I keep a large plastic pencil sharpener in my kit. Simply sharpen a stick and you’ve got lots of quick dry shavings.

One of the better kits I've seen.....we all do things a little different....my ultimate fire kit would also include; - Ditch the fire piston (cool but impractical) swap with rope wick (Tondeldoos) - Wrap a ranger band or duct tape round that bic lighter and secure the plunger - Add some dry cotton wool in the matchbox (stops them rattling) - I would use a SAK Farmer X or Hunter instead of the Opinels - A hank of paracord for bow drill - I don't buy consumables if I can make them, so would either carry vassoline soaked cotton in straws or wax infused makeup pads instead of the fire plugs - A small collapsable tinder bag is aslo a good idea for collecting material on the go I don't think this is too different to your kit, just tweeks

You are correct, trying different fire starters are fun but I’ve used good old fashioned matches for decades. 😊

Potassium permanganate and glycerine. Stand well back. Both ingredients have multiple uses, but when combined they are ferocious.

I stumbled across the David West channel a few months ago. I wouldn't be surprised if he could get water to burn, but I have actually seen him start fire with a typical recyclable water bottle with water in it on a sunny day, like a Fresnel lens. Nice kit, Ernie, everything you need. I have a very small ferro rod, a short piece of a broken hacksaw blade, and some folded waxed paper in my wallet for my EDC fire starting kit. When I hit the trail, I carry an alcohol stove, and alcohol is an excellent accelerant.

This video motivated me. I make fire starters out of round make up pads and Gulf wax. When processed they combine for a very light weight, dependable, water proof fire starter. Tonight I took one of them, laid it flat and used a knife to scrape out the center and make a pile of wax and cotton fibers. I used a fero rod to light it. The result was a nice flame in the center of the pad. It was very easy to move into a twig stove and produced a flame that lasted for 3 minutes - plenty of time and heat to ignite wet twigs.

Good one Ernie. I EDC about 4 different ways to start a fire. The sweet girl that weighs me at my Dr's office says " I never would have guessed that you weigh that much." Then I start pulling flint and steels, ferro rods, Lighters, Swiss Army knives. 9 pounds later she says " Oh I understand". Then I have to start explaining what all of it does. She thinks I'm nuts. But she still loves me. LOL. You on the other hand would be standing there going " ok that's cool. Oh yeah I need one of those." LOL

Very nice fire kit. I add the pocket bellow to almost every kit I create.

My kit: 2 mini Bic lighters. Found Birch bark as tinder. If I can’t find birch bark, I have a few cotton balls soaked in Vaseline. This has never let me down in 16 years of backpacking the Superior Hiking Trail in all seasons.

An excellent kit. I’m not a fan of the fire piston, but I won’t make a fire kit without adding flint and steel. It’s good to see it as part of your kit. The Opinel Saw is something I never knew about. So thanks for that. 👍🏻

Great kit! I like using the Black and White fire starters. Paul puts together quality kits and you get plenty of product to get a fire started in even the wetter conditions. Plenty of differnt options to fit whatever space in your kit bag. Thanks for sharing friend! Hidden woodsman is some solid gear as well!

Very complete kit!

Great coverall kit ! Being an opinel freak I ansolutley loved seeing those on a someone else's fire bag!! Thanks for the vid looking forward to more !!!

My Fire Kit consist of a pair of Reading Glasses for Solar Ignition, and a Key Ring Liquid Match, which gives me both a Spark Ignition Source with the Ferrocerium striker, and flame ignition with a wide variety of common fuels. 3 independent sources of ignition with two common items.

0:00 wow, that was an awesome intro!

You make a great point about building a fire properly. Too many people rush things and don't collect enough little stuff to get their larger branches and logs going. It's like driving a 5-speed manual, you've got to go through all the gears to work up to highway speeds. If you start your car and throw it in 3rd gear, you'll kill it. Similarly, if you light your tinder, but try to throw thumb-size branches on it, you'll kill the fire. You want 2 big handfuls of pencil-lead sized twigs, 2 big handfuls of pencil sized twigs, and then 2 big handfuls of thumb-size sticks, all of them bone-dry. If they aren't bone-dry, you'll need even more of each of those sizes of sticks, because you have to drive out the moisture from the twigs before they will catch on fire.

Opinel is a great little knife. It is light and spine in sharp for scrapeing wood of ferro rod.it makes great feather sticks and carving wood is easy. I drilled a hole in the handle to add a leather string to make it a neck knife. It so light you forget it there. It is part of my ultralight fire kit.

I found your videos while trying to figure out what stove I want and I think you converted me to DIY alcohol stove. I would love to see a video comparing your best canister stove vs alcohol stove at full trip weight. Like windscreen, fuel, literally everything. Maybe even compare weights assuming both a weekend hike and a full week hike? That would be very informative

Thanks Ernie

itook an interest in teh fire piston last year. i've found that when you slam it, hold it down for a split sec to a second to let the heat sink in. i usually chant "pop.holde.pull." that's been the best timing to me. compression (the diesel effect) gives you the heat, but timing is everything. don't just let up that fast or hold more than a sec. i pop a coal almost every time.

Doc, can you do a first aide, self treatment, evac scenario and discuss safety? As for fire, yes, grey matter is the ultimate tool. Remaining calm too.

I have found using dryer lint impregnated with petrolum gelly stored in a ziplok works great with lighters, matches and ferro rods for lighting fires in most demanding survival situations. Thanks PaleoHiker!

Great kit my guy. As you said fire making is very relaxing. I could literally make fire or sit by a fire all day lol. Love the opinel saw i wanna get one myself. I like the addition of the birch bark as well, i enjoy starting fires that way.

Good job Ernie. We don't have much in the way of birch down here. We do occasionally have chaga an horseshoof fungus. Both are great fire starters. Ultimately though we always have cedar and pine needles. I do believe my fire piston(clear acrylic)works a lot easier, of course I vaseline it which is ALWAYS in my fire kit due to it's versatility for first aid and waterproofing capabilities. I like the little 1" containers for my pack. Great vid as always. TC and ATB, Cris.

I love your ULTIMATE series ... of course the other also ;-) Happy new Year for you and your loved ones. Stay save and healthy Greetings from Germany

Nice video, Ernie. I carry about half of that kit even when I'm not planning to go out in the woods. You never know when plans change in an emergency.

Im like you,enjoy using different methods of fire making..It is hard to beat a Bic lighter and those fire plugs because even if the Bic runs out of fuel, can still light the plugs with just a spark.Of course the plugs have to be fluffed up first.Thanks for the videos,enjoy them.👍

Every environment has its own set of fire starter problems. Having a myriad of methods and experience only ensures success. Practice is the key especially during wet and windy conditions. Again, thinking about it and buying all this gear is great but practice is the key.

I carry three of these any given time. I rotate out depending on what I need practice on. Always have a lighter though as a default backup.

A good share .. thanks 👍. The more ideas and choices we have for our mental and physical 'tool kits', the better. My first choice where possible, is a box of matches. Kept dry in a little zip-loc bag .. ideal also for kick-starting a cold trangia alcohol stove. Strike, chuck the lit match into the stove .. acts as a 'wick' and has worked every time. Picked this up from Erik Normark, the Swedish 'Wolf'. Take care .. stay safe ..

Ernie, you do have birch somewhere in your area. It is a River Birch sometimes called Yellow Birch. River Birch is native to Louisiana, Mississippi and other wet environments. I use it here in Missouri.

Ooooh... I normally HATE music in a video but this is SO relaxing...

I use a True Utility case with a candle, matches, mini BIC lighter, birch bark, cotton pads with vaseline and jute twine.

Great vid. Just grabbed mine at local lmnk mart 😉 cant wait to use them. Never ask your fishing hole just what state gentlemen. Thx Semper Fi

FIRE... The backpackers TV , the campers friend and no camping trip is complete till a small fire has been enjoyed. It's what sets us apart from everything else in the woods. One of my kit's , for better words is quite simple. It's a Condor Swamp Romper fixed blade knife in a leather sheath. As a part of the leather sheath is a Uberleben Ferro rod ( 3/8 thick ). When backpacking the backpack are two soda bottle blanks ( Look like test tubes with a cap ) one has Potassium Permanganate in it and the other has Glycerine. Each one is in a different section of the pack. When small portions of each are combined they will start a fire every time. Both items have duel purposes but guaranteed fire starting is the primary one. Naturally the cook kit has a additional Bic lighter and a water proof tube with strike anywhere matches.

I’ve added a rope lighter to my kit. Nice kit. 👍👏👏👏

2:55 Looks very good! However, I have noticed some things missing and some suggestions. Firstly, I see no pencil sharpener. (Makes awesome fine tinder with little or no effort from any small stick!). Then, I see no candle/s. A candle is very versatile, strong flame, doesn't easily go out and lasts a long time, while providing light into the bargain. Once lit, most of the stress disappears. [My old Scoutmaster from 50 years ago made us cut the opposing edges down a bit to make it much flatter. Then we had to break/cut a wooden ruler in half (6") and place the cut-down candle between them. Then we wound jute twine around this (a good length). This protects the fragile candle from breakage and provides tinder and kindling if needed (easily replaced before next outing).] These days cheap tea lights are available, and very easy to slip into a bag (put inside a small Zip-lock bag). 11:30 I like the way you put the fire-making thing into perspective. Well done. Many of us enjoy making fires (there IS a pyromaniac in all of us!). However, many people look to KZfaq videos for help in deciding what is best! That's when things get messy. Who says a ferrocerium rod is the BEST way? Yet a whole cult has been built up around them, to the point where Knives without a 90 degree back are regarded as unacceptable. That is insane! I'm not saying a ferrorod is not useful - it is; as a back-up method to a good lighter, or 2, or 3 ....! Your explanation is practical and useful. Thanks.

Great kits. Fire is definitely a important item looks like you have it all covered

Thanks Doc

Pretty sure every single time I've built a fire out camping or fishing or whatever, I've started it using some scrunched up newspaper and a cigarette lighter. But I do love fire starting kits and if I go out camping again I'll be using one because the days of the newspaper are pretty much gone lol.

Pencil sharpener for fatwood shavings, cotton balls w/ hand sanitizer....works better than wax. Fire goop / gel, Trioxane tabs, Jute, Sooo many others. Good Video

What a great kit you put together, thanks for sharing this with us.

Thanks, Ernie - I like the kit. Mine includes the Hammaro Lighting Paper Tinder Cards too. I am sure you have seen or used them - haven't seen all your videos, yet, - they seem to work no matter what and all I need is a little 2x2 inch square to spark/light/ember to make a fire go. And as you said - who wants to use the same method every time? I love trying different things because that's where the fun is. Keep 'em coming!

Cool kit. I really love such kits for organisational reasons and especially for easiness of training and improving skills - everything inside the bag, grab it and go in the garden to play around. It makes also sense to have such a bag where everything is inside in order to place it in your rucksack - grab the bag out of your rucksack, and you're good. But when I go out I never use my kit (except I plan to do some bushcraft training) but have my several individual fire making resources placed in several pockets and rucksack etc. - since if I would place everything in such a kit, and anything happens to that kit, I would have challenges to make fire. And, just btw: it is easy to insert a firesteel/ferrorod inside an Opinel handle - so as a cheap advertisement for my channel: i have a video about the "how to" up there ;-)

I don't rely on any single method so this is a very informative video...

I usually use a ferro rod and shavings or other collected tinder like cedar bark to start my fires. I carry petroleum jelly cotton balls and UCO stormproof matches for emergencies when I absolutely need to get a fire lit. I will sometimes play with flint and steel when I have lots of time to find and prepare a birds nest tinder bundle. A bow drill is also fun to play with, but when I am out in the woods, I seldom want to spend the hour or more that it takes to collect and fashion a bow drill set. And it's not a guarantee that you'll get a fire from it, either.

Outstanding content, much appreciated!!

I feel like tea light candles would be good for a fire kit. Light the candle and use it as the base of your fire.

I'm diggin' the Ultimate fire kit. Thanks.

for fire starting, I really like gasoline and a road flare. works every time.

I have all but the fire piston !!

Awesome video! Made me want to get out there again.

Awesome! I usually add some dried grass heads and wild Clematis, and Hambro paper. A hexamine tablet for serious wont burn situations! And tampons are basically compressed cotton wool.

Well done, and thanks again for that Simple Theory XL stove vid. It's replaced most of my multi-fuel stoves.

👍Every time..

Living up in New England, we take for granted both fatwood and birch bark. Its everywhere. With my twig stoves, which is what I normally use, I can simply pick a dead branch off a pine tree (pines die low as they grow, making it easy for us to use), and that one small to medium branch, is more than enough wood to go from spark to boiled water. Birch bark I usually use for a striking base. But, its easy to harvest as well.

Good Ultimate video! It's been a long time since I tossed out the fresnel lens. When you need fire most, it's cold, rainy and no sun (at least where I live). But fireplugs and magnesium rods are always reliable. Matches and lighters (I often use a Zippo) are always easier to work with, but not as trustworthy as the magnesium rod. In one occasion I had to use bug oil to get the fire started so that one has a dual purpose. 30 years later I still carry the same type of bug oil during summer.

I'm the same way with my fire kits, in one group trip I gave the guy starting the fire my birch bark and that got it going

Good video!

Cool video. You mention you were from Louisiana. Im from Louisiana too. Im a knifemaker from Lena which is between natchitoches and alexandria. I have a small channel too. Guindesign. Its my knife making and what not.

Great intro..

I live in Lake Charles. Nice Video!

great intro

Great intro!!

Spark wheel would be a wood add on

Good topic . I would have thought y’all had some river birch . Sycamore works pretty good as well. We have scattered around . Came across some massive specimens south of Crockett. Thanks for sharing

Wow, at 4:42 the Space/Time continuum was shattered! I got to learn that one. Happy New Year, buddy boy.

On fire piston third try your watch says 3:33. One Bic, one Clipper, medium fero, fresnel, fire plugs, hippie lighter, apocalypse ready.

good video.

I use two things. Potassium Permanganate and Glycerol.

Each back pack gets an 8x10" sized Fresnel lense. They're a thin and flexy sheet. The note book sized lense packs super easy. Weighs little. Slip a piece of cardboard or thick paper in the plastic sleeve that contains the lense. You'll want the sun-blocking paper, because when that very large lense is exposed to sunlight, it's a near instant fire hazard.

Great review Ernie, I love making fier, every way, is always, self gratifying. That Birchbark is pretty amazing, we don't have that here where I am in Mo, I wish I could locate some of that Thank you Brother. Sincerely your freind from Mo Rick and God bless you and your family and are Great Country

8 your quality of content and presentation is much appreciated. the intro today was very well done. keep up the good work! 👍

'Well I be damned... so "Smash as Hard as you can and then Pull Out!"...🤔💭 Let me find out Ol' Ernie here is a BadddBoyy!!!🔥 😜👌🏻 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Awesome vid bro. 👊🏻

A bic lighter in an exotac fire sleeve, a capsule of storm matches (for when wind blows the bic lighter out) a big 6 inch fire steel for very long term survival (thousands of fires) a fresnel lens to use with charred material to extend the life of other fire resources and a 1095 carbon steel blade to be used with a piece of flint, quartz and charred material for very long term survival, and that is about the maximum to carry imo

The bigger your firekit bag, the more stuff you're going to want to put in it. You got enough fire tools to do a round trip on the Appalachian trail.

My standard kit is a 1/2" diameter (6" long) ferro rod, 6 to 8 cotton balls with petroleum jelly in them, and a Bucee's tin (same size as Altoids tin) with 8 to 10 little pieces of fatwood in it. That will usually light a dozen or more fires. If I'm feeling lazy, I'll bring a small pack of fire plugs. It depends on what we're doing and where I'm going. It's good to be comfortable with several methods and tools so you have options.

Excellent kit! Weighs way too much for me though. I just call down fire from heaven.

My chosen ignition method and tinder changes to match the conditions. Wet and windy needs a very different approach to a dry Arrid day, maybe you could cover this in a future episode

I found a cheap small cheese grater thats flat like a sheet of paper i have it in my fire making kit to shave fatwood and other sticks.

PaleoHiker you might have some Black (River) Birch in your area. I found some here in the FL panhandle.

👍

Great kit! Very well thought out and you've got some redundancies (which I'm a fan of - one is none and two is one). I've got kits for different seasons. For example, in winter out here in the PNW I carry a more robust fire kit, but in summer I cut it back quite a bit since I'm able to get a fire going much easier in the warm, dry season. My friends sometimes comment on the "overkill" in my fire kit but I've always been able to get a fire going! ;)

Any chance on doing a product review of our Firestarter?

It amazes me how anyone in the Stone Age discovered the fire piston method 🤔

Whats the orange bag used

Love my Bic. Where did you find an Orange one? I also use Orange paracord on my gear for identification and location.

What stove is the best when cooking. Not boiling water

Did you make the waxed wood? How. I always thought a piston would be "fun" to play with in camp when your not freezing..starving or any other emergency. Just for something to "play" with. Maybe while waiting for coffee to boil or bacon to cook.

10:52 😂😂

How do you feel about petroleum cotton balls? I prefer them the best as they give up to a 5 minute burn time. Do you keep other things spread out like another lighter in you pocket? I do not like to keep all my eggs in one basket. When I show someone my boy scout hot spark on my key chain I get a comment sometimes like "my favorite fire starting method is 9v and steel wool" to which I will reply "do you want to know my favorite method"? And I pull out my clipper lighter. GOD Bless you and your families

I expected each and every item to be by the hidden woodsman. You push more product than anyone ive seen

So that’s how a lighter works 👍😂

Something I have NEVER heard ANYONE mention, is that the actual Bic lighters are MUCH more reliable than the cheap imitations!!!

I always Keep a magnesium fire starter with me.

To me the piston is in the gee wiz category, cool but not practical. Flint and steel is a much better option.

it's pronounced "Fren-nell" lens ;p love your videos!

My kit is just a Bic and some UCO Titans looks like I need to up my fire game lol .

I"m sure if you done a video on a BIC lighter we"d all watch it :)

I understand the physics behind a fire piston, but it sure seems that there are *NUMEROUS* ways to start a fire that are both easier and more reliable. Ditto for _bow drills._ I guess they’re fun to teach as _bushcraft,_ but as expert Dave Canterbury pointed out, if I were to carry a fire kit that extensive, I’d probably go for a *DRAWER FULL* of Bic lighters! 😀(It would be virtual *_BLASPHEMY_* if it didn’t come from the man himself!) Another semi-cardinal rule of survival gear is try to minimize the items you carry which *HAVE ONLY ONE USE!* _”How interesting would a series be about a Bic lighter?”_ Well, if you threw in an old school liquid fueled lighter (like the venerable _Zippo),_ you’d always have a few devoted fan[atic]s watching. Or even a whole family of butane-fueled devices, from refillable cigarette lighters, to those with a longer reach to light fireplaces, barbecues, etc. right up to the mini blow torches. All of which can be fueled multiple times with small butane refill cylinders. Personally, I go with a simple Bic or two, plus a good ferrocerium rod with decent handle and striker. IOW, _priorities!_ Given limited *_”SAWC”_*_ (size and weight constraints - thanks, _*_Nutnfancy),_* there would probably be competing categories with a higher priority, such as water storage and purification. Or even trade a pound of heavy items for a lowly 16.9 oz. bottle of drinking water. Or a tip I learned from a firefighter. How does he stay hydrated when fighting a massive wildfire in hot weather? For one thing, firefighters chug water/Gatorade at the station, throughout their shift, even before the call comes in. And, my own bit of philosophy -- the most important survival gear is stored *BETWEEN YOUR EARS!*