Fresnel Lens - Fire Starting Secret Weapon

Starting fires is an important preparedness skill, but there is no way that I’m going to get a fire going by rubbing sticks together. Give me a magnifying glass or a Fresnel Lens and I’ll be cooking in no time. In my bug out bag I have a couple dedicated Fresnel Lens fire starting lenses.

Fresnel Lens – Fire Starting Secret Weapon

Fire is a must have in the great outdoors. If you want to cook, boil water or scare away boogey men with your torches, you need fire. I was looking for a EDC backup for a bic lighter that I could use to start fires, but a magnifying glass seemed to fragile or too bulky to have in my pocket every day. If only I could find something that’d fit in my wallet.

Enter the Fresnel Lens.

“What is a Fresnel Lens?” you ask.

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Time to bring out the science: A Fresnel Lens can be regarded as an array of prisms arranged in a circular fashion, with steeper prisms on the edges, and a flat or slightly convex center (Source: Wikipedia).

You can operate the Fresnel Lens to focus the sun, into a narrow pinpoint of sheer heat and start a fire. Much simpler than rubbing wood together. Ask any kid who ever mixed a magnifying glass and the sun together how much heat this can generate!

These also make great magnifiers for reading, or examining small items. You can also use to to inspect plants and insects in the wild.

The Fresnel Lens is a true multi-use item, which makes it perfect for our Bug Out Bags, Get Home Bags and EDC carry (auto and personal).

I like these because they are skinny, thinner than a credit card, and they will fit in my wallet, my laptop case, my bug out bag and my car. I have one in my wallet right now, so if I was trapped someplace, my EDC carry could help me survive!

Know what I like most about them? I can get a 10 pack of Fresnel Lenses with protective sleeves, for under $3.

See Related Post: Fresnel Lens Fire Starting Proof of Concept (VIDEO)