best to assume the worst, and that way it's likely to never happen.

Char Clothe works great for getting an ember, and it is fun to make. I made some the other night using both tshirt cotton and from a lantern replacement wick. The wick gives you something a little for substantial as an ember enabler in which case extends the life of the ember giving you more time to make things happen. There are many videos using Altoids tin can for making char cloth. It can be made on the back yard grill.

Making Char Cloth and Ignition Sources - YouTube

Altoids can char cloth,

SURVIVAL Making and using char cloth - YouTube

Ferro rods how to.

Ferrocerium Rod Technique and Upside Down Fire for Wilderness Survival - YouTube

Hint's for Ferro rod use & some examples - YouTube

Dakota Hole Fire - YouTube

Firecraft- Dakota Fire Pit - YouTube

Swedish torch: step by step - YouTube

I'm a firm believer of Bic Lighters.
I once unearthed one of them during a plumbing
job that had been buried for X years.
It was so old, it still had the flame adjustment wheel on the front.
I banged the mud out of the shroud, and it fired up on the third flick.

They have a nearly indefinate shelf life, These things are cheap, I think our survival kits should include them.

Bought one of these and a Magnesium bar. These really throw off some serious spark.

http://www.industrialrev.com/assets/images/products/s-fssc23.jpg

It is fairly common for the ferro rod to fall out of the handle. Some people make their own handles from antlers, bone,wood.

The military blanket.
The Italian Officers blanket are regarded as the best.

In this video DC shows away of utilizing the blanket into a pack.
This method worked out well for me, although I did not push its load barring limits. Try it out for yourself.
Building a Discount Bushcraft Kit Part 7 (The Blanket Pack) - YouTube

This blanket wrap never really seems to work out 100%, but with a bed of pine boughs I manage.
Wrapping the Wool Blanket, An Exerpt from Training the WV Wilderness EMS - YouTube

I was digging through my duffle bag the other day for some odd reason :D looking for a particular piece of gear. Inside I found my poncho, poncho liner, PT pad, and waterproof bag.

If you aren't familiar with the poncho liner, aka "woobie", you don't know what you are missing! While not as warm as a wool blanket (most agree it is good down to about 60 degrees), it is much lighter (21.5 oz), and has ties that can be used to attach to a MilSpec poncho - which can be used as a waterproof blanket at that point, or as a measure of insulation if you are using your poncho as a shelter.

http://www.okokchina.com/Files/uppic53/Military%20Poncho%20Liner653.jpg

A poncho liner is a piece of field gear originating in the United States military intended to provide warmth in mild temperatures used as an expedient sleeping bag when attached to the standard issue poncho by means of integral lengths of material which are looped through the poncho's eyelets.
[edit]Construction

The poncho liner consists of two layers of quilted nylon encasing a polyester loft filling. Most examples are a variation of olive drab on one side and camouflage on the other, either ERDL pattern in earlier examples or the later Woodland pattern, as well as the MARPAT and Universal Camouflage Pattern most recently. Commercial copies include features like thinsulate batting, a zippered edge and come in a greater range of colors
[edit]Opinions amongst the troops

Troops generally hold the poncho liner in high regard, as a very useful piece of equipment, light and packable yet reasonably warm. Some military personnel refer to the poncho liner as a "woobie" showing the same attachment an infant has for its blanket. Many servicemen and women go through great lengths to find ways to keep their poncho liners as long as possible, even after they have left the military. The poncho liner found wide acceptance amongst US troops in Vietnam, providing just enough warmth for cool tropical nights but light and small. It is especially popular today in the age of 100-pound rucks and bulky Modular Sleep Systems.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poncho_liner

The PT pad (physical training) is a thin foam pad that was used for multiple purposes - most commonly as a pad to lie on the ground during physical training (during IET training) and as a thin mattress to sleep on in conjunction with a cot or a barrier while sleeping on the ground.

http://d2jxk7u2ol2fk7.cloudfront.net/image/thumb/large/FOAM_PAD_ACU.jpg

U.S. Army Government Issue Foam Sleeping Pad, Made in the U.S.A. Specs: 24" x 72". These are used by our troops to protect them from moisture, stones, and cold while sleeping on the ground.

They are a closed cell foam mat and they protect against cold, moisture, and small objects on the ground.

The mats are approximately 72” long and 24” wide. They are 3/8” thick and they weigh about 1 pound. Of course, they are green in color. These mats have two straps at the bottom to secure them in a tight roll when not in use. The roll is approximately 6” in diameter when tied. These mats are designed to withstand the very harsh and rugged abuse of battlefield conditions therefore, they should provide you with years and years of service under most any conditions you may find.

It is fairly common for the ferro rod to fall out of the handle. Some people make their own handles from antlers, bone,wood.

I have one with an antler handle myself.

http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc394/pallmall7603/Picture1242_zps335cc9d8.jpg

swedish torch/stove


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kFKzvWDeiFc

bushcraft skills: woodsman's grill & fire with the magnifying glass - YouTube