Glass Magnifying Lens (2-inch, 6-power)
$10.99
In stock
Description
Glass Magnifying Lens
This Magnifying Lens measures a full 2″ (50mm) in diameter. It is made of high-quality clear glass, not plastic. It has the same 6-power magnification as the smaller magnifying lens in the Hudson Bay Tobacco Box, but is double the size. Larger magnifying lenses gather more of the available light and allow you to focus it more intensely. This additional heat intensity ignites your tinder resource more quickly vs. a smaller or less powerful lens. This Magnifying Lens is the perfect tool for starting fires using the sun. New to using magnifying lenses for solar ignition? Continue reading and learn how:
Excerpt from my first book Surviving the Wild:
Solar ignition harnesses the power of the sun and magnifies it to transfer heat to a tinder resource. It’s the most renewable resource because it consumes nothing from your kit. Of course, it does have its one limitation of needing sunny weather, but when conditions are right and you’re not in an emergency, you should always go with this easy and reliable method.
Rather than try to light an entire tinder bundle with the sun, it’s best to create a small ember that can be transferred into a bird’s nest tinder bundle and blown to flame. It’ll be much easier to focus the sun on a smaller piece of tinder. One of the best tinder resources for solar is dung from lagomorphs (rabbits, hares, and pikas). These are hind-gut digesters that leave behind pellets that are little more than compressed plant fiber. When these pellets are dry, they make excellent tinder for solar.
Of course, this isn’t all you can use. You can create a similar “pellet” by taking some of your fine material like an inner or outer bark, rolling it, and compressing it into a tight ball with your hands. Your goal is to create an ember that smolders rather than burns, so you remove air (or at least restrict it) from the fire triangle by compressing the tinder. Another good tinder resource for solar is a small piece of dry punkwood.
There are really two things that you need to pay attention to when using solar [magnifying lens] as an ignition source:
- The angle of the lens in relation to the sun. When you look at the light that’s passing through the magnifying lens and landing on either the ground or the tinder, it should be centered. That is, the light should be centered within the shadow made by the rest of the lens. This gives you the best possible angle in relation to the sun.
- The size of the circle of light that you are focusing. While maintaining the correct angle, move the magnifying lens forward or back until the light is as focused and pinpointed as possible. This will give you the most heat. If you focus that spot on your tinder pellet, it should begin to smoke almost immediately. Once smoking, make slow, very tight circles with the light on the tinder to increase the surface area that you’re applying heat to with the magnifying lens. This process should take twenty to thirty seconds with good sun. You’ll know it’s lit when you can take away the ignition source and the pellet still smolders. Once smoldering, simply transfer the ember into the bird’s nest and reintroduce air to the fire triangle by blowing it to flame.
Tip for the Unexpected: Solar is best during the summer months from ten in the morning to two in the afternoon, but it can still be done at other times. All it takes is full sun and clear skies with no obstructions. Shadows from trees and clouds partially blocking the sun will reduce your ability to get a fire going using this technique. Keep in mind that the larger your magnifying lens, the greater its ability to gather and focus light. Double convex lenses work extremely well, as do Fresnel lenses.
Another thing to consider with tinder for solar: stay away from anything that is waxy, oily, or resinous. They don’t work well at all with solar because you end up heating the wax, resin, or oil instead of the tinder, and that makes it wet rather than dry. You want tinder that’s as dry as possible.
What is the diameter of the magnifying lens?
The lens is 2-inches (50mm) in diameter and double convex.
What material is the magnifying lens made out of?
This magnifying lens is made of a high-quality glass.
What power magnification does this lens have?
This is a large 6-power lens. Perfect for solar fire starting.
28 reviews for Glass Magnifying Lens (2-inch, 6-power)
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Steven Wood (verified owner) –
I love the magnifier works great
Tom (verified owner) –
Daniel Edmonds (verified owner) –
Small and functional. Does the job perfectly.
Jonathan Dawe (verified owner) –
Perfect sized lens for emergencies.
Matthew Walker (verified owner) –
Great deal for just the right size lens.
Roger Rynearson (verified owner) –
Thomas (verified owner) –
I am very happy with this now all I have to do is make a pouch for it to protect it from scratches.
John Nunnally (verified owner) –
Perfect size.
John (verified owner) –
Works very well.
Grant Garrison (verified owner) –
Peter H. (verified owner) –
Got fire with it.
Matthew H. (verified owner) –
Darren (verified owner) –
Anthony James (verified owner) –
Jay Williams (verified owner) –
Looking forward to using this in the field. High quality glass. I wish it came in a small soft bag to keep it from getting scratched. I’m very happy with the product.
Anonymous (verified owner) –
Good glass and very effective.
Becky Naughton (verified owner) –
Jeffrey Miller (verified owner) –
Pasquale T. (verified owner) –
Stephanie (verified owner) –
Great. Works as expected. Nice tight focal point.
William G. (verified owner) –
Mark (verified owner) –
Robert Miller (verified owner) –
All products, branded or not branded, are only produces that GB2 uses or developed. Therefore you can rest easy know the quality is at its finest. I have two lesser mags but this one is twice as fast with the double layer.
Travis (verified owner) –
Javier (verified owner) –
This is awesome!
This is my third order.
As things get more questionable I been making adjustments and this is one of them. Not only I have it in my bags also in my wife’s car and mine. An essential part of our emergency car bag. My recommendation if you going to order one get 3. You will start thinking of places where one of this should always be available…like you car!
Dustin (verified owner) –
Great magnifying lens, perfect size.
Robert Miller (verified owner) –
This is better because it has two sides. I found this out on a training course. You get what you pay for even if you don’t know. Thank you for the opportunity to have purchased the highest quality kit. It is a real minefield of lesser gear. It has been a blessing to have found your training and store. Making purchases online is hard but not if it’s in the GB2 store.
Ronald Brown (verified owner) –
Great piece of kit for a contingency fire starting process via solar. Thanks GB2!