# Emergency fire



## rwc1969 (Jul 13, 2009)

I know I've been caught without fire and I think most of us probably carry a flashlight in our car, BOB, etc., so I thought this might be of interest.


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## siafulinux (Jun 17, 2010)

Very nice. I wouldn't have thought of using the parabole. Guess it just takes a bit of practice to get it down and in not so windy conditions without the sun hiding all the time, it would probably be a whole lot easier.

Forward to about the 9 minute mark to see this work.


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## aklavik (Nov 20, 2010)

*interesting*

my kid carries at least 27 different fire starters in his edc bag , here is one he does not have, yet.


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## rwc1969 (Jul 13, 2009)

siafulinux said:


> ..just takes a bit of practice to get it down and in not so windy conditions without the sun hiding all the time, it would probably be a whole lot easier...


Thanks and you are exactly right! If you get the angle of the lens to the sun just right it ignites in just a couple of seconds, but if the angle is just slightly off it won't ignite whatsoever.

It helps to get the tinder in the exact spot of the center of where the bulb would be too. A larger lens would be much easir too. I tried the small lens in less than perfect conditions to see if it could be done as you rarely have perfect conditions in a situation.


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## hillbilly (Jan 24, 2009)

I can't watch the videos so don't know what is being used,But I have a lens out of a big screen TV and if the sun is out can light a piece of paper on fire in about 2 seconds.Can burn the paint off a car in about 15 seconds.can light kindling which is hardwood in about 10 seconds.I have it in my preps just in case.


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## truecarnage (Apr 25, 2010)

Thats nice to know, you can also buy a parabolic cigarette lighter that will work a little better, but you can't make fire at night, can't make fire if there is overcast sky. Wow, I sound so sarcastic, but you would need a fire in bad weather or at night to possibly save your life! It's another tool in the proverbial box but really I hope you have a nice day to use this method.


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## rwc1969 (Jul 13, 2009)

hillbilly, I used the lens from a mini- maglite in that vid.

True carnage, It will work even if there is just a few seconds of direct sunlight, even slightly overcast it will work just as well as a magnifying glass does. It will also work when the sun is low on the horizon.

Definitely not the best method to start fire, but it is a reliable method given halfway decent conditions and any method is one worth knowing and practicing in my opinion. Also, I feel it's a real world scenario where one may be stranded with nothing but a light, headlight from car, etc.

You can even smooth tinfoil over a lid to a pot and make it work. The bottom of a pop can is a parabolic lens as well, just needs to be polished up.


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