When living outdoors, fire is not only used for cooking, keeping warm, but also for lighting, repelling wild animals and insects, and even as a way to send out distress signals to the outside world. Therefore, mastering the skill of starting a fire is like buying an extra insurance policy. However, if you don’t have a lighter, matches, or other such equipment, does that mean you can’t start a fire? Below, TanLuLu brings you 7 ways to start a fire in the wild, greatly increasing your sense of security during outdoor adventures.
1. Matches
Matches are the most convenient tool for igniting a fire. Carry more matches labeled "non-safety" or "can be struck anywhere," bundle them up and store them in a waterproof container to prevent them from rubbing against each other and accidentally igniting, as well as to keep them from getting damp.
Note: There is a way to salvage damp matches—if you have dry and non-greasy hair, you can rub the damp matches inside your hair. The static electricity from the hair will dry them out.
Additionally, you can prevent matches from getting damp by dripping wax on them. When lighting, you can use your fingernail to peel off the wax layer.
2. Using a Magnifying Glass
Intense sunlight focused through a magnifying glass can generate enough heat to ignite tinder. The fastest ignition occurs when focusing sunlight on gasoline or alcohol, which can catch fire within 1–2 seconds.
Magnifying glasses, telescopes, or the convex lenses in cameras can all serve as substitutes. Additionally, placing tinder at the focal point of a flashlight’s reflector and aiming it at the sun can also start a fire. In snowy or icy environments, processing a block of ice into a shape that is thick in the middle and thin around the edges to act as a magnifying glass is also possible.
3. Flint Striking
As we all know, our ancestors often used flint to start fires. In fact, even today when we go outdoors, we can find a hard stone to act as “flint,” then strike it with the back of a knife or a small piece of steel to create sparks that land on the tinder. A steel saw with serrated edges can produce more sparks than a regular knife. When the tinder begins to smoke, gently blow or fan it to ignite a flame. Of course, not just any stone can ignite tinder—the sparks produced must have sufficient heat and duration to catch fire.
Following the same principle, outdoor enthusiasts nowadays prefer using magnesium rods to start fires; they are easy to ignite and highly portable.
4. Battery Ignition
If you have a battery with high voltage, connect the positive and negative terminals to the two ends of a pencil lead with its wood casing shaved off, and in an instant, the pencil lead will burn as red-hot as a heating coil.
If you’re traveling by car, you can take two long wires and connect them to the positive and negative terminals of the car battery. If you don’t have wires, you can use two wrenches or other metal tools instead. If the wires aren’t long enough, you can take the battery out of the car. Slowly touch the ends of the two wires together—this short circuit will produce sparks. At this point, a cloth soaked in gasoline makes the best tinder.
5. Bow Drill Fire Starting
Using the most primitive and traditional methods such as bow drill or hand drill fire starting—these are among the hardest and most primitive ways to start a fire using natural materials. Bind a tough branch or bamboo strip with shoelaces, rope, or a belt to make a bow. Wrap a dry stick around the bow, and use it to rapidly rotate against a small piece of hardwood. This will create black powder, which will eventually smoke and spark, igniting the tinder.
6. Vine Fire Starting
Find a dry tree trunk, split one end, and wedge the crack open. Place the tinder inside, then thread a vine about two feet long behind the tinder. Step firmly on the tree trunk and quickly move the vine back and forth to create friction and heat, eventually igniting the tinder.
7. Other Methods
Rubbing a glass shard on a flat wooden board can also generate heat and eventually a spark. When it becomes very hot from intense friction, blow on the tinder to ignite it. Additionally, you can vigorously rub two pieces of soft wood or bamboo together to start a fire, placing dry palm bark or the underside of coconut leaves as tinder underneath. You can also carve a straight groove at the bottom of a softwood block, then use the tip of a spear-like hardwood to “plow” back and forth, first creating tinder and then igniting it.
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