Travel Guides Outdoor Adventures Camping
Jenna Busch
If you’re a frequent camper, you’ve probably had this scenario play out for you: You get to your campsite after hiking in the rain, set up your tent in the worst conditions, and quickly dive inside. When the weather finally clears up, you go out to start a fire only to find that your matches have gotten wet and are, therefore, unusable. You’re damp and cold, and now you can’t start a campfire. It can be incredibly frustrating, and if the temperature starts to drop, it can even be dangerous.
There is a really great hack that’s easy to do to keep your matches from getting wet and soggy, and you’re going to kick yourself for not thinking of it sooner. The trick is to take the matches you’ll need for the trip and wrap them completely in aluminum foil to keep them dry. Let’s take a look at what you need to know and another couple of ideas for fire-starting while out on the trail.
How the hack works
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This one comes from Reader’s Digest, which describes this as a soldier’s method for keeping matches dry. One thing to keep in mind here is that you’ll still need something to strike them on, so before you wrap them in that aluminum foil, make sure they’re still in their box or packet. We also recommend that you put that foil-covered packet in a Ziploc bag for extra protection.
Another really cool idea that takes a little bit of doing comes from Mama Bear Outdoors, which tells us that you can create a DIY fire-starter kit. The site suggests that you dip your matches into melted wax and let them dry to keep them waterproof, then put them in a pill bottle or other container and glue some sandpaper on the top for a striking surface. You can even add in a bit of dryer lint (at least there is something you can do with that stuff) or a cotton ball to use as a starter.
If you don’t have those, you can actually use corn chips of all things as kindling. Things like Fritos and Doritos have a very high oil content, making them pretty flammable. Finally, you can use your dry matches to light a cotton ball soaked with Vaseline, as well, as the product becomes flammable with a cotton ball or dryer lint wick. Enjoy those marshmallows.
