Best Firesteel models?

druid189 said:
I use these monsters and they are flipping awesome:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LD3RIP8...TF8&colid=1LCKDL3XKPN9Z&coliid=I1W1YFT625GCZW

They are huge, throw big sparks and last for freaking ever.
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This is the exact one I bought and love it.

guns_and_labs said:
How well does that Firecord work? I just saw that and am thinking of wrapping a knife handle with it.
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I can't find any issues with it, it performs exactly like regular 550 cord. I have submerged it and it still works just fine. I wouldn't rely on it as the only tinder I would take into the woods but I like to work in levels. Level 1 on my person, level 2 in my pack, level 3 car/campsite. If you use it for lanyards for knives, tools, and your firesteel you will always have a basic survival kit.
 
Excuse me being scientific like ;)

what difference does the striker make to the size of the sparks and how far they travel
 
neeman said:
Excuse me being scientific like ;)

what difference does the striker make to the size of the sparks and how far they travel
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Scientific-ness will be excused, I am sure :) because there are differences that are experienced and, with luck, someone will be able to explain it to us.

Susan
 
in my experience better strikers (harder, sharper) throw bigger sparks. The best ones I've found are the going-gear carbide strikers. pretty much its a function of how much material you can scrape off at once, as well as doing it fast enough to get them to light.
 
I recently try a few different firesteels that I had bought.
These are the models I had; a LMF Scout with new scaper/whistle, Exotac Polystricker, a LMF mini firesteel with old scraper, a UST Sparkforce and a Boy Scouts of America Hot Spark.

The mini LMF the firesteel fell out of the handle on the first strike/scrape. I expoxied it back in and it now works fine. I has nice sparks with little effort. Hoeever it is a bit small and may be too difficult to handle in an emergency when you are going Hypothermic.

The Scout model was easy to use and the new striker/scraper really sends out showers of sparks. Definitely my first choice due to size and ease of use.

The Exotac Polystricker has the scraper/striker in the handle. it was very difficult to remove. Once removed it totally sucked at making sparks. I tried other strikers including a hacksaw blsde on the firesteel all with better results. Without a real way to measure it seemed that the Exotac has less sparks that were not that hot (didn't ignite tinder as easily than other firesteels).

The UST was satisfactory but I felt it was a bit bulky. The sparks were satisfactory.

The BSA Hotspark worked well but lost points for size. I feel firesteels this small are too difficult to use if you are losing your fine motor skill due to exposure.

I do have some tiny firesteels from Firesteel.com but did not include them in the test because they are way to small and thin to really be useful.

Size matters when you are freezing so the full sized Scout wins hands down compared to the others I tested.
 
jmh33 said:
Another GobSpark Armageddon vote here.. It throws a TON of spark.. John
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This past yr anytime I needed to start a fire I used my GobSpark!! Even used it to fire up my PocketRocket stove!! This fire steel Rocks!! John :thumbup:
 
bohdisattva said:
A little late in replying to this thread, but you might want to check this one out. A bit pricey, but if its a survival situation, it might be worth it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eQmknbvAAA
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Don't like how he tested the Gerber. It was working great and the he did a hand shift to make it look worse. Also when doing the wood tinder he had not scraped the black coating off first. He should have known better.
 
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