Editors Note: Javan seems to think just like I do. To me if a piece of gear doesn't have at least 2-3 uses it is essentially pointless to carry with you.
Check out why he keeps baby food in his BOB:
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – the best items to pack in your bug out bag are the ones that have multiple uses.
A few jars of baby food carefully tucked away in your BOB would not only be a great snack on the go, but you can also convert them into emergency candles.
These are great if you don’t have the time or the resources to make an actual fire, just need a little bit of light/warmth, and want to save the batteries on your flashlight.
Watch my video to learn how to make one of these baby food jar candles:
I found myself having to pull the “wick” (a strip of an old sock) out more every 10 minutes or so because the flame went out. I believe this is because the olive oil is more viscous than the ethyl, and the flame has a harder time pulling it through the wick. My old sock worked just fine, but you can always use actual candle wicks if you wanted to.If you find yourself in a situation where you need to defend yourself, they could even be used as a mini molotov cocktail.
Want more DIY survival projects? Check out these cool tutorials:
Rubbing alcohol is isopropyl alcohol not ethanol.
Lehman’s mail order sells olive oil wicks. They also have a small book on using olive oil for fuel. No stock or interest in Lehman’s , just remember seeing the items in their catalog. They sell mail order.
It maybe that the olive oil is not letting air in past the wick and is creating a vacuum in the jar. Try loosing the lid and see if it keep burning. If so then you need to make a small second hole in the lid or put a pin or wire at the edge of the wick to make an air gap.
Booze (except really high-proof like Everclear) CANNOT be used as antiseptic. It will sting but will not reliably kill germs. Stick to drinking small amounts when you get some downtime; but be careful of dehydration.
Ethanol rubbing alcohol is available at most pharmacies.
I do my candles differently. I don’t like waste so when cooking, I save my oil and grease. These I make into my candles for camping. Tossing a tshirt? I melt the grease into the cotton, roll it and let it cool, wha la a wick and I allow the wick to swirl onto the bottom of the jar. I also keep an extra lid so when on the move, I just replace the lid with a solid one and I’m ready to travel. I have even used these between slabs of rocks for radiant heat. I like buddy burners better but I carry both.
Just filling the jar with petroleum jell (Vaseline) works very very wel. Instead of punching a hole in the top, just have about 6-8 inches of a wick. You can punch a hole in the top later if you’d like or just use the jelly as a great fire starter.
We recently got “caught” in the propane crisis and went 10 days w/o propane. Each morning,while waiting on the electric heaters to do their magic, I would put an aluminum pie pan or pot pie pan on the stove, pour in some HAND SANITIZER GEL and light it. The gel stays put in its gel form and will burn with a blue flame. It helped to take the chill off the air. No fumes were noticible. But don’t “blow” it out. Put a lid on it to smother the flame or let it burn itself out. Rubbing alcohol can do the same thing but the liquid is more easily spilled whereas the sanitizer gel is a more firm fuel. A good idea for camping, or even to keep in a car in case you get stranded traveling in a winter storm.