mastertangler wrote on Apr 10^th, 2011 at 1:27am:

One thing about my kit which I believe is superior however is my reliance on several packets of wetfire tinder instead of one. Bear with me. If you haven't tried the wetfire tinder it is nothing short of amazing. Burns hot even when wet for an extended period. I have confidence in getting a fire going if I can spark the wetfire (which I have full confidence I can). It is extremely light and fairly compact. Getting a fire going is priority #1 if you are cold and wet. The question I have is why just one packet? How about in the morning? It has rained through the night and the temp has continued to drop. The rain is still coming down and your shivering despite the mylar sleeping bag. Your fire that you established went out about 3 A.M. The front could last another 2 or 3 days. Being able to keep a fire going in adverse circumstances would be paramount. You fall asleep.....out it goes. With the wetfire tinder a fire is all but assured.......a much larger margin in your favor. I think I have 4 or 5 in my kit. Like I said they're light, no bigey. Reasonable, rational :question or just dopey.

I'm thinking of using the wetfire more for getting a fire started when other methods fail.  I don't plan to use more of the cube than required to achieve that end.  I figure I can get 3-4 fires from one cube by shaving off only what is needed rather than using a complete cube.

I'd also recommend that you confirm that you can ignite a fire with a striker (if that is your plan).  Thinking you can do it and knowing that you can are two different things.  You need to have the confidence that DOING provides.  This will help to mediate your frustration when it doesn't happen exactly like you expect.  (BTW:  Getting wetfire to ignite with a fire steel IS as easy as it looks.)

That is precisely why I spent some time working on making fire with a bow drill.  It looks easy enough, but there is a little technique to it.

Bottom like: if you have room for more, by all means take more.

dd