# Does cold weather make starting a campfire harder? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 21, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285 "2015-02-21T20:21:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/41 "2015-02-23T18:56:23Z")
> [@Poysyn](#): > > A few friends and survival instructors recommend using cotton balls wiped with petroleum jelly. > > Works like a charm, even when wet. It’ll catch easy and reliably sure, but you have until your prepared firestarter gives out to get the kindling to catch. Not always easy. Well, live and learn: “dry” branches often are not. Better I learned that now than if I was stuck out somewhere slowly getting hypothermia and down to my last four or five matches. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/42 "2015-02-23T20:03:20Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I wonder what the heck Daniel Boone did in damp weather. He would have had a flint and steel, some carefully prepared tinder- but then would have had to make do with whatever he could find in the way of wood, wet or dry. > [@Malthus](#): > > He no doubt knew which materials would burn well, even when everything was wet. And, if caught without, he (or his contemporaries) could be in serious deep shit. Jack London’s classic short story [To Build a Fire](http://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/to-build-a-fire.pdf) (PDF document) shows both how it could happen, and the disastrous results. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/43 "2015-02-23T21:43:13Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > And, if caught without, he (or his contemporaries) could be in serious deep shit. Jack London’s classic short story [To Build a Fire](http://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/to-build-a-fire.pdf) (PDF document) shows both how it could happen, and the disastrous results. And if you’ve never read the story before, read it then go back to **Flyer** ’s post. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/44 "2015-02-23T21:46:50Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > Cold weather is one thing. But whatever you do, don’t use your last match to start a fire without checking to see if it’s under a tree with snow-laden branches. Great story. I remember reading it as a kid and being thoroughly freaked out. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/45 "2015-02-23T21:46:57Z")
> [@Dodgecity](#): > > Had a fire in the bush last Saturday , yes it’s harder to get going… I am not commenting on this. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/46 "2015-02-23T21:52:14Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Great story. I remember reading it as a kid and being thoroughly freaked out. :dubious: What story is that? ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/47 "2015-02-23T22:21:31Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > :dubious: What story is that? This one > [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > And, if caught without, he (or his contemporaries) could be in serious deep shit. Jack London’s classic short story [To Build a Fire](http://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/to-build-a-fire.pdf) (PDF document) shows both how it could happen, and the disastrous results. ---
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/48 "2015-02-23T23:35:00Z")
It doesn’t get cold enough around here to test this, but I hear that one way to tell in the winter whether or not a branch is dry is to touch it to your lips. If it warms up, it’s dry. If it stays cold, it is still full of moisture. My favorite fire starter is cotton balls smeared with a little vaseline. Make sure that there are some fibers that are not coated with vaseline. Also, these do NOT work when wet, although I can reliably light damp kindling with them. They light easily with a ferrocerium rod, aka metal match. This is basically a giant lighter flint. They come with strikers, but most people file a 90 degree edge on the back of their knives and use that as a striker. The bark of the paper birch is nicely saturated with oil that makes it waterproof, even if, I am told, it’s lying on the ground. Scrape this up with a knife and it can be lit with a ferro rod. Similarly, fine scrapings of resinous pine will light with a ferro rod. There is a lichen called Old Man’s Beard which I am told is often found on trees up north. This will also light with a ferro rod. Also, Daniel Boone would collect and save fine kindling as he found it and put it in a pouch with his tinderbox. This would contain charred materials such as charred punk wood. This will light with a spark from a steel, a much weaker spark that that provided by a ferro rod. It is unlikely he would have used charcloth, cloth being a precious commodity in those days. There is also a type of bracket fungus called Chaga or True Tinder Fungus whose fine hairs will also take a spark from a steel, or so I am told. If it is wet, but not windy, a piece of bicycle inner tube and a lighter will get things going. This is a preferred method in Southeast Asia. Cold weather affects the performance of butane lighters. You could stick them in your crotch to warm them up I suppose. Rob ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/49 "2015-02-23T23:46:32Z")
Strangely, Fritos corn chips work well for this. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/50 "2015-02-24T01:32:03Z")
> [@sweeteviljesus](#): > > It doesn’t get cold enough around here to test this, but I hear that one way to tell in the winter whether or not a branch is dry is to touch it to your lips. If it warms up, it’s dry. If it stays cold, it is still full of moisture. I’ll have to give that a try! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/51 "2015-02-24T02:26:22Z")
> [@](#): > > If it is wet, but not windy, a piece of bicycle inner tube and a lighter will get things going. How do you use the inner tube, just burning it directly? ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/52 "2015-02-24T15:34:11Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Strangely, Fritos corn chips work well for this. Yep, my camping pack includes one of those little-bitty indiv. size bags of Fritos. They’re years old and quite stale, and not for eating. They’re for firestarting, and it’s not strange at all, if you consider their fat content. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/53 "2015-02-24T15:53:39Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > And, if caught without, he (or his contemporaries) could be in serious deep shit. Jack London’s classic short story [To Build a Fire](http://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/to-build-a-fire.pdf) (PDF document) shows both how it could happen, and the disastrous results. It happened in the movie _Jeremiah Johnson_ as well, although instead of being lethal it was part of his cruel education in mountain winters. ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/54 "2015-02-24T15:55:47Z")
So many great tips here. Thanks **Lumpy** , for starting this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/55 "2015-02-24T16:32:23Z")
It is fairly easy to start a fire if you have prepared firestarters with you. I myself never used those - in Canada at least, they are rarely necessary; natural materials typically suffice. The “go to” firestarter is birch bark. If you peel it off the tree, you can peel off the damp layers and the inner, dry layers make perfect firestarter material. Next, if conditions are rough, is “fatwood” described above (resin-coated pine bits). Usually that is very easy to find, and will burn under pretty well any conditions - the resin content repells water. Take a lump and carve some shavings into it, it will burn no matter what. If have these materials, it doesn’t matter how damp the wood is - you can dry it out and burn it. ---
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/56 "2015-02-25T18:33:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > How do you use the inner tube, just burning it directly? Yes. It burns like a sooty match. I have seen videos of a guy lighting some with a ferro rod, but I wasn’t able to when I tried. The YouTube channel is called Junglecrafty. The video is called Firesteels: An overrated survival item? For what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/57 "2015-09-12T00:22:19Z")
Thread bumped for a new question: lots of people recommend waterproofing matches by dipping them in wax. But how then do you strike them- are you supposed to pull/scrape the wax off the head first? ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/58 "2015-09-12T02:22:18Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Thread bumped for a new question: lots of people recommend waterproofing matches by dipping them in wax. But how then do you strike them- are you supposed to pull/scrape the wax off the head first? you can buy waxed matches. The act of striking removes the wax. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/59 "2015-09-12T02:52:05Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > you can buy waxed matches. The act of striking removes the wax. Correct. But I find Lifeboat matches a better deal, since they come waterproof and burn very hot. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285/60 "2015-12-01T18:46:05Z")
So I’ve been playing with charcloth to try to start a fire with flint and steel (that is, actual rock flint and steel, not the synthetic stuff), and I’m running into a strange problem. The charcloth just isn’t taking sparks, unless they happen to fall right on the edge of the cloth; in the middle, nada. Yes, the charcloth is pure cotton, and yes it’s been fully charred to carbon. So any ideas what’s going wrong? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cold-weather-make-starting-a-campfire-harder/713285.md?page=4)