tinderZIP™

The idea behind the tinderZIP is that the tinder you actually have in an emergency is the tinder you did not have to remember. Fire starting is one of the first priorities when things go wrong, and it is also one of the easiest capabilities to leave at home. Exotac's answer was to build tinder into a piece of hardware you install once and then ignore: a zipper pull.

Each tinderZIP has a durable black outer sheath and a red inner core that is flammable, water resistant, and easy to ignite. It threads through the pull hole on any zipper: jackets, backpacks, tents, day bags, dry bags. Put one on every zipper you own and you have an almost limitless distributed supply of tinder that adds no meaningful weight and needs no thought.

When you need it, the deployment is quick. Strip away the black sheath, remove the red inner core, and scrape the end with a knife to increase the surface area and expose fibers. A spark from a ferrocerium rod like the nanoSTRIKER XL or nanoSPARK will catch it immediately, and it then burns like a candle wick for approximately one minute, which is enough time to feed that flame into kindling.

The core has a wax-like coating that makes it impermeable to water, so a tinderZIP that has been rained on or dunked will still light once you knock the water off and fluff the end. At $10.50 it is one of the least expensive pieces of real fire insurance Exotac makes, sold individually and in five-packs, in Black and Orange. If FIRECORD is tinder built into your cordage, the tinderZIP is tinder built into your zippers. It is sold individually and in five-packs so you can outfit an entire wardrobe and gear closet at once, and at this price there is no reason not to.