How to light a fire in camping conditions
The ability to light a fire is a necessary skill when hiking. In difficult situations, it can be vital to warm up and cook food. The easiest way is to have matches or a lighter with you. In dry and windless weather, there really shouldn't be any problems. But if it rains for several days during the hike, the matches will definitely get damp, no matter how hard you hide them in dry bags. The lighter may run out of gas, it may also get damp or break. A more reliable option is a fire starter, which is not afraid of breakage, dampness and mechanical damage. Depending on your preferences, you can choose a fire starter for yourself. With its help, you can strike a spark of high temperature, about 3000 degrees Celsius, and set fire to tinder (dry grass, crushed bark, dry leaves or wood shavings, paper) or light a gas or multi-fuel burner.
The modern industry offers several types of fire starters, depending on the material they are made of.
1. Fire starter - a classic fire starter consists of a ferro-zirconia rod and a punch. If there is no punch, a spark can be obtained using a knife blade or a metal plate. In this way, you can set fire to a variety of materials - grass, sawdust, shavings, plastic, paper and other flammable substances.
2. Magnesium fire starter - a magnesium rod with a fire starter. The difference from the classic fire starter is that magnesium can replace tinder for you. Even in the wettest weather, when dry tinder is hard to come by, it is enough to scrape magnesium shavings with a knife and strike a spark. High temperatures can ignite even poorly flammable materials.
Any of these fire starters are very effective for starting a fire, but require some skill and practice in use.
Partner stores offer fire starters from the Swedish brand Light My Fire and the Czech brand Pinguin.
Find the right options for you and travel.