If your matches are wet, your lighter is out of fuel, it's a cloudy day, making your magnifying glass useless, and you don't have hours to waste trying to get a friction fire going.
Sounds like a pretty rough weekend in the woods. Luckily, if you've ever spent some time in a high school chemistry class, you can whip up a pretty handy little fire with just some regular household sugar and some potassium permanganate.
This is an easy trick that utilizes the chemical nature of the two ingredients to erupt a nice little flame that's more than hot enough to ignite any tinder you manage to get your hands on.
Check out just how easy this method is with the video on the next page.
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Where does one get this potassium permanganate ?
To combat starting a fire with wet wood,I always carry a ziplock bag of lint from my dryer. Of course,I keep a lighter in the bag. This is my go to whenever I go out with the ATV in the boonies. The beauty is,the lint is free.
Mike Franz
OK survival tip? If you are not smart enough to keep a case of stick matches around and even a hand help propane torch with dozens of little tanks then how the hell are you going to have this$#%&!@*In a survival situation? Duh.
Feral rod.
Good luck learning that in school today unless it’s on a state exam
Good thing I have all this potassium permanganate lying around taking up space I could of used for waterproof matches. . jeez
http://awarenessact.com/survival-hack-how-to-start-a-fire-using-sugar-not-matches/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xSI3vZlsMA
I think carrying 3-4 lighters would be lighter then a canister of powder.
That’s cool. If I only have one lighter or a few matches while out camping in that kind of weather, chances are I don’t even know how to say, potassium permanganate much less know where to find it. Now, steel wool and a 9 volt battery will do and everyone knows what that is and most likely has a kitchen drawer with some in it. Keep them separate until you want fire.
Ever feel the word “hack” gets way overused?
This is an excellent video. You should always have more than one way to start a fire. It would be good to have potassium permanganate in your kit because it can be used for other things like making water safe to drink. It will also react with other materials like glycerin, glycol, or oils. A negative comment to this video is showing your ignorance and lack of survival skills. A fire starter is meant to get things going. You still have to prepare your tinder and kindling before you attempt to start the fire.
Just by a shitload of waterproof matches. Problem solved
Ryan Palenzuela
With just sugar (oh, and potassium permanganate…which everyone has lying around somewhere…)
where the hell do you get potassium thermogalate or whatever the hell it is–why noy just tote a lighter
Just use chlorine pool tablets and brake fluid…
I knew my stockpile of potassium permanganate would come in handy for something…
Get it on amizon.
Or use a 9 volt battery and steel wool, chlorine and brake fluid, magnifying glass and gunpowder, Flynt and steel, thin wire with 2 AA batteries, the art of making fire is endless…
Matches are wet? No problem, I carry a weber gas grill in my emergency kit- it always ignites, if that fails, I use the oxyacetylene torch that I keep strapped on my back when I go hiking. See, I can come up with my own absurd hacks too!
I got no matches. I got no lighter. I got no 2 sticks to rub together. BUT i got a jar of potassium permangenate and some sugar! I must be in crazy bizarro world but I’m gonna survive.
All of a sudden, Obama is wondering why 20% of white men are stocking up on KMnO4
Stupid who carries that @$&_ around in their back pack
WWMD?
Because I’m more likely to remember granulated sugar than matches?
potassium permanganate and glycerin works well also
It leads with matches wet….then the first thing they say about this method is This method is extremely reliable, as long as you keep everything dry. Lmao if you keep things dry for this then why did your matches get wet? Lol
And you just happen to have some sugar in your pocket?
Eh. There’s plenty of great ways to start fires in such a situation. Most don’t require a chemical that you have to go buy. Do you need a chemist license to get that chemical?
MRE powdered creamer worked also, I think any does
Use potassium permaganate and vetagable glycerin.
Save tge sugar for personal energy.
Is there anything people won’t$#%&!@*about?
Jason Gaba
Neat but why the hell would you waste calories from the sugar when you can use sticks to do the same thing and take in more calories from the sugar then you would spend using a bow drill or other methods.
Josh Massey
Cool dude, I agree other use is antiseptic and as you said purification of water with just 3 crystals. Thanks for posting
Cotton balls soaked in Vaseline, flint and steel, that’s all you need to start a fire in any condition as long as you have dry enough kindling, which is easy to find where I live.
Oh no I forgot to pack the potassium permanganate, again!
Right, and everyone has some potassium permanganate around, especially while camping.
Tj Shear Nelson
Why don’t they mention potassium permanganate in the title of this? Maybe because it makes it sound less cool…..so get yourself some potassium permanganate ’cause you can’t start a fire with sugar without it.
Yea and you have sugar !!!
WTF, the amount of space and weight that would take up.
No, no, no,no,no.
I’ll bring at least 5 Bic lighters with me first.
Stupid waste of my time watchin that chit.
A teaspoon of potassium permanganate covered with an equal amount of glycerin, (no, not nitroglycerin), will chemically react and ignite.
Gotta love a sight that teases something, but when you take the bait you have to then click through to another page to actually get to what it is, and then it is misleading at best.
Menards stocks it
Menards
Mike Fuson