What is your preferred method of fire lighting.

Some good friends in search and rescue learned the hard way, that you must know how to make fire in the worst of conditions or you may not survive . Even having a flare did not work for them.
Prove your skill and make a fire in wind and sleet conditions .
It may actually come to that for some folk .

 

If I only had the shirt on my back (no lighter or matches) I'd find a stick, tare off a strip of cloth from my shirt and make a bow. I've made fires this way before.

I've also done well with a magnifying glass. Even heard about a way that you can use water in a similar way to concentrate the suns energy through the droplets. The magnifying glass I have is a 4 in one deal. It also has a compass, a thermometer and a whistle.

 

You can find some nice magnifying glass in cast off projection screen TVs about 4" in diameter and almost an inch thick at the apex.

 

Read "To Build a Fire" by Jack London.

I've been cranking out bow drill fires for decades, and am sometimes successful with a hand drill, flint & steel and magnification are old hat.

After all that, my preferred way to build a fire is with a flick of my Bic.

 

These were S&R team members that did most of their searches during the sumer months and though they took loaded packs they did not have the skill to make fire in sleet snow conditions . At that the fire they did try to make was under a tree.
Reason seems to go out the window when you are fatigued enough.
Thus, the reason not only to have training , but regular practice as well.
Now days many folk get you tube training but never take it to the field .
After that event the next training was an over night in the snow and making fire in snow training and every one had to be successful to pass.
Sadly only a few team members participated in that training .
Understandably all are volunteers, and have full time jobs, but at least those that trained, are usually are the ones that go on most searches .

 

I'm going to update my preference to a gallon of denatured alcohol and a road flare.

 

I EDC a Zippo, Fresnel lens and ferro rod. For bushcrafting, I prefer using the 1/4' x 3' ferro rod. If I'm just lighting a smoke, I use the Zippo or lens. I have several other ways to make a fire in my bag, if I want them.

 

It largely depends on the urgency of the situation .
Under normal circumstances fire is not necessary, it is comforting.
If it's merely entertainment, then friction fire is fun to do ; bow drill and char cloth.
if it's a cooking fire that needs prompt action then a bic lighter or ferro rod and cotton petroleum jelly speed things up .
Inclement weather and emergency situations require no messing around and use the fuel stove initially ,drying out wood and taking care of the cold issues before they become injuries.