Perfect scale

A better "always there" -Zunder I can hardly imagine. Natural product, resistant to moisture and humidity, chips burn usually immediately (if ignited with fire steel) and can then ignite either other material or can be the stick, from which you have scraped off the chips, so fire at one end and a relatively him long burning candle / emergency fire use (a Maya stick is nothing more than the good old kindling, the already the Celts used as a light source).

I have drilled a small hole through one of the sticks and hung it on my Firesteel, so I have both always with you together, which has proved to be very practical.

If necessary you can in nature itself Kienspan / Mayan Stick collect (see YouTube video with instructions), but the local pine kindling is qualitatively inferior to those discussed here Sticks significantly, as the wood of Pino de Ocote used here much more resin, making it less sensitive to moisture and better / longer burns.

While we're in resin: When you look worried a bit hard spruce resin in the forest - it is a perfect fuel that can ignite well with the self scraped Mayan chips.