SurvivalUP

Solar Fire Starting Tools

Prepper Solar Fire Starters

Although Fire Rods and Fire Pistons are very popular with preppers and survivalists, they do have the drawback of either being expendable (as with fire rods), or they can wear down (as with fire pistons). Of the two I would consider fire pistons the most durable, in that "if" you also carry extra seals to replace worn ones you should be able to start survival fires for years. But an alternative survival fire starter is one that simply concentrates the sun to get your fire going.


I'm of course talking about good solar fire starting lens, which with proper care, will never wear out and certainly won't be used up. Assuming there's enough light, a lens can even dry out wet tinder which would otherwise be unable to catch fire. That is a huge advantage, and is where solar fire starter "shines" above and beyond the other survival fire tools.


Obviously, a drawback of any fire starter lens is that if it is dark it won't help. But you should probably be setting up camp before sundown anyway. On cloudy days, getting a fire started with a lens is simply a matter of how much lense you have - a bigger lense should still concentrate enough to start your survival fire even if its cloudy. As a back-up fire starter, you could always carry a fire piston for use on rare occasions.



Fresnel Lens Fire Starter

5-pack fire starting fresnel lenses

Fresnel lenses are nifty contraptions, and very popular with DIYers tinkering with solar power, among other uses. Basically these lenses are covered with lots of mini-lenses which will ultimately focus light similar to the way a magnifying glass does. But a Fresnel lens is just a thin sheet of either glass or plastic, and so doesn’t weight nearly as much as a magnifying glass and can even be bent slightly without breaking. This makes a Fresnel lens a great, light weight prepper solution for starting survival fires. By concentrating sun light on a small area, combustible material with heat up and ignite.


This item is 5-pack of 7" x 10" Fresnel Lenses which can be used to supply a whole family with a fire starting lens. With 70 square inches of sun collecting area, these Fresnel lenses have much more light focusing power than a solar lighter. In fact, on a sunny day Just one of these 7” X 10” Fresnel lenses can start a fire in seconds! And the extra light gathering capability of these Fresnel lenses makes them especially useful to even dry out wet or damp tinder. Again, this is one area where solar fire starter surpass other survival fire tools.


With 350 squares inches of total light gathering area, focusing all five lenses at once on a small container of water could even cause the water to boil. That would kill nasty microbes and render sanitized drinking water! You’ve got to love efficient prepper gear that can pull double-duty.


Fresnel lenses may get a bad rap as being fragile, which for obvious reasons could cause some survivalists and doomsday preppers to shy away from using them. But these Fresnel lens fire starters are made out of unbreakable PVC! Stored with some caution to avoid sharp metal object from gouging them too much, these Fresnel lenses will be ready to get your survival fire raging in seconds.


5 / 5 stars

Solar Lighter

Emergency Survival lighter

Much more than a novelty merely used to light cigarettes, this solar lighter from Sundance Solar would make an excellent addition to any prepper's bug-out bag. Place some char-cloth at the focus of this solar fire starter, and when it catches fire move it over to your awaiting fire bundle. Unlike Fresnel lenses which are refractive, this solar lighter is a parabolic reflector. It concentrates sun light to a very precise point, using stainless steel polished to a mirror finish.


This particular solar fire starting lens is 4.5" in diameter giving it a solar collection area of almost 16 square inches. That makes this solar lighter one of the largest of its kind on the market, and means faster fire starting and the ability to ignite tinder even when partly cloudy.


Made out of stainless steel, this amazing solar fire starter won't rust, and is sturdy enough to last pretty much indefinitely. No need to worry about how or where to store this device, because it’s small enough to fit in your pocket. And weighting just 1.6 ounces, this is one of the lightest survival fire starters you’ll find.


So ultimately, if you’re inclined to think a Fresnel lens would be too fragile for real a real survival situation, this light weight, nearly indestructible solar fire starter could be just what you’re looking for.



5 / 5 stars