Quick Tip for Starting Campfires in Wet Conditions

Deer-Fan

Starting a campfire in wet conditions can be challenging, but I’ve found a method that works wonders. Carry a few cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly in a small waterproof container. These fire starters are lightweight, easy to make, and burn for a surprisingly long time, even in damp weather.

Just fluff up the cotton ball a bit to expose the fibers, place it under your kindling, and light it up. It should give you enough time to get your fire going. Anyone else have tried-and-true methods for starting campfires when it’s wet out?

Lissssa

Great tip about the cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly! I’ve used dryer lint as a fire starter in the past, and it works pretty well too. I also carry a small bag of pinecones because they catch fire easily even when it’s damp.

Vercingetorix

Another complimentary trick is to prepare bundles of wax coated matches.

Simple as to make these, just by using:

•Matches

•String

•Wax/candles

All ya do is tie together bundles of however many matches you prefer-(I usually go with ~10-20 per bundle).

Best practice is to wrap these bundles securely with a layer of string as well-(just helps keep them securely held together)

Once the match bundles are done, melt the wax in a small pot and simply dip each bundle-(making sure to completely cover with wax-(*waterproofing*)-(*Can also double/triple dip as well*))

Then just let ’em dry off and chuck ’em in a small bag/container to keep along with your fire kit.

🙂👍