Simple Survival Gear You Can't Be Without ..
Waterproof Matches, Make Them Or Buy Them? OutdoorLife.com While a butane lighter is my number-one choice for a quick, easy flame to start a campfire, you shouldn’t ignore matches as a backup fire source. And if you’re going to carry matches, they might as well be waterproof. Make Your Own You can waterproof your own wooden matches with either melted wax or nail polish. To use wax for waterproofing matches, melt a few ounces of candle wax in a disposable container (like a tuna can) near a fire or on a low stove setting. Quickly dip the head and a half-inch of the stick into and out of the wax. As soon as you pull the match out of the wax, blow on it to cool the wax so that it does not soak into the match head, thereby ruining it. To use the wax-coated matches, you’ll need to scrape off the wax down to the match’s chemical head, on the side that you are going to strike. To make your own waterproof matches with quick-dr...