Survival Fire Making - Drinks Can

Fire is extremely important in any survival situation. Having a fire will help the survivor both physically and psychologically. It is a fantastic morale booster, keeps you warm, dries your clothes, and boils water. We also use it for signalling, cooking food and keeping animals away. It is a necessity for anyone who could find themselves in a survival situation to be able to light a fire with various means.

Drinks Can and Chocolate: This is one of the stranger ways to light a fire but is extremely effective. If you are camping with children it is likely that you will have a Drinks Can and some Chocolate and this is something worth practising ASAP. This is not easy so requires practice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipMd5A7eUsc

Step 1 – Polish the bottom of the coke can with the chocolate.

Take your bar of chocolate and start rubbing it on the bottom of the can. The chocolate acts as a polish and will make the bottom of the can shine like a mirror (If you don’t have chocolate with you, toothpaste also works).

Step 2 – Make your fire.

What you now have is essentially a parabolic mirror. Sunlight will reflect off the bottom of the can, forming a single focal point.

Step 3 - Point the bottom of the can towards the sun.

Place the tinder about an inch from the reflecting light’s focal point. In a few seconds you should have a flame. (Various tinder is available from www.contactleft.co.uk , but you should be able to find some outdoors, if the weather is nice)

Step 4 – Best not eat the used chocolate.

It’s best not to eat the chocolate after as it will be contaminated with the residue of the can. Watch this quick video if our directions are not clear: