I don't cook with fire, but I do occasionally enjoy having a fire in a firepit. In the past I used to go with a car and just bring wads of newspaper for starting a fire. But now that I'm on a bike, that's not really an option.

On my most recent trip, I realized what a serious shortcoming this was as I used up every possible source of fuel (matches, magnesium, methyl alcohol, white gas, toilet paper, cabin style tinder, teepee style tinder, blowing, wood shavings, and several hours of time) and ended up leaving ten bucks of unburnt wood in the fire pit. The wood was slightly damp, but not more than I have gotten going in the past.

So what should I be packing that is light and reliable to start a fire? Preferably cheap, too. I would say the issue was I simply couldn't get the tinder to burn long or hot enough to ignite the larger tinder in any significant way.

Is this a good option: http://lifehacker.com/5920156/make-y...me-cotton-pads ?

Even a huge pile of newspaper isn't going to get wet wood to burn.
That said, 8 or 10 sheets of newspaper is pretty light to fold up and take with you on your bike.

My other suggestion would be lots and lots of shavings and tinder. Even the wettest wood will burn if you can make the pieces small enough. That usually means an axe.

Axe. Cut pieces small. Shavings. Fire starters (coghlans or homemade). Get fire going and stack the rest of the cut wood 2-3 high around the fire pit (or if its a metal ring lean the wood right on it) and then cook it before you burn it.

I'm just guessing on the wet wood thing, by the way, I really couldn't say why it wouldn't burn. I bought it off the ranger in a campground and every other campsite had no issue. Myself and my partner, both moderately experienced campers, had no luck.

Dru - My other concern with paper is it absorbs moisture. I'm planning a two week trip and even if it's just general condensation, I doubt I could keep it dry enough for that long.

Camel - I didn't have an ax, that is true, but using a bit of innovation and tenacity I managed to get kindling pieces off the major logs. Of the shavings I wittled and kindling I assembled, one piece of kindling burned enough to char.

If the wood was charring but not burning the pieces of wood were simply too big. Carry a hatchet and make several batches of kindling of different sizes. MEC has a lightweight hatchet, or even a large knife works when used as a wedge. As for starting the fire, all I use is a magnesium fire steel + 3 inches of wax-soaked twine and have yet to encounter conditions in which I can't get a fire going, including during/immediately after thunderstorms.

Ziplock or drybag.

I've made my own "fire starters" with dryer lint stuffed in cardboard egg cartons and topped with parafin wax. Works great and very light.

Cheers!

Shredded birch bark is a fantastic fire starter, and can be found in most areas. Watch for it by the trail and collect some. The wood will rot in a fallen trunk or branch, leaving a shell of bark. Even wet it make dandy tinder.

Will this negatively effect the environment in any noticeable way?

A non-homemade version of the wax and fibre firestarters that I've always had good luck with is Coglan's fire sticks: http://www.coghlans.com/products/fire-sticks-7940. They're $3 or $4 for a dozen, and don't weigh much. Often I've only had to use a 1/4 stick to get a fire going as they burn for a long time.

You can buy them at almost any camping store, and even at Canadian Tire.

Where are you starting the fire?

Bracket or Shelf fungus that grows prolifically on trees in these parts can work well as a tinder and will hold an ember also.

There's also "old mans beard" aka Usnea, that works well also.

If closer to the alpine Cassiope tetragona actually burns green due to the high concentration of resin in it.

If you don't want to harvest off the land, cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly work really well. I swear by these. If you wrap them in tinfoil and pull a wick through a hole in it you can actually use them as candles.

Another item I know is common among survivalists is bicycle innertube. It burns soaking wet and will hold a flame. You only need use a sliver of it to get some dry tinder going.

By the sounds of it though, if others around had a fire going, it's probably more down to your technique than anything. I used to try and light tinder as well as kindling all at the same time. Don't do this. Get the tinder going and then slowly add the kindling, working up from the smallest pieces. I see loads of people making elaborate kindling pyramids or structures with a fist full of tinder just squashed flat underneath.

Make a tinder bundle that you can hold in your hands and add your lit fire starter to the center of it (embers, innertube, vaseline cotton... etc) then just work it to get the tinder lit. Once you get it going just put it down and start adding kindling to it.

LOL, reminds me of an old bush veteran that used to always get a fire going anytime, anywhere. He'd crouch over a pile of sticks and next thing there was smoke and fire! One time I paid close attention to what he was doing and witnessed him pull on of those Coghlans wax sticks out of his pocket very stealthy-like and use it. His secret was out and I've carried them ever since...

A good reliable fire-starter...Pack a tuna can or catfood can with cardboard tightly rolled into it. Cut a few small strips of cardboard and stuff them in for wicks, then melt parafin wax and pour melted wax into the cardboard until it's completely saturated and allow to cool. Light the wicks and eventually the whole thing will begin to burn.
This will burn with a good flame for an hour or so, plenty of time to get damp wood burning on it's own.

Gizmodo had a thing on this the other day...

http://gizmodo.com/5920156/make-your...ds?tag=camping

Or you could make your own char cloth

That with a mag fire stick and you're ready to go

If you eat those baby gouda cheese rounds, save the wax coatings for starting your fire.