What I like about pine is a lot of times when you have a live one, the lower branches at reachable level are dead and dry from being protected by the overhanging live branches. Good burnable wood at reachable levels.
check out the big box stores like Orchard Supply or Home Depot in the fireplace sections they sometimes carry bags of pre-cut fatwood pieces for starting your fireplaces
excellent video that's the stuff I look for you definitely practice what you preach your not just a process explainer like most thank you for showing the way it truly is out there
being caught in this kind of situation sucks. making a quick fire helped me by being able to warm up while i went out to get more firewood and set up shelter and other things. how many things can a hypothermic (not hyperthemic) person get done. great vid dave. i think this shows that knowing your priorities is key.
When pine trees die, (get blown over, etc) the sap can still flow and collect in the base, and at the knots of the limbs sometimes. This sap is 'resin' - it's highly flammable and waterproof. The wood gets saturated in it where it collects. So - if you break up an old stump and find that reallly hard, sap-soaked wood, THAT is fatwood. And it burns like mad, even when wet.
Thank you Dave for taking advantage of a bad situation. I appreciate that you went out in the cold and the wind and the snow to give a gift of knowledge and show how "Dirt time" pays off. One of the most important lessons that you have taught me, (actually I believe it was Bonnie who was one of your test subjects earlier this year) is that you need a balance of small fuel to keep the large fuel-burning. Good Journey Sun blade
How about a scenario where your primary fire making kit is lost? I would love to see your recommendations for fire in those conditions with NO fatwood. I can of course see using a lighter or ferro rod as most of us carry both on a daily basis, but the source for reliable tinder under those conditions is what I am interested in out side the usual birch bark, as I have none in my area. Great vid as always.
Dave, Sir... you are an inspiration and I appreciate all your effort and time. Your philosophy of free information is pioneering and I thank you. God Bless you and your family, brother and greetings from the UK.
Good video. You would have been proud. I had bottled water, bleach, buckets, candles, flashlights, batteries, paper plates and plastic ware, trash bags, a lighter, a ferro rod, two Sterno cans, an improvised oil lamp stove to heat already prepared meals, using vegetable oil, rubbing alcohol and hand made jute twine wicks, thermometers to measure the outside temperature, and critter proof storage bins to put refrigerator food in on the back deck. My family thought I was a genius. Lol!
Dave, one can only understand your point if they have been in this situation... so cold that the immediate start of a fire gives you that mental boost which warms you from the inside. It's called relief and hope. Fear starts to fade and you begin to feel human again. I can remember -30F days when I lived in North Dakota... I could give a damn about prepping the perfect fire just wanted to get it going. Good job!
Thanks dave for all your videos they are great this one I think I would have gathered some wood and small stuff before I lit the candle just so your not scrambling to find wood. I know I always am looking for birch bark to store for such an event. Anyway thanks for all you do!! Keep posting videos!!
Dave, I have watched every video that you've made. I live in a rural area in upstate New York and have had a problem with ticks. Not only on me, but on my dog also. I clean my house weekly and my cloths daily, but when I spend any time in the woods I find ticks on my clothing. I haven't seen a video on ticks and how to prevent bringing them in your house. I'm positive that you can offer some perspective. Thank you for all the knowledge. Dean.
Living in FL this type of fire, wet conditions, is a fairly common thing. Pine roots, we call it lighter knot, are great to have on hand for just these conditions. Thanks for the great vid there Dave! Great job as a lot of folks out there would not have to deal with these conditions very often.
I like that you showed the use of green pine and where I live I use cedar because of its high resen content and burns quick and quite well under damp and adverse conditions,
another great video dave..practice what we preach..its only when we test our skills in the worst conditions do we gain that hard earned woods knowledge...who would have thought to prepare for a wet snow storm in oct!!...i got great respect for you dave..safe journeys
Great video enjoyed it a lot. I've found this fire starter which is the fluff from the outlet of the tumble dryer the *fluff* from tumble dryer, I found it in a video a few years ago and it takes a spark very well, is readily accessible and has always worked for me.
I'm very surprised he's never suggested a Zippo with a Thunderbird insert in it (keeps the fuel from drying out & makes it only come out when the lid is opened to a certain degree). That can be done without much dexterity & work for twigs/slivers/feather-sticks, as well as regular tinders.
Fat wood is wood that is impregnated with resin (pine sap). When a tree dies, often the resin will collect in certain areas of the tree. Resin is very flammable and burns well.
Fat wood comes from dead pine where sap (or pitch) from that pine has collected (this can happen sometimes on live pines where injury to the tree has occurred) Mostly found where a pine has died and not fell and the sap ran back down to the base of the tree. It is recognized by its density, and grayness in appearance until cut, then it will be reddish and smell like a fresh cut Christmas tree. In the south we find it mostly on old growth stands of trees, flood swamps.
hey dave, how come you've never been an fan of petroleum soaked cotton balls? I understand you have mini inferno, but was just curious? We as watchers all would like to thank you for you contributions and your leadership which brings us all together to learn this fine style of life.
I loves ma fat wood! LOL God bless a good sharp knife! Now, to add a beeswax candle to my pack! (I think I could have gotten 0000 steel wool burning with my ferro-rod.)
Dave, thank you for the great videos. Growing up in south Ga I have used fat lighter (fat wood) many times. Very good stuff! We have it everywhere. I could not even start a fire without it until I made a trip to the mountains and had to learn other methods as fat lighter was much harder to find and less common. These days I just have to go to work to find it. I do work training for individuals with developmental disabilities. We split and bundle lots of it everyday. Anyway Thanks for the videos!
Hey Dave, I am kind of curious as to what kinds of packs you are using and where you can get them at. As always thanks for creating these videos and sharing your wisdom and ideas!
hey dave, do you think that this would work-a small box of small wax pieces and a few coton balls egnited with matches would work for starting a fire in spring and summer conditions-i'm new to the wilderness survival and love your videos and i have a field trip with my school soon so i am starting to get my backpack prepared in case of an emergecy. id you have any tips for me as a newcomer to your chanel and this lifestyle pls writte them in the reply. thanks
.Could kindling from say a “spruce tree” of northern New England be a good substitute to your fatwood, with the resin in spruce, being a good accelerant? And thank you for taking yourself out and away from your family, in some pretty crappy weather to teach us something in a truly realistic setting Dave, I appreciate it.
Great vid as always Dave! Sandy sent snow your way? I would love to see more winter bugout/survival videos as I live in southern Wisconsin and the climates are quite similar.
It's resin impregnated wood from a pine tree. It's a lot darker because it is soaked with resin. You can find it in the stump and also in the joints of limbs. I harvest it from stumps of fallen pine trees.
hey Dave first thank you for this informative video but i have a qestion for you:i am a survival freak and i was planing to go on a long term survial trip (2-3 weeks) with only carrying a big backpack and i was asking myself how mouch and what food i shuld carry to not be too heavy becouse i will hike 50 miles in the wilderness and not be too hungry also what traps i shuld carry and how mouch ammo shuld i carry for my winchester. thank you!
theres no wrong way or right way to start a fire. ok there might be but what im trying to say is theres a short way and a long way. Dave did what he had to do to get a fire going right now. the only roul in this roul book is staying ALIVE!
Excellent video Bro! Ive been working on starting fires in damp conditions, this info helps me out. Looks like you done some more cosmetic mods to the H&R?
For sure Dave, Lots of reosurces would be gone if we all took them for class, wasnt complaining just thought it owuld have been cool. Im going to try out here in Cali for some. Pines everywhere.
good video and dave makes this look very easy ive done this before exept it wasnt a hurricane just a bad storm it is hard but props to you dave for going outside in the hurricane lol i took a walk during the hurricane on sunday night lol hope you didnt get hit too bad
hey Dave first thank you for this informative video but i have a qestion for you:i am a survival freak and i was planing to go on a long term survial trip (2-3 weeks) with only carrying a big backpack and i was asking myself how mouch and what food i shuld carry to not be too heavy becouse i will hike 50 miles in the wilderness and not be too hungry also what traps i shuld carry and how mouch ammo shuld i carry for my winchester.This trip is for me like a ultimate survival test! thank you!
I've lit live fir trees on fire in the pouring rain with a lighter that have giant pitch pockets on the sides of them. A bundle of fat wood sticks is the best fire starter hands down, even in the pouring rain, sometimes I do demos, standing in the pouring rain hunched over with flint and steel and slivers of fat wood, I find a sliver of fat wood to be more effective the a candle.
hey man thanks for some good info. i got hit pretty hard with sandy and me being a outdoor person fire is pretty essentional so thanks again and god bless
Hey Dave! I am very interested in those bags you are using to carry your supplies. What kind of bags are they and where did you get them? Again thanks for these videos and sharing your knowledge with the community:D
I have trouble finding good tinder due to lack of Birch or Pine where i am its all Oak and Goat Willow and Ground Eldar n few other broad leaves any tips Dave? Great video as always. And God bless you and your family for your entertaining videos and helping us prep for the future.
You did it right. You didn't waste energy or time. Two very important things. ANYTHING can happen when you are out on your own. What if you spent thirty minutes gathering wood, only to find that you couldn't get a fire started-for whatever reason- Now you have wasted both, time and energy.
My husband and i have been in a situation close when it dropped down to twenty during night and we let fire go out it is very hard to move Dave did very well because in that situation you will use everything you can we finally used a flare and threw in all toilet paper and two wet fires you want it made fast and you want it hot then worry about the rest grate did survival is using whatever you have that works to get out of danger
At last I see a fire video in truely difficult conditions; 32 - 40 degrees, raining.and windy I live and work in the Allegheny Forest these are the most difficult conditions. Hypotheria is a real concern. FIngers don't work. Fuel is abundant, but soaked. A group of two people here last year died in these conditions. I recomend that anyone who goes outdoors practice these skills at home, in these weather conditions, where it's safe. Better yet take Dave course. This isn't the time to fail.
Nice video. I'm Anorak lover and I've been long time looking for a anorak similar to yours. Can you tell me the brand or manufacturer? Hope don't break the bank, becaus EWC or Duluth have it but pricies. Thank Dave.
Good job Brother. I take my two small children outback often, and tell them this. "Daddy is hurt, its getting dark, and its very cold,, yall start us a fire or we freeze" I do this to them in all 4 seasons. I test them so if the SHTF my babies can at LEAST start fires. We use magnesium rods ect.. Anyway when I get them home today from school IM showing them this video. Thanks for the videos and all you do for my Family! Thumbs Up!~~John
Dave, have you ever used those party candles that re-light after you blow them out. I have them in my pack. I just figured in a wind like yours, once the candle is lit under your coat, you can put it into the tinder. Its not exactly old school, or longhunter approved, per se, but like you said, being warm is the point of this vid. Just a thought.
Dave I love your coat who makes it ? Thanks for all your help too. I am from Toronto an city boy who is beginninig to learn because of people such as yourself. God Bless you and thanks so much. I am thinking of coming to your basic course next march before I stay with my parents in Florida who are snowbirds for a few weeks next year too.
