About ten years ago I was in the unenviable position of having gone into the bush with no flashlight during a late fall campout. Aside from the fact that this was a pretty stupid thing to do when camping alone, I needed to come up with some kind of light or go to bed at 6:00 pm when full dark came on.
I tried a few different things with varying levels of success, then I remembered something I’d read in one of my survival books about making a lamp out of a bowl shaped rock and some oil. Well, I didn’t have a rock that fit that description, but I was camping on a lake, so I looked around on the beach until I found a couple of clamshells that weren’t broken.
For a wick I tore a small piece off my cotton towel about two inches long and laid it in the shell. Then I cooked up some of the bacon I’d brought for breakfast and poured the grease into the lamp on top of my make-shift wick.
Bingo! Instant light. I made a couple of these and they burned quite well through the evening with just a refill or two.
In the video I found some mussel shells, which are better than clamshells because they’re a little thicker, and used a piece of cotton t-shirt as the wick. It made a beautiful flame and I’m looking forward to trying it out soon.
Have you ever made your own light in the field?
Sound off below!
-Jarhead Survivor
I’ve never done that before – cool. But gaining a lamp for long term (i.e. no fuel sources) is why I’m trying the UVPaqlite products, the glow sticks with (theoretically) unlimited shelf life. They don’t cast a beam, they glow, but they glow a very long time, and in complete dark, I would be grateful to have one of these in my personal stash.
http://www.uvpaqlite.com/
Not an owner or someone who stands to gain anything, just a satisfied customer. I’ve had mine a couple of months and certainly, they have not been affected at all.
Thanks for the project write Jarhead – have a great day.
Thanks j.r. Seems like one of those glow sticks would be pretty cool to have on hand.
And there was llight!………..Thanks to the Jarhead!
The majority of
civilized people have avoided a a night in the wilderness or at home without light.
A few hours in the dark is enough to convince anyone of how critical light is in survival scenarios.
Be aware and prepare
“Yoda’s Little Known Tactics To Avoid Being A Target.”
Being alone in the forest at night with no light can really make you appreciate even the smallest amount of light. You got that right Yoda.
NVG’s.
Loved them in the service, but a little too pricey for my cheap civilian taste!
Moore’s Law says that every 18 months the price of technology halves and the capability doubles (or something like that as it pertains to computer tech). There is some pretty good stuff out there, albeit gen I type technology that can be had at a reasonable price (Bushnell 2×24 for $150 on Amazon.com – comes with an IR illuminator). I’ve got a similar setup on a M&P 15-22 with a dedicated IR flashlight and a silencer. Subsonic at night and no one knows you are shooting.
Yup, you can make ‘em out of ,Mayo jar lids(metle) old coffee can bottoms Ect. realy; whatever you find. the tins will melt and burn wax,animal fat, cooking oil. You can even improv. a /diesel/keroseen/booze burner ,all you need is, 2 pop bottles a cork ,some string to cut one of the bottles,a wick. Cut the bottom frome one bottle by ,wraping the string at the bottom of one bottle,(soak it in flmable liq. first) light the string & let it burn off .While the bottles still hot GENTLY tap it on a rock till the bottom breaks off. Now fill the other bottle with fuel.Thread the wick through a small hole in the cork. now light the wick and put the “chimney” on your finished trench lamp.
I like that idea. I’ll try it out sometime.
Well never gonr that original but I always carry a couple of those tea light candles just in case, and if you find an old aluminum can, you can split it open like a set of french doors put your candle inside, and boom protected from the wind, and all of your light is reflected back to you instead of all around. On the plus side these candles weigh next to nothing, don’t take up much space, and are reasonably priced.
This was a last ditch emergency light for me and I was happy that it worked. These days I always carry a survival candle or two as well. Good idea.
I know I’m dating myself but we used to use C-ration cans, the size that held the little pound cakes. Dont cut the can lid completely off. Punch a little hole in the top center of the can, thread a piece of twisted cotton t shirt 3/4 ” by 2″ thru the hole. THen use whatever fuel source oil you have and pour some into the can, bend the lid back into place and dab a little oil on the exposed cotton. And then there was light. by the way if you use bacon grease it smell like breakfast!
My first year in the Corps we got C-Rats as well. In a way I liked them better than the MREs, but they were really heavy when we had to carry them!
You could probably do that same thing with a tuna can couldn’t you?
any small can will work. The idea is not to have a deep can,but something shallow like a tuna or cat food can.
any small, shallow can would do….cat food can, tuna etc. the idea is a small not deep type can so you only need a little oil.
Jarhead…ur going to think I’m a little crazy but the wick twisting and size make a big difference on how fast they burn. But also if u mix potassium with the wick (let it soak for 12 hours) and then let the wick dry..in an oil lamp the flame will burn slower and more efficiently and in a wax lamp it will help the wick bend and stay on top of the wax as it burns.Potassium also keeps the flame from burning too quickly or too high. If you don’t have boreux and salt…then guess what …urine will do. Urine has a great deal of potassium in it and will help keep those lamps burning longer and add a little color to that flame!!!! Rusty