Introduction: Waterproof Fire Starters

About: Traveling nomad following the sun around the world. Current location: Pahoa, Hawaii

While living in the rain forrest we’ve found many nights it can be a bit tricky starting a fire because of the all the moisture in the air the wood doesn’t always dry out even when you have it under shelter from the rain. After many failed attempts at getting a good fire going I got some inspiration from my brother to make these awesome little fire starters.

They are pretty easy to make with just some simple supplies kicking around the house: egg cartons, dryer lint, saw dust, old candles and some dental floss.


Step 1:

Step 1: In a small sauce pan bring about an inch of water to a boil and place a can with the top cut off and add the broken up wax bits.

Step 2:

Step 2: While the wax the starts to melt you can start building the little fire starters, cut up the bottom cups of the egg carton. Then place layers of dryer lint and saw dust in the cup.

Step 3:

Step 3:  Fold over the corners of the cup and tie up with dental floss leaving enough floss left to hold on to when you dip it in the wax.

Step 4:

Step 4: Dip the whole package into the wax, I used a chopstick to submerge the whole thing.

Step 5:

Step 5: Place the coated fire starter on some foil to solidify, once I was done dipping all of them I put them in the freezer to harden up because it’s so hot and humid here.

Step 6:

Step 6: Light on fire! They should burn anywhere from 10-15 minutes and I’ve been using 2-3 to get a nice size fire going.

Let me know if you try it and how they work out or if you’ve got any other cool ideas I can try out here in the rain forrest.

- B

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