Fuzz sticks

[shortridge]

 

So: Fuzz sticks. Yea or nay?

 

I've never found any need to make them or use them. If there's not enough tinder or small kindling in the immediate area, I'll just walk a little farther.

[Basementdweller]

Waste of time......

 

I made one in IOLS because it was required. never needed one to start a fire.

[SeattlePioneer]

I use them when the occasion warrants.

 

It's a way of making something like tinder out of a relative fat stick.

 

As I noted, I had occasion to use this at a Scout summer camp this year.

 

I would say it's one of many little skills that can make starting a fire easier in some circumstances.

[CalicoPenn]

I always try to make my fuzzsticks from yellow pine heartwood. Of course, you can often just light a stick of heartwood on fire with a lighter but no one needs to know that

[Eagle92]

Used them in the past, and think it's good to know. But in my neckof the woods, lots of pine needles and cones to start fires with.

[desertrat77]

I'm familiar with the concept, but never prepped or used one.

 

As a scout in AZ, always managed to find dry tinder, even in wet weather.

 

Then when we moved to AK, was pleased to find that birch bark worked wonders, even in the deepest cold or dreariest rain.

[le Voyageur]

Birch and/or Cedar, pine cones or pitch - a fuzz stick is a waste of time

[SeattlePioneer]

Fuzz sticks are one of a diverse range of skills which might prove useful in getting a fire started. The wider the set of skills you possess, the greater the likelihood you will be able to get a fire started and the easier that task is likely to be.

 

Really--- it's a simple idea and a simple skill to learn. I'm surprised at the resistance to a simple concept I see in this thread.

[shortridge]

No, fuzz sticks are not a "skill." They are a tool you can create if you know how to use a pocketknife properly - that is the skill. I'm just pointing out that I've never had use to use that particular tool in 20+ years of Scouting.

 

The skills involved in firebuilding include knowing the right mix of tinder, kindling and fuel; knowing the best types of wood; knowing the most efficient firelays for your purpose; and being willing to get down in the dirt.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

[SeattlePioneer]

>

 

 

Knowing how to take a marginal piece of firewood and make effective tinder out of it seems like a skill to me.

[ScoutNut]

As others have noted, I have also never needed to make a fuzz stick. I have always managed to get a fire started, and keep it going, even with wet wood, without one.

 

 

[desertrat77]

Seattle,

 

Just a guess, but the resistance might be residual from the previous thread, where Eagle Scout Mom/RT Guru and Eagle Scout Son of the Century used the fuzz stick to tout their superior outdoor skills.

[SeattlePioneer]

Heh, heh! I seem to detect a certain prejudice in favor of birch bark....

[desertrat77]

Birch bark is tops!

[le Voyageur]

One of lessons driven home at NOLS was knowing what skills/techniques one has that are ineffective, and replace them for what works best for you. Thus, should I spend time making a fuzz stick, or should a lot less time be spent turning cedar bark into a birdsnest, a technique that requires no knife, or tools, other than one's hands?

For my self, I'd rather make bird nests, because if I have to go primative (flint and steel, or fire plough) because of wet matches, or a lighter that won't work, a fuzz stick won't be able to hold the embers, or hot dust...