Fire Tinder Review - WetFire, Tinder Quik, Cotton Balls and Vaseline

[cap10random]

thanks for the video. do you know what the approximate burn times of a full cotton ball vs. a full tinder quik are? i usually carry the cotton balls, but i've been considering the tinder quiks.

[CrawlingRoad]

@cap10random The cotton balls burn longer, but I don't remember by how much. I use cotton/vaseline as my primary. My emergency kit has tinderquik which is less messy.

[cap10random]

@CrawlingRoad awesome. thanks for the reply. i guess i'll save my money. :)

[btsseeker]

I am/was a WetFire fan until I discovered they degrade with time. I had a whole packed of eight as you pictured in you video UNTOUCHED/UNOPENED for two years. I read a review on amazon that some were having failure due to age. So I tested mine and sure enough they failed. I shaved half the cube into a pile and placed the other half next to it. It lit on the first strike and crusted over and went out fairly quickly. RATS!

[CrawlingRoad]

@btsseeker Yes I'm afraid that's a weakness for them. I just use vaseline and cotton balls for my primary starter if I need one. It doesn't expire and doesn't care if it is exposed to air.

[JCB7710]

This was very helpful for me, I'm preparing a bag for a trip to the mountains of Peru at the end of the month, with elevations in the 10,000+ range. I just bought a package of Wet Fire for the trip. I'm so glad I watched this! Thank you, you've saved me some embarrassment and possibly worse if these things start popping like firecrackers when I'm in Cuzco!

[CrawlingRoad]

@JCB7710 In terms of simplicity the vaseline and cotton balls works well and is basically all I use if I need a fire starter. I can store it for years and it always works. If you want a non-greasy solution, the tinderquik product is good as well and also doesn't expire. 

[JCB7710]

@CrawlingRoad FYI, took my WetFire up to 12,500 feet in Cusco, Peru. It inflated as yours did, but did not burst.

[CrawlingRoad]

@JCB7710 Good to know. Others have written and had failures due to age. So I'd keep an eye on them and test periodically.

[JCB7710]

@CrawlingRoad Will do! See my channel for the video on the trip including other preparations i made for the trip. Would love your feedback.

[deanznz]

great through test, have you tried jute twine soaked in wax or vaseline ? if it gets wet before you pull it apart into small strands it seems to light with 2-4 strikes, but if you wet it after it's pulled apart it doesn't really catch, and you need good dexterity in your fingers to pull apart. That mini inferno that Dave Canterbury sells looks to be the best of all as it's water proof and supposed to not expire.

[CrawlingRoad]

@deanznz I have some, but haven't tried it yet. Honestly the vaseline and cotton balls work so well that's what I use if I'm not igniting shavings directly. I've not tried the mini inferno so I can't comment. Thing about being waterproof isn't that big a deal for me. Because if it's so wet that your fire starter won't light then chances are you won't get anything else to light either. Better get under good shelter and stay dry some other way.

[deanznz]

@CrawlingRoad can you think of a situation where your fire starter is soaked but all the wood around you isn't ?

[CrawlingRoad]

@deanznz Only if I got dunked in a creek and my gear got really wet. Even then, I have my fire start in water tight containers. But normally I don't even use a fire starter. If it's dry enough to start a fire, then I can get it going with just some shavings and a fire steel or lighter no problem. 

[MrLancer84]

What if you open the wet fire tinder & vacuum seal it then? Would that make it last?

[CrawlingRoad]

@MrLancer84 I think if it is made with volatile chemicals this would ruin it. I think vaseline/cotton or tinder quiks are simpler and less likely to fail under most conditions. I usually carry the cotton/vaseline in a pill bottle, fire steel, and a lighter.

[enzothebird]

wet fire burns longer if u light it dry then put it slowly into a metal bucket of water with fireproof gloves

[ANDYKilla1]

As if the camera fell off the tripod !

[VA7BC]

excellent review. Thank you

Regards from Canada

[TheMotorick]

Vacuum sealing wouldn't help, I'm guessing, because the active ingredient is probably a volatile chemical. The volatile chemical would just expand the package again.

[CrawlingRoad]

@TheMotorick I think you are probably right. I consider the WetFire a backup method due to these and other factors. My primary method is still the cotton balls and vaseline. I also like using just plain old wood shavings/feather sticks. That's usually what I try first and then go to the cotton if it's just having a hard time.

[TheNancyBoys]

great video man. I was specifically looking for a video comparing vasaline cottonballs to Wetfire. Thanks!

[GWNDFM]

this was a great and really useful video thanks for sharing. everything was very clear. you have a great voice for doing this.

[CrawlingRoad]

@GWNDFM Thanks. I live in a very wet part of the US so knowing how far these various tinders can be pushed in terms of water is important.

[nick617617]

geat review

thanks for uploading

[torquefactory]

5 STARS REVIEW OF FIRE TINDER *****

In fact it is a very good fire tinder TEST in some real conditions!

Thanks Craig! Mike

[CrawlingRoad]

@torquefactory I like all three of these tinders and carry all three in my fire kit. The WetFire is new to me and part of the reason for the controlled indoor lighting was to eliminate wind conditions on the ridge where I had my camper when doing the test. I wanted to see how reliable WetFire was before I started carrying it. i also wanted to push the extremes to see how more conventional fire starters would work (or wouldn't) when soaking wet.