It’s important to have all the fuel you need to start a fire in a survival situation. Do you know what the difference is between tinder and kindling though?
What is Tinder?
Tinder is the finest material that is used to start a fire. It takes the spark and has fine enough fibers to feed a spark and begin a flame. If you’re looking for information about the app, tinder, you’re in the wrong place.
Common types of kindling include birch bark, paper char- cloth, or commercial fire starters. Our favorite is black beard fire starter. It’s a waterproof fibrous rope that burns long, burns wet, burns dry, and is extremely easy to use. Below is a video that shows it being used as tinder to start a fire, and really illustrates why we love having it in our pack always. He cuts off a small portion, dunks it into a puddle to prove a point, then lights it on fire with a couple strikes from his ferro rod (flint and steel). It then burns for a few minutes, and still is burning as the video ends, so you’ve got at least 3 minutes with lit tinder to start your fire, and to get your kindling to ignite.
What is Kindling?
Kindling is used to grow a small flame into something bigger. Kindling can be small sticks, thinner split pieces of wood, and other small fuel. I would consider kindling to be sticks, twigs, or pieces of wood less than 1 inch in diameter. Generally, kindling is used to ignite logs or larger fuel.
What’s the Difference Between Tinder and Kindling?
Tinder is the smallest classification of fuel. Tinder can be kindling, but not all kindling can be tinder. The thinner the kindling the faster it will burn. It’s easy to see that a piece of toilet paper will burn easier and faster than a stick. Either could be added at any time to kindle the flame, but only one could be used to start a fire. After market tinder sticks, like the black beard fire starter, are the exception to this. It burns a lot longer than natural forms of tinder would burn, like birch bark.
How Much Tinder and Kindling do I Need to Start a Fire
This answer depends on the type of fuel you have, and how dry it is. I personally like to build a small 6″ teepee of kindling that I add the lit tinder to. I then add larger kindling, building up to logs, adding layer after layer of fuel to my fire teepee.
We like to add black beard fire starter to our bug out bag, and our other survival kits.
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