Fire Starters for Your Emergency Kit, RV, and Truck

Power outages, winter storms, a breakdown on a back road, or a hunting trip that runs late: the ability to get a fire going fast with cold hands and damp wood is one of the most useful things you can pack. Here is how to build that into your kit.

What makes a good emergency fire starter

  • Lights with one match. When you are cold and shaking, you may only get one good strike.
  • Burns long enough to dry out wood. Most cubes burn 8 to 15 minutes. In wet weather that is not enough. One Strike burns 30+ minutes.
  • Works wet. The wax coating sheds water. Wipe it off and it still lights.
  • Shelf stable. Wood and wax do not expire, leak, or evaporate like lighter fluid or butane.
  • Non-hazmat. It can ride in a hot truck or a checked bag with no special handling.

How many to pack

  • Glove box or truck: 2 to 3 singles in a zip bag with a box of strike-anywhere matches.
  • Go-bag or 72-hour kit: a Box of 5 per person covers three days of fires.
  • RV or camper: a Box of 5 under the sink, replaced as you use them.
  • Hunting or fishing camp: one per planned fire, plus two spares.
  • Home outage kit: a Box of 5 next to the fireplace or wood stove, and a carbon monoxide detector with fresh batteries.

Storing them

Keep starters dry and out of direct sun. A zip bag or a small plastic container is plenty. Stored this way they will light the same in five years as they do today. Keep matches or a lighter in the same bag so you never have one without the other.

Lighting a fire in bad conditions

  1. Find or make shelter from wind: the lee side of a rock, a vehicle, or a dug-out spot.
  2. Gather the driest material you can. Dead branches still on the tree are drier than anything on the ground. Split wet wood to get to the dry center.
  3. Build a small platform of sticks so the fire is not sitting in mud or snow.
  4. Put the One Strike starter on the platform, build a loose teepee of your smallest sticks over it, and light the edge.
  5. Add wood gradually. The starter will keep burning under it for 30 minutes, drying each piece as it goes.

Fire safety basics

  • Never use lighter fluid, gasoline or any accelerant with a fire starter. You do not need it.
  • Keep a bucket of water, a hose or a Class A extinguisher within reach.
  • Never leave a fire unattended, and never let children light a fire starter.
  • Check local burn bans and campground rules before lighting anything outdoors.
  • Burn only in a well-ventilated space. Indoor fireplaces and wood stoves need an open damper and a clean chimney.
  • Let ashes cool completely (24 hours is a good rule) before disposing of them in a metal container.

Shop the Box of 5 ($10) or try a single starter ($2). Family-owned and made in Edinburg, Texas. More guides on our How to Start a Fire page.

California Proposition 65 Warning

⚠ WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including wood dust and soot, which are known to the State of California to cause cancer, and carbon monoxide, which is known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.

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