GEAR REVIEW: Firestarters
I have several different firesteel styles, so I thought I’d review them.
In order of preference:
1) Ultimate Survival’s StrikeForce
This is my preferred fire starter, including the wetfire tab in the storage compartment. It’s a bit heavy, but for this particular tool I like that. Striker is integrated into the whole kit, it doesn’t make noise when you’re walking and it throws off a shower of sparks. The striker on mine is approximately twice the length of the one in this picture…I’m not sure if mine is a newer model or an older one. I haven’t really put too much abuse on it, I normally just throw it in a pouch or a pocket, but if feels indestructable. Plus, this thing is on sale at about 30 different websites right now…you can get them for less than $10. I own two.
2) Light My Fire Firesteel (Scout Model)
This was the first firesteel I ever bought and it still serves as a backup for me. If I have the Strikeforce in my pack or in a pouch, this little dude is tied to my belt loop and inserted into my pocket. It’s light, simple, and with suitable tinder it will start a fire. That said, I’ve never been terribly impressed with the amount of sparks it throws. If your tinder is at all questionable, you may be out of luck. It seems like the Strikeforce sparks burn hot enough to overcome minor deficiencies in tinder….not so with the light my fire.
Originally, I thought this was a great product. It was the second one I bought, and does spark better than the Light My Fire Scout. It’s also designed to be used one-handed, which seems like a good contingency option. To use it you put your tinder on a hard, flat surface (a rock is best) and push the whole unit into the tinder….the striker scrapes the firesteel (which actually goes up into the handle…a bit like a kid’s trick knife). I have three complaints. First, I don’t think that distance (2 inches away from the tinder, then quickly collapsing to literally ON the tinder) is optimum for firestarting. I usually give my tinder a few inches when I’m striking…I just seem to have better luck that way. Second, it’s rare that I can find a hard, flat surface that is large enough and stable enough to use, and when I do I tend to scrape my knuckles in the process of using the Blastmatch. Finally, it’s too big and heavy to not serve another purpose. The StrikeForce is heavy, but it’s also a container for Wetfire tinder. The company has addressed this last complaint with the creation of the Sparkie.
I was initially tempted to keep it in my pack despite all of these problems, largely because it could be used one-handed. After all, if you’re going to need survival gear, you might need it one-handed. Then I saw THIS video. The BlastMatch is now in a drawer in my office.
Having said all of this….2 final comments.
1) I always have a mini-bic on me. If I’m in a real survival situation, I want fire. Moreover, I don’t want the feeling of failure that comes with trying and failing to make fire. Depending on the circumstances, adequate tinder might be hard to come by. I’ve found that a mini-bic can usually overcome minor tinder issues like dampness and size and even if the mini-bic gets wet, they will generally work with a few minutes of blowing and shaking.
2) Wetfire tinder is simply unbeatable. It lights super easily with a lighter or a match, and while it can be a bit of a pain to light with a firesteel (there is a technique to learn), it will light, and once you get it you will have fire. Basically if you can’t get a fire going when you have wetfire tinder and some sort of sparking device with you, you probably shouldn’t be out in the woods in the first place.
