In a survival situation, you either may run out of your man made tinder or it seems like you can’t find what you need to start the fire. Here are some natural tinder material that will remedy the situation.
Dry wood shavings
Take a knife and gently carve out some thin flakes about an inch long off of a log or a twig. Carve out enough for a handful of wood shavings.
Bird’s nest
Harder to find, but it burns so well. If you find one, grab it. If there are eggs in it, you can have some of that for protein.
Cattail
Usually grows near a body of water, and it looks like a brown sausage. Grab one of those sausage looking things by cutting below it, and bring it back. Take it apart with your hands and it is like a cotton fluff. Burns well but it is not easy to find unless you’re near a pond, river, or lake.
Chaga – aka Tinder fungus
It’s a fungus that grows on trees, and it looks black on the outside. Once you break it off the tree, it looks light reddish brown almost like curry. This stuff burns well and longer than most tinder. I use it to carry an ember with a large piece if I am moving locations and I don’t want to start a fire from scratch again.
Paper or white birch
It’s called paper birch because the bark peels off like paper. Grab a handful.
Curly or yellow birch
Similar to the white birch, this stuff is on trees curled up. Grab a handful.
River birch
Find a young river birch and the barks will flake off. Grab a handful.
Red cedar
This requires a knife or a sharp edged rock to start shaving the bark. Once shaved, it will be stringy and is similar to burning cotton or rope
Dry grass
You may find some tall patches of dried grass. Grab as bundle and make it like a nest by bundling it in a circle.
