Look Up, Not Down
Wood still attached to a standing tree sheds rain and dries faster than anything on the ground.
Standing dead branches still attached to the tree, especially low on the trunk and in dense conifers; bark curls and dead twigs that never touched the ground.
Wood on the ground absorbs and holds moisture; standing dead wood sheds rain and dries faster once it stops.
Snap-test small dead branches at chest height and above.
Break a branch in half — a clean snap with no bend means it's dry inside even if the surface feels damp.
Searching the forest floor first. Ground-level material is almost always the wettest available after rain.
Go Inside the Material
Rain wets surfaces fast but takes time to soak into solid wood.
Standing dead trees, snapped branches, and split logs — the outside will be wet, the inside usually isn't.
Splitting or shaving exposes dry material underneath a wet surface.
Baton or split a dead branch and shave the dry interior into fine curls for your actual tinder.
Shavings that curl tightly and hold together are dry; shavings that tear or feel cool and damp are not ready.
Trying to light whole wet branches directly. Surface moisture smothers a small flame before it reaches the dry core.
Check Sheltered Microspots
Wind-driven rain rarely wets every surface evenly.
The dry side of standing dead trees, dense conifer canopy, rock overhangs, and the underside of large deadfall.
The leeward side of a trunk or under thick canopy often stays drier through an entire storm.
Check the downwind side of large trees and under thick conifer branches close to the trunk.
Genuinely dry material feels warm-neutral and brittle; damp material feels cool and slightly flexible.
Giving up on natural tinder and processing green wood, which won't ignite regardless of how fine it's cut.
If your best material still fails the snap test, keep searching standing dead wood before processing anything — a feather stick made from damp wood is wasted effort.
Collecting a large pile of questionable material instead of a small amount of confirmed-dry material. Volume doesn't fix moisture.
Dry is inside, not outside. Split before you judge.