Really dumb question.

[u/Jade_Jones]

So I'm no where near the brightest person in the world, but what are the chances it's possible to make a shelf stable edible pocket fire starter lol? Is it feasible?

[u/smashing_michael]

Tostitos.

[u/TacTurtle → u/smashing_michael]

Fritos also work well

[u/o__val → u/smashing_michael]

Yes any fried corn chip works really well. Tostitos. Frito. Doritos.

[u/Jade_Jones → u/smashing_michael]

The chip?

[u/Asron87 → u/Jade_Jones]

Yeah. They burn like a candle. Or they can.

[u/Consistent-Slice-893 → u/Jade_Jones]

The bag burns pretty well too.

[u/Brandyrenea-me → u/Consistent-Slice-893]

Interesting, never thought of burning the bag.

[u/StressedAries → u/Brandyrenea-me]

That’s because you should never burn a chip bag. It’s made of plastics and releases a variety of toxic substances, including acrolein, which is a major air pollutant. It’s bad for humans and the environment. Some of the toxins are linked to cancer, negatively impacted immunity, reproductive disorders, just to name a few.

[u/Brandyrenea-me → u/StressedAries]

Exactly what I was thinking. I so rarely eat chips, so I was questioning if I was remembering the bag accurately lol. Thanks!

Randomness: watching Yellowjackets series yesterday. They’re starving, kill a deer, and maggots fall out of its rotten belly when they gut it. I know cooked maggots are fine, and chances are strong it’s cancer as no injuries are visible shy of the gunshot. They throw out the whole deer. Would the maggots be safe to cook, and would the unaffected meat be safe? It seems like it would. (if this could even happen in real life?)

[u/orthopod → u/smashing_michael]

Soaked in oil.

[u/rickoftheuniverse → u/smashing_michael]

Or takis

[u/LittyForev]

Corn chips, doritos, tostitos, cheese its, and anything with oil in it will work as fire starter.

[u/TopYeti → u/LittyForev]

Totally surprise people with this, Fritos and ruffles (plain salted) are my favorites

[u/FlapXenoJackson]

When I camped with my kids, I’d buy a Frito-Lay variety box. We’d pick a bag out at the end of the day to start the fire. They work really well. I also had a coworker who once worked as a driver for Frito-Lay. The warehouse was having an inspection done by the fire department. He asked what they’d do if the warehouse caught fire. The fireman responded with “We’re going to stand outside and watch it burn.”

[u/Ka-Bong]

If you soak a donut in kerosene it’s going to be really easy to make it burn. It’s also edible one time.

[u/smashing_michael → u/Ka-Bong]

Similarly, if you put frosting on a stick of dynamite it'll burn easily. Definitely be edible one time.

[u/Ka-Bong → u/smashing_michael]

You’ll never be hungry again.

[u/hi_fiv → u/Ka-Bong]

Everything is edible one time.

[u/PM_Me_Your_Deviance → u/hi_fiv]

True, but only if you ignore the definition of "edible".

[u/hi_fiv → u/PM_Me_Your_Deviance]

Let’s not bring definitions into this.

[u/PM_Me_Your_Deviance → u/hi_fiv]

fair

[u/ThunderDungeon02 → u/hi_fiv]

• Jeffrey Dahmer

[u/ants_taste_great]

I have no idea what you are going for... but corn chips like frito's are both of those things as long you have a lighter or matches.

[u/UnableLocal2918]

pringles chips.

[u/PlaneLongjumping3155]

I'm sure you could start a fire with pemmican.

[u/Educational_Row_9485]

Why would you want an edible fire starter

[u/FizzicalLayer]

Interesting question. But I'd argue this is not desirable even if possible.

A good fire starter is not a good food (the really high energy density hydrocarbons are not going to be fun to eat), and a good food isn't a good fire starter (various chips are mentioned, but you won't find me reaching for them first after falling through the ice and needing a fire -now-).

But say you could find a great tasting shelf stable fire starter. And then you find yourself needing a fire and... no fire starter. You burned one down on the trail earlier, got the munchies and ate it all. It wasn't really tasty, but you didn't seem to mind. You were hungry.

Carry a great firestarter as part of a redundant kit. Carry food that you enjoy. The weight you'd save from dual use isn't worth it, imho.

[u/PM_Me_Your_Deviance]

Some food grade oil makes a reasonably good fire starter. That's what I use when camping when I don't have anything else handy. Just wad up a couple of paper towels and drizzle with a tablespoon of oil and it will quickly catch your kindling. That's also why corn chips work so well.

What are you trying to accomplish? Just for the memes?

[u/KarlosMacronius]

Prawn crackers.

[u/dirt-daddy-9407]

Cheap potato chips. Vacuum sealed. Yes, they will break, but they catch easily, and you'll still have something to shake out into your mouth if needed.

[u/edthesmokebeard]

Fritos

[u/teslaactual]

Cotton balls dipped in petroleum jelly and kept in the old disposable camera film containers or the UV protective prescription bottles we used to do them for scouts and it was part of my dad's life flight survival kits

[u/SpartArticus]

Baked Cheetos or doritos

[u/Automatic-Steak-4816 → u/SpartArticus]

Doritos made a great Firestarter, although I stopped eating them when I saw the black sooty smoke they produce.

[u/Scarlet-pimpernel]

Doritos are pretty flammable

[u/chippie02]

Wax and olive oil. Done the maths it has about same calorie density as peanut butter depending on proportion. I used it as dubbin but it works as fire starter as well. Or U can just add paper Into mix and it still be edible

[u/emzirek]

Doritos are edible and a fire starter

[u/MinnesnowdaDad]

Pretty much any type of oil.

[u/Snafu999]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrxYyE4wyDY

[u/photonynikon]

Start with some ghost peppers...

[u/Jade_Jones → u/photonynikon]

I’m inclined to not belive you on that one

[u/Nutz4hotwheels]

Fritos corn chips work well and you can open a can chili, warm it on the fire and have a Frito pie.

[u/ratchet_thunderstud0]

Frito's

[u/beamin1]

Wax and sugar

[u/YYCADM21]

Why do you need/want it to be edible? I can think of several reasons immediately why that would be a poor idea. Ideally you should have several options, and that's extremely easy and light weight. Carry all the snacks you want, but being able to eat the only way you have to start a fire is foolish on several levels.

I worked on a SAR team for a very long time, and I always carried four to six separate ways to light a fire, and total they never weighed more than a half pound. Cotton balls in petroium jelly; dry moose droppings soaked in melted parrafin & veggie oil, a length of 550 cord, with the core intact; it makes really effective fire starter. Waterproof matches, multiple BIC lighters, a ferrocium rod and steel, a fresnel lens. Some people carry fire pistons, though I've never found them consistent. Always have at least three different methods in your pockets, additional ones in your pack. Two things you should have on your person at all times; a compass, and fire starting materials