So on various things on this thread.
While one should not look at the cost of some of the "expensive" commercial fire starter tabs or bars through the cost lens, if you want to use home made, it is a good idea to use it as intended, and also to test it before you need it for survival. Prorating cost against survival in hypothermia conditions or permanent tissue damage from frostbite should really give you a positive cost-benefit ratio. For example, many people may not be aware that all "cotton balls" are not created equal. For the Vaseline and cotton ball trick, you need real actual cotton, not the polyester makeup balls sold in most places. Read the label. Also, trying to light a densely packed Vaseline soaked cotton ball is not nearly as effective as fluffing the fibers out so they can light. That fluffing also applies to many commercial tabs as well. It is often not just the material, but technique can be very critical.
On tampons, as an old school first aid trainee, I have carried those for years. Now QuickClot and Celox, etc. are available you can bet that is also in my kit. The thing with a tampon is that they are compressed heavily (for easier insertion in their normal use), but when they absorb fluid they expand greatly. This enhances their utility in a puncture wound, or gunshot entry because it applies direct pressure against the inside of the wound to help control the bleeding. And keep in mind that the impregnated gauzes such as QuickClot cqan be wrapped around a tamp[on before it is inserted into a deep wound, pairing clotting agent with direct internal pressure from the expansion of the tampon material.
And on "space blankets" they are not all created equal, and many are a snare and delusion that hopefully will never have to be deployed. In theory a thin mylar sheet coated with reflective aluminum can reflect body heat. Yes, that part is true. The issue is that the mylar sheet used in most of the "emergency blankets" out there are extremely fragile and shred easily. Have you ever tested one for durability? You should. That fragility is magnified under cold and windy conditions. Even a tiny nick in that mylar will allow a full length tear that can happen instantly in wind. Once it fails, it renders the blanket into shreds that look like tinsel. It can quickly become nothing of use at all. Not only have I read of sad cases where people tried to protect themselves from weather with these, only to be left with nothing useful, I have had many of these shred in wind myself under a somewhat different use. They are OK for indoor emergency shelters, or other places where they won't be exposed to damage and wind, but those are not normal mountain hunting conditions. Yes I blithely carried one of those mylar sheets in my pack for years (thankfully never needing it), until I learned their extreme vulnerability to punctures and tears, and then to any pressure, but especially wind. Try it on the corner of the one you carry and see the result. Of late, after looking for something still small and light, but more durable, I found SOL brand products. These will stretch but not shred the way mylar does. I prefer the 2 person size; they also make bivvy tents. There is at least one other brand similar; NDOR is more tear resistant . Yes they cost more, but again prorate staying alive against $10-$15 if you need to use one. These are way smaller and lighter that then old tarp-type original space blankets, and are a good compromise between the bulky original space blanket and the whimpy "mylar emergency blanket".
And last, although most people are aware that magnetic declination varies place to place, it also changes constantly. Don't depend on old maps for your declination if it really counts. Check before you leave for some remote area.
