In the wilderness of Survival Camp, I've learned a valuable lesson - always carry tampons when venturing into the forest.
In the world of survival, knowing how to start a fire can be the difference between life and death. At the Survival Camp Wense in Peine, Germany, Stefan Winkler is teaching people the art of fire-making and other essential wilderness skills.
Stefan, who developed a fascination with nature and survival in his childhood, has accumulated his knowledge through books, personal experience, and his time in the military. He believes that starting a fire doesn't require much, and he demonstrates this with three simple methods.
One of the most surprising fire starters is the humble tampon. By unraveling it slightly and using a spark, one can ignite it. This unexpected item, along with cotton from prescription bottles or cotton balls, and even repurposed household waste, can become vital fire starters in survival situations.
Another creative fire-making aid is the use of a battery and Kinder chocolate packaging. By cutting or tearing the packaging into a thin piece and holding the coated ends to the battery ends, a spark can be created.
In more primitive settings, flint and steel can produce sparks to ignite tinder without modern matches or lighters. Materials like bottle seals can also be repurposed to assist fire ignition, as demonstrated in survival life hacks.
One of the ultimate survival plants is the birch tree. Its bark can be used to start a fire, and with birch wood, birch bark, a knife, and a fire steel, one can start a fire using a birch tree.
The Survival Camp Wense emphasizes the importance of carrying a ferro rod for making fire. This tool produces sparks with pressure and can last a lifetime. It's carbon-rich steel and an alloy, making it effective even when wet or submerged in water.
The camp offers day and weekend courses for those interested in learning wilderness survival skills. Along with fire-making, they teach essential skills such as filtering water, building shelters, and other survival techniques.
For those embarking on long hiking trips, Stefan recommends carrying a fire steel, a tampon, a battery, and a Kinder chocolate bar for starting fires in emergencies.
Stefan has even embarked on small survival tours, such as spending several days in the woods with nothing but the skills he's learned. His fascination with nature and survival continues to grow, and he's passing on his knowledge to those who seek to learn.
In his survival camp, Stefan Winkler shares not just fire-making techniques, but also emphasizes the importance of carrying a ferro rod for initiating fires in emergency situations. With creativity in mind, he suggests tampons, cotton from prescription bottles, or even repurposed household waste as unexpected fire starters for a unique outdoor-living lifestyle in the home-and-garden world.
