Tinder

Dry tinder is the first and most important ingredient in a fire. Building a fire is all about adding bigger and bigger pieces slowly until it can sustain itself. It all starts with a tiny ember, unless you're using gasoline that is. For most of my fires I use a farrow rod, and I have dozens of favorites for tinder. In this post I will outline a few of the best ones. One you can make, one that is plentiful in urban areas and two that can be found in the wild.

The first can be made at home or at the campsite, it's called charcloth. To make your own charcloth start with any cloth made of 100% cotton. Place it inside a tin that can be sealed, an Altoids tin works well, and puncture a small hole in the top with a knife. Place the tin in the coals of a fire and give it about five minutes, it should stay in until you can no longer see smoke coming from the hole. Remove the tin and once it's cool check the cloth. It should have turned totally black and be very delicate, ripping easily. The cotton has now turned to pure carbon and will take the tiniest spark. Keep it dry and it will light first try every time.

The second is simple steel wool, found at places like Home Depot or any automotive shop. Steel wool takes a spark easily and will glow red hot when blown on. Lighting it with a match works well too. Placing a 9 volt battery on the surface of the wool will also cause it to ignite.

Cattail is going to be the easiest to spot, everyone knows what they look like. Not only are they edible, but at this time of year they are great when gathered for tinder. By now they are all dried out and the normally densely packed seeds have now turned to a fluffy white mass. Simply place in the middle of your tinder bundle and drop in an ember. If they are still fresh and brown they can be dried for a few days after breaking them off the plant.

The fourth is a bit harder to find, It's called Chaga. Chaga is a fungus that grows exclusively on birch trees. Birch bark has an oil in it that is extremely flammable, and this fungus absorbs this oil. Birch bark itself is an excellent fire starter, but this stuff takes it to a whole other level. Once it takes a spark it's actually hard to put out. I carry a chunk with me in my bag at all times. To find it you want to look for a large black mass growing on a birch tree. When broken open, it's a reddish orange inside.