Easy match tip.

[Moe M.]

   I got to fooling with putting together a smaller fire kit for my day pack,  while doing so I spotted a bag of Q-Tips hanging on the peg board at my work bench,  and a small jar of petroleum jelly on my bench,  so I took a Q-Tip and rolled the cotton end of the Q-Tip in the PJ and lighted it with a Bic lighter.
  The Q-tip gave a decent hot flame and burned for quite a while,  one might ask why if I have a bic or other lighter i'd bother making a match of sorts,  well if you have ever tried to light a prepared campfire with a lighter you know it's not easy to hold it under your tinder bundle,  and usually you're holding it sideways and trying not to burn your fingers,  and if the tinder is damp the lighter flame isn't always hot enough to get the job done quickly.
  The Q-Tip is easier to hold,  can be placed in the tinder without having to hold on to it,  once lit you're not using up the fuel in your lighter,  Q-Tips carry easy and don't take up a lot of room,  they can be cut in half giving you two matches for each Q-Tip,  they will also work with lip balm and hand sanitizer,  and they can be lighted with a ferro rod in a pinch,  they take up very little room in your fire kit,  and a small tube of PJ or a small plastic zip-lock pill bag with PJ in it also takes very little room.
  And there are many other uses for Q-Tips that make them a valuable asset to your fire kit or first aid kit.   

[manddoutfitters]

Yes sir. Good tip I try not to rely on any lighter to start fires with I feel there way unreliable.

[werewolf won]

Where were you with that tip the last time I had to light a water heater    I usually stuff a couple of matches into a drinking straw and use that as my extended torch, but this idea is brilliant.  You could really guild the lily and get some of those long wooden stick cotton applicators for extra long reaches.

Great tip Moe!

[Binalith]

thanks moe

[Dano]

Cool idea, thanks!

[Moe M.]

Where were you with that tip the last time I had to light a water heater    I usually stuff a couple of matches into a drinking straw and use that as my extended torch, but this idea is brilliant.  You could really guild the lily and get some of those long wooden stick cotton applicators for extra long reaches.

Great tip Moe!

  It's funny that you should mention that,  I had the same thought while I was writing the op,  I got this flash back to my last doctors vist,  he has a large jar full of those long wood handled Q-Tips on the side tables in his exam rooms,  I'll have to grab a hand full next time i'm there.   

[MATT CHAOS]

I agree with the bic in a fire kit.  Anyone with any sense, should have a bic in their fire kit.  It is an impotant tool to have when you need it.  That being said, you don't need to use it and can still practice more primitive ways to make fire.

 

I like the Q-tip idea, too.
 

[Barbarossa Bushman]

Another great use for a PJ soaked Q-tip is to get a foreign object out of an eye. This is how most docs do it in the ER. The PJ is safe for the eye and any left behind will coat it enough to help with any scratchiness.

[Binalith]

nice. multiple uses makes any piece of kit more attractive.

[PetrifiedWood]

Neat idea. I have gotten overheated fingers many time trying to light tinder with a butane lighter. This would have solved that problem right away!

[Moe M.]

Neat idea. I have gotten overheated fingers many time trying to light tinder with a butane lighter. This would have solved that problem right away!

  I have always saved my old candle stubs for that reason,  up in the North East here damp tinder is more the norm than the exception,  especailly in the spring and late fall,  so it takes a longer lasting flame to get your natural fire going,  I'll still continue to carry a couple in my kit,  but i think the Q-Tip dipped in PJ or hand sanitizer burns a little hotter than a candle flame,  so i'll be making them a part of my kit from now on,  I also like the tip on using it to get something out of your eye,  good thinking.

[Professor]

Thanks for a good tip!  I'll find an empty pill bottle about the right length and make a supply of these right away!

[Moe M.]

Thanks for a good tip!  I'll find an empty pill bottle about the right length and make a supply of these right away!

  A thanks coming from you is an honor my friend,  you're still my campfire cooking hero.