Poor Man's Wilderness Survival Fire Kit! 

Finally man !!!!!! A guy that gets it !!! It seems like a lot of outdoor channels these days , keep showing us , all this expensive gear . Times are unstable right now . People need to see things that work , and are fairly cheap to get . Even Milsurp items , that used to be cheap , are a lot higher now . Well done , man !

Very well done. When I was a kid all the fancy stuff was not available. We had to improvise. Thanks for bringing back the lost art.

I would swap the word poor for smart

Doing things " on the cheap" is the way to go with simple things. Excellent video, Thank You. Please keep them comming.

Hi Andrew ,greeting from Australia 🇦🇺 thankyou for your time to make these videos, thankyou

Always great info here. Good to see your channel growing bro. 👏👍✌️

Your videos are valuable resources of no nonsense, extremely useful skills and information. The production quality of your videos is very high and professional. Thank you.

Thank you very much for all your very clear and concise training and high valued skills video!

Excellent video as always. Much respect for your knowledge, expertise and your no BS teaching style. Thanks Andrew. Bravo.

Who would’ve loved to have a dad like you??? To learn all these things at a young age??? Your family is blessed.., Wait a minute… so are we😊 You are the best teacher ever… God bless you…and your family, as they share you with us… 🙏🏻😇🥰

Excellent video, sir, thank you! Some additional helpful materials that may be found in nature include pine sap and needles, fatwood, chaga fungus, cattails, birch bark, tulip poplar bark, and juniper bark. Fire is life. 😊

It's quite useful right now in Ukraine. Some of my colleagues mass produce these "trench candles" out of cans, cardboard, and some refined beeswax. They are indeed very useful in the field, though somewhat heavy.

It's hard to add to that list. Soaking part of a cotton ball in wax is actually a better way than petroleum jelly. This method is less expensive, less messy, more reliable and more convenient as this can be stored without a plastic bag and the hard wax will not get into the dry fibers of the cotton ball needed to catch a spark. Wax is easier to find than petroleum jelly. Also we can fill up the card board filled tuna can with wax and add several cotton wick to make a long burning stove than can boil 3 quarts of water. Burn time is approximately 15 minutes , and water require s, on average 6 minutes, to come to a rolling boil per 1 quart. We do not need a rolling boil to kill pathogens in the water. 3 quart is the minimum need to keep one alive in the woods in cooler temperatures....

Hi Andrew Just want to add that when you have back problems or your hurt you can crouch and lean on a small tree while taking care of that fire

Hey Andrew, ever get tired of putting out what us New Englanders call "Wicked Pissah" vids? 😉 Top notch! Don't forget corn chips & guitar pics! Extremely flammable!

Many great fire starting and stove ideas packed into this episode.

Realalistic scenario many places in the world. Thinking outside the box. Appreciate the underlying message. Have a great week!

Great video, as always! I used to take dryer lint, put it in an egg carton, and then pour melted paraffin wax on the lint... works great. I'm sure you could use crayons as well.

I love videos like this. You just never know when everything is going to go south and making stuff out of what you can find is priceless. Pun intended but it’s still true

Not only do you get the many ways to start a fire, it makes you look at everyday items in a different light. Such as the Spam can and chicken/tuna fish can. Even the file. Who would think to take a file along in a survival kit? If you have "strike anywhere" matches, hang on to 'em. They are hard to find these days. Come to think of it I need to glue some sand paper to the inside of my fire tin lid. Thanks Major. Bravo Zulu.

OMG!! I have to make one of those. Loved the video. Keep up the great work.

End of the world... I can only choose one person to go at it with.... lol I'm taking you!!!!! Well done Andrew.... thank you for all your no b.s no non sense useful real world knowledge over the years!!!!!!I almost feel like I owe you money or should be paying you after every single one of your videos I watch!!!!!!! Lol godspeed

Excellent video, especially for those on a budget.

Great fire starting methods for those not familiar with bushcraft methods. Great knowledge Andrew.👍☘️😎

These are brilliant tips for getting a fire started in the bush...this is definitely one of the best survival channels on RU-vid....down and dirty!

A great demonstration of simple techniques that work in the real world. Thank you, Andrew, for putting this one together, you will bless a lot of folks. The orange cloth that first appears at the 13:15 mark can filter the large particles out of wild water. If you scavenge a larger can, a HOBO stove could be made with your pocket tool. Not as comfortable as home on the couch but life can get better and better as you await rescue or find your own way out of the "stuff."

Thanks, the video shows you don't have to spend a fortune to be outside just think outside the box. Because of channels like yours, I can't walk into a store without looking at stuff on the shelves and thinking, What can I use this for? How can this be used for an emergency. My wife thinks I'm screwy. It's always good to carry either a birthday candle or a crayon. Multi-uses. Lubricant for zippers. Lubricate bearing block, rub on metal cutting devices to prevent rust and corrosion in the field. Write messages on wood for rescue. Use as a fire extender. For the space it takes up it more than makes up for it. Same for Lip balm.

Hello Andrew been enjoying the content. I made stove like this for eggs before. Stuff like bottom of pop can for solar works too

You can never go wrong, by learning as many ways as you can to make survival fires. ⭐⭐👍👍

I made one of those tuna can stoves for Boy Scouts (circa 1985)! My mom even sported the cash for canning gulf wax instead of crayons. I don't think I ever did use the stove, but it started my interest in "emergency preparedness" way back then. Great fun to see it here! RS&FC is ALWAYS the best channel!

The most immediate need in this weather and an exceptionally important skill anytime. Learning these “tricks” gives me a fighting chance to survive the night and refresh with boiled safe water. A snack and a sack, then I'm living the high life. Thanks for sharing.

OK, in the 1960s theGirl and Boy Scouts had the Tuna Can but with variations you may be interested in 1) Paraffin Wax instead of crayon wax 2) Matches instead of cotton in the middle as the starter 3) (my idea) use cardboard tubes such as TP (packed one inside another) instead of cardboard box material. I tried it as a candle and I WAS HOT AND BRIGHT Also you can use those coffee cup warmers to melt wax.

Wow,this channel is really growing-great content!

Wow! That’s excellent information to have, great demonstration! That’s Andrew.

Good information - Neosporin from your first aid kit should work with the cotton ball similar to vaseline.

You're wrong about Duct tape. It can't fix "Stupid", but when placed across the mouth, it CAN quiet the noise it makes.

As a suggestion for filling the cardboard tuna can with wax: Scented wax melts. A lot of people will throw away the wax after it runs out of scent. If you know people who use them, ask if they can save the wax for you.

Outstanding.! Just used the cotton and Vaseline yesterday camping in the snow.

Great job Sir! Well done video on how to use inexpensive items to survive outdoors! A true hero for the common folk!

I like to take notes of Andrew's videos just in case the power goes down. It's amazing how many things that can be used from items in the house and tool boxes.

Great video, I really like repurposing common things into stuff that's useful in the woods. This video nails it. All excellent options for fire craft.

This channel is awesome. Much appreciated for sharing the tools Andrew. Cheers from Alberta!

LoL, I only had black crayons until Prozac got invented... now I use ALL the colors! 😎

Absolutely Awesome Training. Thank you.

Great video! I'm so glad you keep the poor man in mind. Please keep on crushing everyday! Thank you for what you do.

Nice presentation, clear and concise. Another use for the crayons if you have some that still have on the paper wrapper, slide the paper over the tip about 1/4 of an inch and light it for a pretty good candle. If the paper won't slide, break off a bit of the wax inside of the paper for the same effect.

I would say that a man with the wisdom to use these many & diverse items to make fire would be considered rich indeed.

Potential Idea for fire starting: Get snow and/or ice. (especially in winter time). Put the snow and/or ice into a device with a hand crank on it. Crank away, heat generated melting the snow and/or ice, as well as providing dc electricity from a dc generator, electrolizing the water. Preferably collect the H2 and O2 separately but could collect together (although it's more dangerous to do so), then utilize the H2 as tinder. With a spark, fire from snow and ice. In certain environments, could utilize solar and/or wind instead of a hand crank. Sure, might take a while to get enough H2 to sustain a fire, but how else are you going to start a fire when so much snow and ice around? Just another tool for the tool box.

Some simple things to bring back to mind about working with common things. Great content.😊

I built my first poor man’s cardboard stove over 50 yrs ago while I was in the Boy Scouts of Canada , cardboard and wax works the best and lasts a long time !!

Good stuff!

A buddy burner fueled by crayons. That's using your head for something besides a hat rack

Awesome, real world applications, thank you.

Love this. You see so many channels useing expensive crap. Most of the stuff you could make yourself. Wish more channels would focus on these diy skills.

Вітаю з України. Ваші методи розпалювання вогню надзвичайно важливі. До речі в відео на 1.03 хв. Показали "окопну свічку", ми цивільні допомагаємо українським військовим та волонтерам які їм їх передають або цивільним які живуть в укриттях. Слава Україні ❤️🇺🇦🌻 Героям Слава! Дякуємо Америці за допомогу.

Major Andrew thank you for demonstrating all these excellent techniques using everyday items. 🤙🇺🇸👍

to make a fire, I use cotton pads soaked in wax. they are very easily ignited by flint and burn for a long time.

Everyone better learn these tricks because we're most likely going to need them.

Your videos are excellent. I first learned of your channel via a shout-out from Corporal Kelly. Both of you have awesome teaching skills and are able to use military experience to teach in a way that makes sense even to those of us who were never in the military. It would be awesome to see a collaboration! A couple of years ago I got into the idea of making those buddy burners (the tuna can and cardboard stoves). I found that cardboard from pizzaria boxes worked well because the corrugation in them is a good size. I found some Christmas tins with lids on clearance at Dollar General that year. They were about as big around as a quart Nalgene bottle, give or take. And around 1 3/4 to 2 inches tall. I used them to make jumbo buddy burners with lids. Around that time I had also seen the RU-vid craze of using a stainless steel kitchen utensil drainer as a wood stove (usually called an Ikea stove but I got mine at Walmart). The drainers are perforated and so they let air flow. I found that by dropping a rock of the right size in the bottom of the utensil drainer I could put one of my jumbo buddy burners on top of the rock to get the flame where it needed to be while letting the drainer act as a wind screen and pot stand. Once the burner was fully burning it would boil a cup of water in about eight minutes, depending on ambient temperatures. It is nice, too, that when I want to extinguish the flame I can just drop the lid on and use a stick or something to manipulate the lid into place, close the tin and smother the flame. I haven't tried taking one camping, yet but tested them out a lot at home and have them as a backup stoves in case of long term power outages, etc I made those first ones using Gulf wax but then one day had another idea. I collect bacon grease to use in cooking the way old timers used to do. Well, periodically - if you aren't using a lot - whatever is left in the container begins to turn rancid and you have to throw it out, clean the container and start over with fresh grease. Well, I needed to toss my old bacon grease but thought of the old animal fat oil lamps. Instead of tossing the grease I made a buddy burner using bacon grease instead of wax and it worked great. Bonus is that when you burn it you get the smell of bacon. Drawback is that it produces pretty dark, oily smoke. I did the same thing with some butter that had gotten old and had similar results.

Love the video, it was down to earth, no nonsense teaching and very useful cheap fire starting skills. Well done Major Andrew. Keep these videos coming.

Another fantastic video! I like teaching my grandsons these "tricks of the trade". We have fun doing them and they will remember them better and want to practice more if they're fun. The bow frill is still a bit tough for them, as they're 6 and 9 but they are enthusiastic and keep trying. 🙂

Outstanding video as always !!! These items you used should be available just about ANYWHERE ! And not cost a kings ransom !!!

I like how you cover all these things and then show how they can be packed and used in different combinations and ways. I have made a dozen of those "buddy burners" and if you work it, you can really pack a lot of paper into them. I still need to soak mine with alcohol, Heet or wax. I save dryer lint, popsicle sticks, and cotton from pill bottles.... all free or cheap sources of tinder.

I like the birthday candle, cut off a piece say half an inch. Light it and build your fire over that piece. Also I use dryer lint mixed with Vaseline then stored in small zip lock bags.

Thanks for making this video I am kind of a no budget scout and it really helped me to know more cheap alternatives for butane stoves and making flint and steel Is a straight no option for me so really Thank you and God bless you

Loved this! What a brilliant post..informative and so interesting..I already knew some of the methods that you demonstrated, but learnt some new techniques too. I'm sure that you've forgotten more about bush craft than I'll ever know; so I humbly hope I dont come across as someone professing to know more..A good tip I learned, (that I'm sure you know) is to wrap some duct tape around your lighter. Then when needed, you can just tear a bit off and use it. Thanks again, really enjoyed this!

Excellent video sir ! Rock Steady

Muitas vezes o que precisamos no mato é o conhecimento, parabéns pelo video, saudações do Brasil.

Amazing video Andrew! That's awesome that you're showing affordable ways to make a fire kit!!

Andrew, if you can locate a makeup mirror that has 10x magnification, your tinder will ignite very quickly, faster than a magnifying lense..it surprised me.. Great video as always sir. Stay safe

Fyi the tuna can/wax/cardboard stove puts out tons of soot. Works great, but sooty. Just have a wrap of some sort to wrap up the pot etc to keep your other gear clean. EDIT... In the event of an emp or cme steel wool would most likely ignite spontaneously. Remember the Carrington event, telegraph wires caught stuff on fire. Keep your steel wool in a fairly airtight tin with no other burnable material with it.

Hello from Oklahoma! Great Video! All the information was on point. One quick story. I had a situation where my striker surface on my matches was fubar. So I crunched up about 4 match heads into my tinder bundle, got a spark from an old lighter. It worked! It made a good flame. Also, I always carry ChapStick. It's a great extender. Thanks for all You do! God Bless!

Blessings on blessings. Thanks for all the hard work. GG

I like to use the battery from the carbon monoxide detector when im feeling sad

In an emergency, any plastic buttons off your clothes also make great fire extenders.

I admire your skills and dedication, a very interesting and pleasing video to watch indeed, thank you

I love this channel... he dosen't just do video's about expensive tools . This video is very useful if you have a tight budget.

Great continuous knowledge!!!

Good video Andrew , thanks for sharing , God bless brother !

As always, great content and fantastic presentation style! Thanks Andrew for putting these out!!!

Great job listing so many aids for fire starting. Tired of other places pushing high end aids. Ever see the price of some EXOTAC ? products ? They are good, but silly expensive. Just make sure you have a few Bic lighters in all your gear bags.

Poor man’s kit! The best start

Love this demonstration using everyday items as fire staters. And this comment helps with the algo. Thanks for the lesson!

The battery technique was impressive for fire making. The other ways to make fire 🔥 was good and creative but yet simple. Thank you for the poor man wilderness fire techniques.

I love strike anywhere matches, but they are impossible to get in Spain where I live😞it's fine though. I can buy 4 disposable lighters from the Moroccan shop for 1 euro🥳

Right. In a survival situation usually it didn't start out to be. True survival scenarios just happen all of the sudden. I don't know how many times I had all the stuff to survive with kit and I was just thrown into a situation that turned out to be a temporary survival condition. Sometimes you take something out of your kit without thinking and just forget it. Learning to find things dumped near by your location can help out. My knives and fire kit are the only 2 kits I know I never leave when I'm outdoors.. I sat my pack down once and a pair of coyote chased me a mile or so. Lucky for me I knew the area well and after several hours of traveling back the way I thought I had run from I found my pack at the tree I left it. I had just happened to have looked at my GPS coordinates when I sat the pack down. My charging brick was in my pack. I would have lost a lot losing my pack. I now carry a haversack with a secure strap for my belt just in case I have to run for my life and everything don't get slung out of it while running. That would suck too.

I like to buy old or broken binoculars from yard sales or thrift shops and break them down.. the old ones have extremely thick lenses inside that work amazing for fire or survival kits... there small, very powerful and fit into almost anything.....and usually get at least 2 if not 4 from one set of old binos

Wax and parrafin combo will help too ignite quicker and last longer. If you get hemp rope make a wax and parrafin coating too cover the rope if you thin the parrafin and wax combo you can make a small block

I always carry cotton balls with petroleum jelly, a bic, a ferro rod an striker, an matchs, but I'm an old boy scout an ex-mil to boot, not against using boy scout water either. If you don't know what that is just ask, lmao.

Love these everyday Hobo skills. I have four young kids, do the math how many crayons we have hahaha!

Cotton make up removal pads soaked in 50/50 solution of paraffin wax and charcoal lighter fluid work well when torn , also they are waterproof when whole.

I brought a small survival kit that cost £20 and it wasn't all that. I'm definitely implementing some this in to my own survival kit.

Just go's to show what can be done when skill and needs and combined.

Enjoyed the vid, as always, but I have to know, where are you located that you have a battery from Casey’s?! I’m in Iowa.

That's good stuff Andrew keep it up love your content you keep it KISS

Thank you for sharing this with us, Andrew. Stay safe and stay warm

I used play around with steel wool and a 9v battery as a kid! I can't remember if I ever started a campfire with it...

Top Tip: The best natural tinder to use with a fresnel / magnifying lens to make a glowing coal that lasts for several minutes is a thin strip of dry rotten punk wood. Burns hot like a glowing cigarette end and will not blow away in wind nor fall apart like leaves in a tinder bundle.

if you going to carry the bow drill you might as well carry a bow saw blade as well, you already got the notches for the string . swap the string out for the blade and two bolts hold it in place, would save a fortune than having a fancy folding silky saw,

you're best of the best. learnt so much from your channel. thank you.