Building a fire may look easy but for most people, it takes some practice. The quickest way to start a fire is a fire starter! Fire starters are designed to start quickly, burn hot, and last for a couple of minutes. This allows tree branches that are placed over the fire starter the time and temperature needed to catch fire. There are many fire starters to choose from. The best way to determine which works best for you is to try a few of them.

Quickest Way to Start a Fire in 6 Easy Steps

fire pit (a surface that is dry that will contain the flames) firestarter or a large pile of wood shavings about the size of a small plate ignition source (matches, lighter, etc) twigs tree branches logs

3 Awesome Fire Starters

Below is a video of three fire-starting aids: fatwood, fuel tablets, and a cotton ball lightly dipped in wax. I prefer these fire-starters because they are inexpensive and burn the longest allowing me to build a fire with relative ease. I use the cotton ball fire starter the most because its the cheapest. Fatwood is my favorite! It smells the best and doesn’t leave a waxy residue in your fire starting kit. Fatwood is a natural resource found in dead pine trees and can be collected during your outdoor adventure. The fuel tablet burns the hottest but is a little more difficult to light.









The best part about fire starters is that it doesn’t take a lot of materials to make a good fire. As you can see from the video above you’ll need spark (ferrocerium rod) or flame (match) to ignite the fire starter. Once the fire starter is blazing build a tepee or log cabin over the flame using twigs and branches. Lastly, adding logs to the fire will provide the best fuel for long-lasting hot fires.

Fire Starting Kit

The quickest way to start a fire is having access to fire-starting tools. It’s particularly helpful when camping in a light rainfall or in the morning when the dew sets in. Experience has taught me that when tinder is damp fire making can be a lot more difficult. Here’s are a couple of examples and a list of the items in my fire starting kit:

Waterproof plastic case Fatwood Lighter Wax dipped cotton balls (DIY instructions below) Handsaw Pocket Knife Ferrocerium rod Matchbook









Cotton Ball Dipped in Wax – DIY Fire Starter

4 Items Used: wax paper, candle, cotton ball, wax warmer

Steps:

Plug in a wax warmer to warm-up. Break-up candle and place wax pieces in the wax warmer dish. After the wax has melted, lightly dip a cotton ball in wax covering the outer layer of the cotton ball with a thin layer of wax. Then place the cotton ball on the wax paper until it drys completely. After it is dry, rip the wax dipped the cotton ball in half to use as a fire starter. The center of it should be wax-free (just cotton) which makes it easy to light.

A good fire starting kit makes life a little easier. Having everything together in one compact package means I never have to search the house or my supplies for fire starters. I’m always ready no matter the weather to get a comfortable fire going knowing I have the right supplies.









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