5 Benefits Of Using Fire Starters For Camping

Starting a fire is one of the most important tasks when camping or backpacking. A good fire provides warmth, light, a place to cook food, and protection from wildlife.  

While matches and lighters are convenient options, they can fail in windy or wet conditions.  

Fire starters are an indispensable tool for reliable fire starting in any situation. So, let's examine the top five benefits you'll get from fire starters. 

1. Reliable Ignition Source 

The number one benefit of fire starters is they provide a reliable ignition source even in challenging conditions. Quality fire starters are designed to light quickly and burn intensely for several minutes, giving plenty of time to get your kindling and fuel wood lit.  

Notably, fire starters excel at lighting damp wood, an advantage over matches and lighters, which may struggle or fail to ignite wet tinder. Stormy weather or collecting wood after rain often means your fire materials contain moisture. A good fire starter can handle the dampness and provide a strong flame. 

Fire starters also burn hotter than matches or a lighter flame, making them ideal for igniting bulkier fuel materials like thick twigs or logs. Their intense, extended burn gives more time for the fire to spread. 

2. Windproof 

Wind is the enemy of starting a campfire with matches or a lighter. Even a moderate breeze disperses the weak flame, making it nearly impossible to ignite your tinder. Fire starters containing paraffin wax or similar materials are windproof. Their flame concentration is intense and not easily blown out in windy conditions. 

This makes fire starters indispensable in open areas or mountaintops prone to wind. Stormy weather or high winds will not foil your fire-starting efforts with reliable fire starters in your pack. 

3. Waterproof 

The waterproof properties of quality fire starters make them ideal for wet conditions. Their protective wax or plastic casing allows them to burn intensely even after being submerged in water or subjected to torrential rain. Try that with matches or a butane lighter!  

If you've ever struggled to light a campfire with partially wet wood after a rainfall, you understand why waterproof fire starters are invaluable. They let you skip the troublesome step of carefully drying tinder and kindling before attempting to light it. Fire starters burn hot enough to dry out the kindling and get the flames spreading. 

4. Long Burn Time 

Fire starters engineered to meet camping demands have an extended burn time compared to matches or lighters. Quality starters will burn strong for 5-15 minutes, depending on their thickness and composition. This gives you ample time to safely prep your kindling and gradually feed more fuel to the fledgling fire before the starter's flame dies out. 

The longer burn also means you can space out adding kindling as the flame spreads rather than rushing the process. With good fire starters, there's no need to rush or panic trying to get the fire going before the source flame dies out. 

5. Compact and Lightweight  

Actual wilderness-grade fire starters pack down small and weigh next to nothing. The best starters for camping fold down or compress to take up only a little room in your pack or cargo pocket.  

Even bulkier fire starter blocks often weigh only a few ounces. This allows and encourages bringing multiple fire starters and backups, so you never have to worry about running out. 

Having a fire starter always on you ensures you can start a warming fire or cook a meal anytime needed, even on short day hikes from your base camp. Their minimal size and weight allow you to reap the benefits of fire on any outdoor adventure. 

Types of Fire Starters 

There are a few common types of fire starters well-suited for camping use: 

• Wax Fire Starters - These convenient fire starters are made from wax-impregnated cardboard, wood, sawdust, or cotton. The paraffin wax allows them to burn hot and strong for a long, even when wet. The wax coating makes the flame resistant to wind and water. Wax fire starters are inexpensive and lightweight, making them a backpacker's best friend when camping in unfavorable conditions. 

• Flint and Steel -  Using flint and steel is a classic way of lighting a fire. This traditional fire-starting method uses shards of flint rock and a steel striker. Flint and steel takes practice to master directing the sparks but allows you to start a fire anywhere without reliance on matches or lighters. The kit is compact and doesn't rely on fuel or batteries. 

• Magnesium Fire Starter - These fire starters allow you to shave off ribbons of magnesium metal from the block into your tinder bundle. When you strike the included ferrocerium rod, it creates hot sparks in the magnesium, causing it to ignite in a brilliant flash even when damp. Magnesium starters burn over 5000°F for added assurance to light your campfire quickly. 

• Electric Arc Lighters - Battery-powered arc lighters work by producing an electric arc between two coils to ignite a flame, making them unaffected by wind or wetness. They operate simply by pushing a button, allowing for extended and repeated use, ideal for lighting stubborn campfires. It is a helpful backup to have in addition to traditional fire-starting methods. 

• Lint Fire Starters - You can make these homemade starters by tightly packing and molding dryer or cotton lint. The dense lint lights easily with a flame or sparks. Coating the lint in melted candle wax or Vaseline gives it an extended burn time, allowing you to build up your campfire methodically. 

• Fatwood - This highly flammable wood comes from the stumps and roots of pine trees, where sap and resin penetrate the wood. Even when wet, fatwood shavings will readily ignite from a spark. Forage fatwood from decaying stumps is an excellent natural tinder. 

The range of fire starter options means you can choose the type suited to your camping style and conditions. While matches or a lighter should still be carried for convenience in good conditions, fire starters are invaluable when the conditions call for reliable fire starting. 

Final Thoughts 

Having quality fire starters and practicing good fire-starting techniques allows you to overcome wet, cold, and windy conditions that would make fire-starting nearly impossible with matches or a lighter.  

With their proven ability to light reliably, fire starters are essential to any camping or backpacking adventure.