4 Types of Common Fire Starters Tested

Four commonly used fire starters were tested. The fire starters were evaluated on affordability, weight, waterproofness, wind resistance, and burn time.

Related Post: Should I Carry a Flint Fire Starter?

lint fire tinder

1. Lint Tinder

  • Weight: 0.5 grams
  • Burn Time: 18 seconds

Pros

  • Easily available from the dryer
  • Can capture a spark

Cons

  • Not waterproof
  • Did not burn that well
  • Burn time depends upon the type of laundry that was dried
cotton balls as fire tinder

2. Cotton Ball Tinder

  • Weight: 0.5 grams
  • Burn Time: 64 seconds
  • Waterproof: No

Pros

  • Very flammable
  • Can capture a spark
  • Cotton ball has other useful purposes

Cons

  • Not waterproof
used birthday candle as fire tinder

3. Lightly Used Birthday Candle

  • Weight: 1.3 grams
  • Average Burn Time: 10 minutes and 35 seconds
  • Waterproof: Yes

Pros

  • Extremely long burn time
  • Waterproof
  • Birthdays on trail

Cons

  • easily falls over
  • does not capture a spark
relighting birthday candle

4. Relighting Birthday Candle

  • Weight: 0.8 grams
  • Burn Time: 8 minutes 15 seconds
  • Waterproof: Yes

Pros

  • Affordable
  • Waterproof
  • Windproof
  • Birthdays on trail

Cons

  • easily falls over
  • does not capture a spark

The Best Overall Fire Tinder = Relighting Birthday Candle

 

The best overall performing fire tinder that can be found at your home was the relighting birthday candle. Birthday candles are great because they provide an extremely long burn time, over 8 minutes. The candles are also very lightweight, under a gram each. Birthday candles are also extremely common to find in the house. However, the relighting birthday candle is by far the best fire tinder we tested. Because the relighting birthday candle is highly resistant to wind it is the ideal fire starter tested. Try them out on your next trip and get ready to PAR-TAY! 😉