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I use one of the home made "egg crate/sawdust/candle wax" fire starters if I'm gone long enough that there's no coals left. Never need to use kindling with them, as they're more than hot enough, and they last at least 10 minutes.
I asked this question because I'm about out of kindling and gathering kindling is a PIA. Tried starting a fire using a propane torch with just a handful of kindling along with couple sheets of newspaper and cardboard and that worked pretty well. Never thought of using pine cones but I will give that a try (next season). I'll also try a top down fire and see how that works. I'll also try hand sanitizer. Thanks for sharing your techniques.