Matches are something that we have in our go bag and perhaps they are one of the most important things we may have. We realize that fire is going to save our life in many cases, so having matches is the first step in the process.
At the same time, however, there can be problems and not all matches are going to work properly. We never know what kind of situation we may be in during that survival scenario, and sometimes there may be water involved.
If your go-bag happens to get wet, how will everything inside of it do? If you are like many people, you don’t think about this possible scenario and you may have some soaked items inside of the bag.
Unfortunately, this could also mean that our matches are soaked and wet matches don’t work. That is, of course, unless you make these waterproof matches at home in advance.
Here’s how to do it.
First of all, start with a box of strike-anywhere matches. This is important because you want a convenient way to start the match without having to strike it against a wet box.
The next step in the process is to grab some fingernail polish. It doesn’t have to be anything special, just grab any polish you have available or pick one up at the store for a dollar or two. You can always choose a color if you want, but the color doesn’t matter.
Paint one side of the match using fingernail polish. Typically, you would hold one end of the match and paint the other end and then put it on some wax paper until it dries.
Give it a half-hour before you pick up the match again and then turn it over, hold the end that you have already painted, and finished painting the rest of it. It really is that simple and you would be surprised with how well it works.
If you don’t feel like painting the matches, you could always dip them down into the fingernail polish bottle and paint them in that way. It’s a lot easier, although you will typically use more fingernail polish in the process.
Wait at least one hour if not more for the fingernail polish to completely dry. Since you are putting it on in a thick layer, it may take some extra time.
That’s all there is to it! You now have waterproof matches that can be lit by striking them on any rough surface. Why not soak one or two of them in water and then give it a try for yourself? It really works.
Watch waterproof matches being made in the following video:
