trick candles (fire starter)

[Mikey]

Remember those trick candles someone put on your birthday cake—the ones that stayed lit no matter how hard you blew on them? Because they won’t blow out, these candles make great additions to your fire-starting kit.
Light one with a match or lighter, keep it sheltered in the cup of your hand and use it to ignite your tinder, even when it’s windy or a bit rainy outside.
Liberally wet your fingertips to extinguish the candle and save it for another use. You’ll find the candles in the bakery departments of many discount and grocery stores.

[So.Cali]

Thats a damn good idea!!

[Mikey]

Right, who would have ever thought it!

[So.Cali]

Not me. It's funny, because I was just talking to a buddy in Oklahoma the other day about ideas for fire starters too. Another idea is take a cotton ball and pack it with petroleum jelly (vaseline). Wrap it up in tin foil like a hersheys kiss with a little cotton out the top, and you have a little candle.

[Mikey]

that is a great one as well, old school with that and very survival minded.

[So.Cali]

A good idea for kindling (if in the mountains) is pine needles. Take a bunch in your hand about an inch thick, tie them together and lite it. I learned that from living in the mountains, and kindling was not always easy to come up with. Especially when you don't want to sacrifice a perfectly good log. You can tie them with kite string, fishing line, or even a few long blades of grass. They remind me of smudge sticks.

[Mikey]

Nice one, yes i have used that before as well.