Almost Dead in the Ontario Wilderness
BY Herschel Smith
4 weeks, 1 day ago
At Outdoor Life. This is out of the archives, but a very good study in what not to do.
It doesn’t matter whether your choice for fire starting is matches in a Ziplock bag, water proof matches, flint and steel, a Ferro rod, a lighter, or multiple lighters, or some combination of the above.
Carrying fire starter is essential to survival. Fire for cooking and heat is probably the most essential element of survival.
For what it’s worth, here is an interesting solution.
On March 17, 2026 at 12:27 pm, jrg said:
It was commonly stated by many that an individual who was lost in widlerness AND smoked tobacco had a much greater chance of having a source of fire on their person and having that edge raised their survival chances. I was a smoker for 18 years and can attest that when I was out of the house, a working lighter (nearly always BIC) was present. I’ve given up the habit nearly 28 years, but do remember those times.
Much obliged for the video link !
On March 17, 2026 at 1:01 pm, Paul B said:
Looks like they could be handy for a lot of things. Need to build me some of them.
On March 18, 2026 at 10:15 pm, Paul B said:
After reading the story from outdoor life making some fire sticks got moved up to the do it now column