Best Fire Starting Tool

B

Bruise Lee

Joined
Aug 4, 2002
Messages
363
I'm looking to buy a fire making tool. To be honest, I'll be using it mainly to light candles for religious services, start my gas BBQ, light my fireplace, etc.

The only experience I've had is with Ronson and Bic lighters. I'm not interested in anything inconvenient like having to scrape a flint or magnesium bar, etc. But, I would like it to have utility as a survival tool. In other words, be able to start a fire when it's wet or windy, and be able to do it time and time again. I do go backpacking, so I'd like to bring it along with me to start campfires and light my old Svea white gas stove. But, that also means it has to be lightweight, compact, and rugged.

Anyone have any cool tools out there they'd like to recommend?

Bruise
 
To my knowledge...

You've only got three or four genres of firestarters...

Matches
Lighters
Magnesium sparkers
And fire pistons... enclosed sparker spits out a flame.

Then my favorite... the spark plug, not really useful for anything out side a cylinder head... :p
 
you forgot friction like the fire plow or bow drill. However, these are almost as ungainly as the sparkplug for birthday candles....

oops, also forgot spontaneous compustion of certain chemical mixtures (which might render the cake inedible) which I will leave as an excercise of the reader...
 
Light my fire - swedish fire steel for backpacking and survival - simply one of the best there is.

Ultimate survival (they guys that made the Gerber strikeforce) make a good survival unit that is spring loaded so you can use it with one hand.

For the mundance every day uses you mention, get a good quality lighter from Colibri (sp?) or similar upscale brand.
 
Get one of the long nosed BIC or other brand lighter (about 8 inches long) for starting all of that mundane stuff. It will be SO much more convenient and safe (esp for the grill) than any of the other options. It'll set you back about $2 at any supermaket.

For camping/survival get a few regular or mini BICS at distribute them throughout your gear. If you're real paranoid about them getting wet, use ziplock bags for storage.

Total investment $4-5 and a lot of functionality.

My feeling is that using firesteel or a short lighter for starting a grill is really asking for it, and I think frustration would set in trying to start a candle with firesteel!

Best,
Christopher
 
I don't really miss the hair on my knuckles and still have my eyebrows :p

It is a tad risky to use a cheapy BIC lighter but, it sure does work well on gas grill ;)
 
If you really want to be cool around the BBQ (especially when your buddies are watching you while drinking beer), get a Zippo butane MPL.
You'll just reaffirm your position as Alpha gadgeter.

Guy
 
One advantage of bringing a friction system like the magnesium block or the Swedish fire steel is tossing it your camping kit and forgetting about it until an emergency (Bic out of gas? :) )

Of course matches/lifeboat matches or a good lighter are the best bet for everyday use.
 
Esav, I would not call the magnesium blocks or firesteels a friction system. When I read your post I immediately thought about the bow drill and fire plow (or even a match head?) which create heat by friction and thought that the firesteel was obviously using a different system called ...

Then I had to think for a change because I have no word for it. It is not friction or rubbing to accumulate heat and increase temperature to the coal point in a "gradual" manner, you are scraping, creating a chemical reaction in the firesteel material itself by mechanical deformation and separation with a sharp edge scraped across it, the material in the firesteel reacting and burning in individual sparks. Surely there is a technically accurate term for this, and it might be friction, but that does not seem right to me.

Obviously my last post concerning the definition of lighter was not worth the electrons it was printed on, but this is a serious question, and I am not wanting it to be interpreted as a joke or as negative in any way on you.
 
Originally posted by Denix
.You'll just reaffirm your position as Alpha gadgeter.
Click to expand...

I like that phrase: "Alpha Gadgeter."

Or should it be "Alpha Gadgeteer?"

Anyway it sounds way cool.
 
I prefer to use this to start a fire (or my avatar). :D

bresil03.jpg
 
eh, grommit
i actually think those qualify as friction initiated exothermic chemical reactions
if i'm not wrong :)
 
I had a Brunton. I like their products. The Helios was slick, I only traded it because I don't smoke anymore and it was sitting doing nothing. It looks like lightweight plastic, but it is very sturdy and the mechanism was flawless.
 
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