*
Rain and Spiders oh my! Part Nine
Making fire is an art. A skill. You need to practice it.
Now to be honest at this stage of the course my attention was waning. So my notes are a bit sparse. So apologies in advance.
* A big part of survival is the conservation of energy. Therefore, every time you leave camp make sure you return with more firewood
* If you think you might be in for a bit of a wait (and assuming water is nearby) start collecting the wood from further away and work your way in. That way as your energy levels drop you are able to collect wood nearby. How far away should you start? Well, how long is a piece of string?
* Create piles of wood angled up like a tee pee / pyramid. This protects it somewhat from the rain and also is easier for your fellow survivors to see
* There's different gear out there. Ferroceum rods are the go to.
* Cotton balls with Vaseline / hand wash / petroleum jelly are great fire starters
* Rubbish that you have can work well as fire starters. thinking more of food packets.
* Use a plastic medicine bottle as a fire kit. Cut a bike tube and put it around the bottle as a band. This is back up for wet weather. Have two bottles. One with your treated cotton balls, the other with your Ferroceum rod etc
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Suggested survival Equipment for a hike / back of your car
This covers "Shelter"
> A cutting tool
> Cordage (paracord)
> Tarp
This covers Water
> A boiling vessel
> Transpiration bags x5
(I didn't write down a filter but he did emphasis it earlier so I'm saying FILTER)
A Fire Kit that includes a Ferroceum rod & cotton balls
For signalling for aid
A mirror
Orange Panel
A whistle
Add ons
Fish hooks because they're light, cheap but difficult to construct
Bandages
Probably not a half bad idea to throw some plastic sheeting in that kit, so that you could make a solar still if you had to.
ReplyDeleteThe Vaseline or hand cleaner soaked cotton balls work great, but keep the two separate until you need them, and even then, do not saturate the cotton ball throughout. I say this because a completely saturated cotton ball is not easy to light with a ferrocerium rod. So leave a small portion of it dry so that ignites easily. Another excellent item to have on hand are the lifeboat matches.
Just don’t be this guy, with whom I’m going to presume, was almost consumed by some of your family members :D (Not the episode that I was looking for. The episode that I was thinking of was with a bloke and his young daughter, but I couldn’t find it).
I Shouldn't Be Alive season 3 episode 8 - A treasure hunter gets lost in the Australian Outback and struggles to survive wild dingoes, as well as the scorching heat, until rescuers can find him.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6126w6
https://www.amazon.com/British-Military-Survival-Lifeboat-Matches/dp/B005E9YNVE
https://www.amazon.com/Coghlans-100-Stormproof-Lifeboat-Matches/dp/B00NWXNEQE
Fire: BICS
ReplyDeleteYes, really. 1 in your pants pocket and 2 more in your pack.
Not the generic junk, real BICS, full size only. Everything else is bullshit. Yes I know.
Pack some paper towels, you don't need a whole roll. Use a paper towel and your BIC to get a fire going.
For absolute worse case scenario, get a small "travel" size squeeze bottle at wally and fill it with rubbing alcohol. That's your accelerent that will get a fire going anywhere.
Now, if you don't know how to start a fire or have very little experience at it then no amount of gear is going to help you.
Example: Take your BIC outside on a windy day, face the wind, and light it. Half a century ago my uncle showed me how to light a Zippo in the wind. Use your hands to entirely cup the open lighter, then spread your 2 thumbs slightly to create a chimney. Then spin the wheel. I was a smoker in the army, in germany, in the field, in the winter with the snow, wind and rain blowing. I LIVED off a zippo and bics.
Like anything else, if you don't have experience and refuse to stay current with your skills, you will fail, deservedly.
Nothing like a lung full of tobacco and lighter fluid! Even not inhaling the first drag, it always seemed to effect the taste. But we were young and studly, manly men! Yes, guys are dumb asses. Here, hold my beer while I...
DeleteWhispers quietly to Lord Bison "Is Ghostsniper currently armed? Because I know what happens in the next installment"
Delete*starts edging towards the fattest Minion to use as a bullet resistant barrier
Right, I like that you made a distiction. RESISTANT, not PROOF. Words matter people. And so does having fat friends.
DeleteWhen I designed the Sarasota Justice Center in where else?, Sarasota FL in 1986 I learned there is no such thing as bullet proof glass. Resistant. If your bullet bounces off resistant glass that means you need bigger bullets.
DeleteCough, 5.56, cough, 223, cough. Okay, they are much better than they used to be for barriers. I couldn't resist :)
DeleteThey used to say the same thing about dive watches. Water resistant not water proof.
DeleteCan anyone afford to dive anymore outside the rich? Doesn't seem to be in the culture anymore.
Delete+1 on the bids. I buyer in the 5 packs,of which I have several.
ReplyDeleteNo way am I sliding back into the primordial ooze.
Fire, gotta have it.
2:48
Fire! Butthead, fire!
DeleteRight. Try making fire with steel when it's 20 below, in the snow, and it's raining. It can be done. But why? Flick my Bic, and be gettin warm. "Soups ready!"
DeleteBics weigh 2 ounces, are inexpensive, you can carry a bunch and never notice, and each is good for a thousand or more "sustained" lights.
Sparkmakers? Please. Have we learned nothing since the cave doods?
Back up? Another Bic. Or 4.
Most other alternates to a Bic should be used at home, not extreme wilderness weather situations. We should have many different types. But yeah, in the BOB or patrol ruck, just another Bic. That is what I do.
DeleteSome time back, when I was interested in backpacking, I recall reading that the best stoves and lanterns at high elevations, or in extreme cold weather, were the Coleman fuel stoves and lanterns, over the butane variety. Apparently, butane isn’t very efficient under these conditions, so if I had to guess, a butane lighter wouldn’t throw as hot of a flame under these conditions either. Now if you had good tinder, I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem, but the same would be true with a ferrocerium rod, or a match. It’s definitely not a bad idea to have a few Bics on hand, but I’d also have a ferrocerium rod, some lifeboat matches, and probably a peanut lighter. I’ve had good luck with the Ronsonal fluid style lighters (much better than with a Bic) but unless you get a peanut lighter with a sealed O-ring, or the style in the link below (Also an O-ring style, but cheaper) the fluid in the standard version evaporates in about a weeks time.
DeleteETOPSTECH 3 pcs Outdoor Camping Emergency Survival Waterproof Flint Match Fire Starter Hiking Tool Kit
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KXV2B1M/?coliid=I15TJ9MT6JGO73&colid=2P9H5MHEI5D99&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
My understanding is, if it gets too cold the Bic is crap. So, I just plan on putting it in my skivvies or such.
DeleteAnother trick worth thinking about. When wood becomes too distant to move, consider moving camp to it. No need to move the largr branches the entire distance. Stack bundles of wood closer and closer to camp as time goes by. And of course NEVER come back into camp empty handed - always bring in a piece of wood to put into wood pile. Stack that teepee style so that it remains dryer.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many people even think about that? I know I hadn't. Embarrassing!
Delete