Anybody ever use Mautz Fire Ribbon

[buckwheat]

Anybody have any experience with this magical fire goo? (http://www.ems.com/catalog/product_detail_square.jsp;jsessionid=Jf8NhPxyhyLTJ DlLdJS7Y1pTY6FTN6JGTQCgzv1HLTvCQYfD0lQw%21-977831537%212122391117?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=8455244 42100763&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302875796)

Wondering if I could use this to replace my Purell-soaked fireball solution. This has the advantage of coming in a nice tube.

Cheers,
Buckwheat

[Slo-go'en]

Napon in a tube. I used to use it long time ago to prime my Optimus stove, before I got the priming pump. Your fireballs are likely cheaper, lighter and just as effective.

[Tinker]

Yes, I've used it many times to start fires back in the 1970s and 80s. Now I use Esbit tabs on the occasion that I can't start a fire or my stove won't light or..... They light every time unless soaked.
A small bottle of 91% rubbing alcohol will also get a fire started in a pinch, sanitize hands, and sterilize wounds. It isn't the stuff you use in alcohol stoves. It works, but only in warm temps, and it smokes.
The cheapest and most effective solution may be cotton balls with Vaseline worked in or, better yet, clothes drier lint with Vaseline.

[buckwheat]

Thanks for the replies fellows.

I've been very happy with the Purell Volcano Ball, except for one thing. The container I keep them in is not 100% airtight, and so the alcohol has been evaporating. That still leaves me with cotton balls, so all is not lost, but it's kind of expensive. So, for a while, I have been thinking about how to resolve that problem and ran across this goo looking at the EMS website.

Since it comes in such a handy 4 oz. container, I thought I might give it a try.

I also purchased some sealable bottles from EMS, so in the future, I think I'll keep my Purell and my cotton balls separated in the pack, and mix them together at the time I'm lighting my fire. That should resolve the evaporation issue.

Cheers,
Buckwheat

[solo29]

i used something like it when i was out in colorado it work really good

[atraildreamer]

Thanks for the replies fellows.

I've been very happy with the Purell Volcano Ball, except for one thing. The container I keep them in is not 100% airtight, and so the alcohol has been evaporating. That still leaves me with cotton balls, so all is not lost, but it's kind of expensive. So, for a while, I have been thinking about how to resolve that problem and ran across this goo looking at the EMS website.

Since it comes in such a handy 4 oz. container, I thought I might give it a try.

I also purchased some sealable bottles from EMS, so in the future, I think I'll keep my Purell and my cotton balls separated in the pack, and mix them together at the time I'm lighting my fire. That should resolve the evaporation issue.

Cheers,
Buckwheat

Use vaseline/cotton balls as fire starters and keep them in an old locking prescription bottle. bbb

[skinewmexico]

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/mcdougall114.html

[Hikerhead]

Since you have the Purell hand sanitiser anyway, why add weight by bringing something else? Soak up a cotton ball on a need to need basis. Your Purell will stay nice and safe in it's little bottle until the time comes when it's needed.

[OldStormcrow]

Ah yes, this is what we used to fondly refer to as "flaming pasta" in the 70's. Used to be about the only thing that would get an old Peak 1 stove going on a minus zero morning in the Smokies. Not that great for just starting campfires, though.....candle stubs work much better and there are almost always a few adhered to the shelters somewhere.

[Ramble~On]

Another vote for Vaseline worked into cotton balls. They're light, cheap, ignite easily, don't dry out, burn a long time and hot, can be used for dry skin, chapped lips, chaffing, cuts etc.

[MaineSurveyor]

Ah yes, this is what we used to fondly refer to as "flaming pasta" in the 70's. Used to be about the only thing that would get an old Peak 1 stove going on a minus zero morning in the Smokies. Not that great for just starting campfires, though.....candle stubs work much better and there are almost always a few adhered to the shelters somewhere.

I still use the fire ribbon on my 1980's peak one stove for priming in cold weather...only takes about a 1/2" long ribbon so the tube lasts forever.

[buckwheat]

All,

Thanks for the many replies. I wouldn't carry this necessarily in my pack. But I'm always on the lookout for anything that might assist in making a fire using damp or wet tinders (dry tinder doesn't present any challenges, really.)

I liked the idea of this because it's self-contained, reliable, not messy, fairly cheap when compared to the alternatives, requires no preparation, and is fairly lightweight. All-in-all, not a bad bit of goo when faced with a difficult fire-starting environment, I should think.

Cheers,
Buckwheat

[Uncle Tom]

I now go with small pieces of old bicycle inner tube. Have a lot of those around here.

[Johnny Swank]

Same here. I've got a couple 1" square sections squirreled away in my first aid kit. Between that and the Purell I usually carry, I'm covered.

Now that I think about it, I've only resorted to the the inner tubes once since carrying them a few years ago. They must keep the wood dryer or something!

[Peaks]

Like some of the other senior aged members of this forum, I also used the Fire Ribbon to prime my Svea. But then Svea came out with the little priming pump, and I switched over to that.