fire starters made of wax and lint/sawdust

[emilybh]

An even easier approach might be to just use plain old pine cones. I hear they are great fire starters and I have LOADS of them if anyone wants any.

[wittic]

I just don't see hardly anyone having all that sort of stuff when it's needed. I keep a few vasolined cotton balls in a CampMor, Inc matchcase (which is also a whistle and a compass) a lighter, a blastmatch, a magnifying glass, and a NuWick can-candle. Either the Blastmatch or the glass will suffice to light the candle, and then that dries out the "teepee" of fuzzsticks. The cottonballs are just insurance, in case of falling in cold water, in a rainstorm, with cold wind. :-) Actually, nobody can get a fire going fast enough to save themselves if such a thing happens. You need fires all around you, in seconds, and that's not feasible.

[MissingAll4Seasons]

I suspect the OP is unfamiliar with wood burning and is looking for suggestions on how to make every day firestarters (i.e. "nuggets" to replace/supplement tinder and kindling), not specifically emergency/survival fire-starting techniques. There is a difference.

I certainly don't use my magnesium firesteel and forest duff tinder to start the morning fire in my woodstove every day I mean, I could if I wanted to or if it was necessary, but it's a hassle when I have other easier options.

A lot of people are turning to wood heat as a sustainable and self-sufficient heat source, but they aren't familiar with stoves and fireplaces and all the little intricacies of their use. I lay a fire in my woodstove completely differently than my outdoor wood grill or the open firepit or a camping fire. Same basic principles, different application and execution due to air flow, heat retention, etc.

[lifelongMOgal]

bushcraft tips&tricks: the modified tea-light candle (the mini-bushbuddy )... my way! - YouTube

[lower]

I just "bank" the fire at night, and it's normally still got hot coals in the morning. If it's not an emergency thing, why aint some light kindling would and spindled up newspaper adequate to get things going?

[TrapperJohn]

Whatever happened to cotton balls dipped in Vaseline and stuffed in a film container? That was the go-to solution for Boy Scouts. My son and I could start a fire with one cotton ball.