Firstlight Sidewall Guylines

Firstlights are cool, but they suffer from being whipped around by strong winds and then losing much of their already tight interior space. I decided to take Alpacka Raft grab loops and SilNet them on to the sidewalls to create guyline attachments for pulling the walls out for more elbow room.

I'm thinking I might have to put a small bungee loop on the grab loop to relieve stress on the fabric.

I may have mounted the grab loops too high to get a horizontal pull from the stake/ski, but I'll see how it works in a couple months.

A Blazin' Firestarter

Hendrik Morkel had a link in his Week in Review to a great blog post on DIY waterproof firestarter.

I decided I'd give it a shot this weekend, while stuck in Fairbanks with a bum knee and without my car.

Please see the blog post for the detailed instructions on how to make the firestarters.

Here are my photos of the process, including how to melt the wax.

It produced incredible flames (essentially a small fire on its own) for five minutes. 

At seven and a half minutes, the flames extinguished and it smoldered for another 90 seconds, before disintegrating.

I wanted to try and create a real-life situation, so I soaked one starter for 15 minutes in cold water (to simulate a river crossing or dunk in one), then shook it off and was able to re-light it with one match! However, the only way this was successful was by holding it upside down so the flame and heat were contained and concentrated within the concave shape of the inverted egg carton.

Pretty easy (& cheap!) to make, they produce a small fire, are easily lit with one match even after soaking in water, and are waterproof.

Sure, birch bark might be easier to light, less bulky, and lighter weight, but it doesn't burn as long or act as a small campfire on its own.

If a person can't start a fire using one of these, there isn't going to be a fire. Probably not even a wildfire!

$40 for DIY

Let the fun begin...