Tip of the day - If you carry a fire starting kit for outdoor survival make sure you include a chapstick or vaseline tube in your kit. This will of course be handy for keeping your lips kissable should you get lucky in the woods, however if you add a small amount to any form of tinder it will light more easily and burn for much longer. Even better than lip balm is the liquid inside a cylume/glowstick. This stuff is a great fire starter when mixed with a tinder!
Remember, every survival aid should preferably have more than one use.
Tip of the day #2 - Make yourself a "Hobo Stove"!
Take a tin with a lid (large tobacco tin is good) and pack it with strips of corrigated cardboard (cut from a normal cardboard box). Then light a couple of candles and drip the wax in to the tin all over the cardboard until all of the gaps, nooks and crannies are filled with wax, you may have to let it settle for a couple of minutes then top it up. Carry your stove with you whenever you are out and about, if needed light the stove using a lighter, the cardboard will act as a wick. At first you will have a small flame however within minutes the whole tin will be raging!. You will get about 40-50 minutes from one full stove and it really pumps out alot of light and heat, you can also put a metal military style mug on top of it to make a hot drink. Once you have finished the tin is hot and can be used as a hand/sleeping bag warmer. To refill simply add more wax, the cardboard should last for a fair few refills.
Give it a bash! Good luck.
Every day is a learning day.
Tom
CSTA
Thanks for the tip! I saw a guy on you tube that started a fire with a C-battery (the small rectantular one) and this fine steel wool scowering pad.
He put some twigs, and the steel wool (very fine) on top of it. Then he rubbed the cbattery on the steele wool. It caught on fire! instantly!!
Havent tried it, (because I am not outdoors) but will do so when I can.
My brother told me about it, that he tried it, and it works!
The wire wool trick works with your cell phone battery as well, has to be the fine stuff though!!
http://www.combat-survival.co.uk/