One of the greatest skills that man has ever mastered was how to use fire starters to create fire at will.

Till today people all over the world use fire at will, be it to start a cigarette, warm up the house, cook food or sit around a fireplace at their campsite.

But as technology became better (matches, lighters etc.) we have become more and more dependant on those items.

Let’s get one thing straight, there are plenty of ways to start a fire using sticks, stones etc. and I won’t be discussing those in this article, in particular, instead we are going to go over fire starters that work best with lighters, matches etc.

After all, just cause you have matches, doesn’t necessarily mean you will start a fire when out camping.

In fact, if you consider that out in nature you have to deal with the elements and moist materials, you will soon realise how a simple fire starter can really set you up for victory and make you look like a total boss in front of everyone else.

Before you jump into the fantastic fire starters included on this page make sure you pack everything that you require for your camping trip by using the Ultimate Camping Check List

The Simplest Fire Starters

Let’s start off with the simplest possible fire starters, ones you don’t have to put any effort into.

Waxed Cardboard (waxxy)

The waxes cardboard box is one of my favourite fire starters. You can find these boxes at fruit stalls, and usually, they try and get rid of them for free.

This means you can end up with fire starters for months as one box can be cut up into plenty of small manageable pieces (about the size and width of 2 fingers per piece)

The idea is that waxed cardboard burns well, just like a candle, it burns for longer which in turn allows for other materials to catch fire better.

To carry this with you, just place it in a waterproof bag, tin etc and as it is lightweight and small you won’t know its there until you need to use it.

Additionally, when I used to go camping, my friends and I would place boxes onto the fire and stand close to it. Once the box lit up the heat was so intense that everyone ran away from the fire.

The waxxy challenge as it was known in my circle of friends was to see who could stand next to the fire the longest.

Needless to say, this is dangerous and could cause burns to the skin or worse. Do this at your own risk.

Dryer Lint

Almost every house sees to have a dryer these days which is not only super convenient for drying clothes but afterwards, the filter gets full of super dry lint.

This lint is absolute magic and if you collect enough of it and store it in a dry bag, you can be sure to light up fires nice and easily.

It is also super lightweight, you can easily store it in dry bags and best of all it takes barely any effort to collect

Pine Cones

Pine cones are natures greatest fire starters.

Once they drop to the ground and have dried up they literally burn like a firecracker due to all the oils that they have on them, they tend to set a light really quickly and when burning the give off a really distinct but relaxing crackle.

This is a very effective fire starter and best of all you might come across it while camping, which in turn makes it easy to collect and throw on the fire.

To make it even more effective, just dip it into wax and it will burn quite a bit longer for you.

Corn Chips

Who would have thought that an unhealthy snack could not only be super tasty but also quite an amazing fire starter?

That is right, corn chips that are sprinkled with greasy flavourings will catch fire but also continue burning for quite some time.

Th, in turn, means you have an excuse for bringing chips on your next campsite and additionally you can use the bag afterwards to collect all your rubbish.

Orange Peels

Oranges are not only delicious to eat but at the same time smell amazing and can light a fire quite well due to all the oils in the skin.

If you take the time to dry out the orange peels, they become super easy to carry around, and when it is time to use them they will light up quickly, but also make everything smell amazing.

Best thing is that something that used to be waste can now become a fantastic fire starter at your next campsite.

And this gives you more of an excuse to bring plenty of oranges with you on your next camping trip.

You can also bring mandarins, in fact any citrus fruit will work.

Pencil Shavings

Chances are you have a pencil and sharpener at home, and if you use them quite often, instead of throwing out the shavings you should collect them and store them in a bag.

As they are super dry pieces of wood they will catch fire quite easily and if you sharpen your pencils often you will end up with plenty of this super lightweight and effective fire starter in no time.

Just make sure to store the shavings in a waterproof bag and you are ready to go.

As an added tip, take the pencil sharpener with you into the forest and if you are in need of fire starters, then find smaller pieces of wood and shave them down to create on the go fire starters.

Best Fire Starters as suggested by our followers

Paper towel soaked in vaseline. Can also be used as a torch – Kayaktothesea

Toilet paper rolls with dryer lint in them wrapped in news paper #repurpose – native2natureskincare

Birchbark and cattail are nice but the best firestarters are my own hands 😋 – bushcraft_nic

Have you got any fire starter idea’s that I haven’t included in the post? Let me know yours in the comments below to get featured

Vaseline covered cotton balls

For this one, you will require a cot

ton balls vaseline and something to store your vaseline covered cotton balls

All you have to do is dip the cotton balls into the vaseline, it’s going to get a bit messy and I tried using rubber gloves but they made the whole process much more difficult.

I recommend just scooping it up and rolling it in your hands. Once you do that pop it into an airtight bag for storage and also so it doesn’t mess up your gear.

Maybe actually double wrap it 🙂

Coal wrapped up in Egg Cartons

Coal on its own won’t start a fire really easily, but once it catches alight it becomes very difficult to put out.

So to be able to use it as a fire starter. Wrap up the coals in an egg carton to get the initial fire going and then afterwards it will burn and provide enough fuel to keep the fire going.

You could also wrap up the coal in a paper towel covered in Vaseline.

Stuffed Toilet Paper Rolls

Once you are down to the end of your toilet paper roll, grab it, stuffed it with the remainder of the paper.

You can add cotton balls, smothered in vaseline as well and in fact store all your fire starting necessities in the tube

such as a lighter, flint and steel, matches etc.

The best thing about the toilet paper roll is that it’s lightweight, you can stuff it with many different fire starters and it makes it super convenient to carry.

By making sure that you have an adequate amount of knowledge about fire starters, you will be able to find the one that best suits your needs.

When it comes time to use them in the wilderness, others will be amazed at your amazing fire lighting skills and will ask you what DIY fire starters you use and how to make them

If you found this article interesting make sure to share it and comment below with your very own fire starter ideas.

For more interesting articles check out:

30 hiking tips you didn’t even know you needed

