Blast Match

D

DavidO

Joined
May 31, 2007
Messages
51
I recently bought a Blast Match designed to be used one handed. The construction was cheap and the results were IMHO, poor. The ferrocium rod is spring loaded and you hold the tab that controls the striker tension. You then push the rod down on your tinder bundle. The rod continually stayed jammed in the compressed position.:thumbdn: You'd be better served by obtaining the Swedish Army type of firesticks. I do not feel that you can depend on this kit when the chips are down. If you do own one, I hope that you have better luck than I did.
 
DavidO said:
I recently bought a Blast Match designed to be used one handed. The construction was cheap and the results were IMHO, poor. The ferrocium rod is spring loaded and you hold the tab that controls the striker tension. You then push the rod down on your tinder bundle. The rod continually stayed jammed in the compressed position.:thumbdn: You'd be better served by obtaining the Swedish Army type of firesticks. I do not feel that you can depend on this kit when the chips are down. If you do own one, I hope that you have better luck than I did.
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I bought a blast match back when they first hit the market. I didn't like it at all. I never had any problems with the rod getting hung up. However I did/do see it as a fragile tool. Also it's not a tool I'd want to have in less than perfect conditions. The little striker on mine was just a small piece of steel embedded in the little plastic arm. After multiple strikes attempting to ignite damp cedar bark the little striker got hot, stretched out the hole it was embedded in and fell away. I took the pieces of mine back where I bought it and exchanged it for a strike force which I still feel is an awesome tool....a bit big and bulky, but awesome none the less.
 
Sounds like you got a dud, send it back, or get a refund
I've had a few of the blast matches over the years and have never had a problem. early ones had a problem with the latch/striker being week.but even if the latch broke you still had a 1/2 inch ferro rod that threw massive amounts of sparks.if you send it back let us no how it works out.
good luck to ya
 
I think they are kinda jicky but...you can always use the rod just like any other rod and it is pretty thick. Break the plastic off if you don't like it.
 
I’ve had two of the Blast Matches fail on me; one was corrosion and one was the plastic housing. My wife and kids use to love them since it was easier to get a fire going than with a regular firesteel. My preference has always been with the larger, bulkier Strike Force, but it’s no easier than regular firesteels for one-handed use. The Blast Match is a great concept, but execution wasn’t the best. I just don’t think they were meant for hard-use. I want to try one of the newer “Sparky One-Handed” fire starters:

http://goinggear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=40&products_id=181

ROCK6
 
My Blastmatch never failed. If it did I could just remove the thick rod and use the spine of my knife. I do prefer Strikeforce thought the rod can come out of the holder (easy to put back in). Also like the little tinder storage space with wetfire however many people don’t know it’s there. I did replace the cord on the Strikeforce with a longer piece of high visibility paracord. The one supplied is too short.
 
I've had mine for a year with no problems, but you should know that I got one of the newer ones that have the same plastic housing as the strikeforce, instead of being see through orange, it's solid orange.
 
No probs with mine either. In a survival situ the rods still usable. It would seem you don't like it or trust it ,so I would bring it back and buy a Strike Force if you don't mind the size ,or get a Swedish army firesteel. I've had the occasional rod come loose from the Swedish ones ,but it's a permanent fix to put it back on the plastic holder with some epoxy or super-glue. They are the favorite of most of us ,probably because of the simplicity of design,reliability, and lack of moving parts ( except the actual act of hitting it with a striker.)
 
ROCK6 said:
I’ve had two of the Blast Matches fail on me; one was corrosion and one was the plastic housing. My wife and kids use to love them since it was easier to get a fire going than with a regular firesteel. My preference has always been with the larger, bulkier Strike Force, but it’s no easier than regular firesteels for one-handed use. The Blast Match is a great concept, but execution wasn’t the best. I just don’t think they were meant for hard-use. I want to try one of the newer “Sparky One-Handed” fire starters:

http://goinggear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=40&products_id=181

ROCK6
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Those are awesome. That is what I use as a firesteel tool. They are much more compact than the Blastmatch and still put out a good shower of sparks.
 
Never had a problem with mine but only used it a few times. A little too big and heavy for my tastes. The smaller Sparky works fine but the rod is much smaller than the Blastmatch. Sparky would fit nicely in your pocket and takes no practice to use in case a buddy or child needs to use it. For me the best is a 5/16" x 4" rod and dedicated striker from Goinggear.
 
I purchased a Blastmatch just to try it out. While mine does function ok I am not impressed with them either.

I have use one of the Strikeforce firestarters for years and find them to be excellent.

I also have a couple of the rods from goinggear and their larger ones are a great option that work very well. Though they are of a different material than the strikefroce they perform great.
 
Bought one. Used it once. Put in kit. Took it out couple weeks ago and the spring was shot. Had to use pliers to get rod out for a single push. Not too useful for one-handed operation.
 
I had my first BlastMatch fail. The rod came out of the little plastic holder inside the housing. I used the warranty on it and was told there was something wrong with the older ones. I sent it in and got a replacement (newer one with "Ultimate Survival Technologies" printed on the housing) and it works great. I've used it more than the first one and it is solid so far. Also, on the older one, the tip of the mischmetal rod would sometimes catch the lip of the housing and not pop out. I think it's been improved. Either the rod is longer or it doesn't push into the case as far as the first one.
 
I haven't had any problems with mine, but it does feel kind of cheap, like it could break at any moment. Does work pretty well.
 
I have had good luck with mine, but it is not as robust as a simple ferro rod like the Swedish Army steel. But for emergency use when you have an injured hand or arm, the blastmatch will be better than a simple ferro rod.
 
have both the blast match and the sparky. they work well and have had no failures. but i would not want to depend on one. they seem fragile even tho neither have failed. of course, as mentioned, if it came down to it, could bust all that plastic away and still have a ferro rod...which ive never had fail
 
UST has upgraded the plastic in the Blastmatches to a much tougher material. The orange ones have an opaque plastic instead of the old translucent that they used to use, so it is easy to tell the difference.
 
Thank you all for your opinions and suggestions. I contacted Ultimate Survival Technologies and their customer service was top notch. They indicated that I somehow received the older model and gave me a replacement. It just arrived today. Again, thank you all.
 
hiwa said:
No probs with mine either. In a survival situ the rods still usable. It would seem you don't like it or trust it ,so I would bring it back and buy a Strike Force if you don't mind the size ,or get a Swedish army firesteel. I've had the occasional rod come loose from the Swedish ones ,but it's a permanent fix to put it back on the plastic holder with some epoxy or super-glue. They are the favorite of most of us ,probably because of the simplicity of design,reliability, and lack of moving parts ( except the actual act of hitting it with a striker.)
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I can relate to Hiwa's working well as he almost set my rug and his hand on fire with it!!!
 
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