How to start a fire

[calanta]

I caught an episode of dual survival this weekend, the guy used his urine and a clear bag to magnify the suns rays in order to start a fire. Is this really possible or TV trickery?

[IndianaHiker]

Possible with any liquid it just forms a crude lens but not very effective. Why not just carry the proper things when you are going into the wilderness.

[ChadTower]

Maybe if you're on top of a mountain, in August, have been drinking liquid propane, and your bag is inside a magnifying glass?

This is one of those things I would have to see someone do firsthand.

[sticks]

then there is using your cell phone battery and of course the old stick drill routine...I am not saying it can't be done but it does require lots of practice...My practice is to carry a couple or 3 bics and firestarter. I make my own but the cost of store bought firestarter sticks are next to nothing and work every bit as well.

I do back up the bics with matches in a waterproof container...I have had to use them when I lost my only bic...that is the reason I carry more than one bic now.

[oldsarge]

That's what I say, come prepared! I understand that survival normally means being thrown into a situation totally unprepared, but who ventures into the elements with absolutely nothing. But I guess it happens. I think my arm would cramp up from holding that bag of urine before I got any heat from it. I'd like to see just how long it really took. I've read where fires started in homes due to sunlight being passed through glass objects onto something combustible.

[wvbreamfisherman]

Big problem with the urine /bag trick, if you're where the sunlight is that good, you probably don't need a fire right then. I can't imagine that trick working under the "Need a fire right damn now because its 10 below and 30 mile/hour wind and snowing " scenario.

Basically sounds like a MacGyver bit of BS to me.

[dinosaur]

Obviously the breamfisherman has never seen a crystal clear day with a bright sun and a temp of twenty below F. Still, he is right. Why would you pee in a bag when a piece of ice could be used to do the same thing? Or, certainly my first choice, like sticks said, would be a stick drill.

[ChadTower]

I wish those TV shows gave an idea of how long these methods really take. It's all well and good to show a million clever ways to generate focused heat. It would be a bit more realistic to show the guy sitting there cramping up and stressing out for 6 hours trying to get an ember.

[wvbreamfisherman]

Well, actually, I have seen and felt the sun on a crystal clear sub-zero day, that's why I mentioned a snowing scenario.

[Michael]

You can use any sort of lens to make a fire. A bag of urine is a rather poor lens, but I suppose you could get it to work with a lot of time.

You're better off just carrying a lighter. That's just a no brainer.