Whatever brand you go with, buy one extra and PRACTICE. As others have noted, they do not all work the same, and can take some getting used to. Not bad, just different.
Then get some clear fingernail polish and coat the one that you are going to depend on with 2 or 3 coats to prevent disintegration, which can happen in high humidity. It scrapes off easily, and is cheap at Walmart.
Then you're good to go.
A little anecdote.....So, I'm out in my favorite little spot nestled in a park with my wife and we start a tiny little fire on an old downed tree that I often return to for a hand warming and a cup of tea.
I use my LMF, like I normally do and it works great (I did use a bit of Coglans fire stick scrapings to facilitate the flame).
Wife enjoys the fire,
She later asks to borrow one of my knives and wants to start playing with the striker.....Ten minutes later, she comes back and gives me the RC-3 that I handed to her. "Where is the sheath?" I ask. "You didn't give me the sheath" she replies. <--- I gave her the sheath. So I look around for the dam thing but can't find it. Damn - I hate that, those RC-3 sheaths are the cats meow too! Well, she also lost my firesteel (good thing I always carry a couple).
I come back to my little spot in the spring, I usually do a little perimeter check to look for my sheath. I know exactly where we were at. So far nothing - one thing about a tan sheath in the prairie - they aren't very visible. However, I did find my LMF firesteel - it has a bright red handle. It sat in the snow and melting snow and then a very wet spring for about 5 mo.
When I found it there was some surface corrision all around the striked area, but the corrosion was only a couple of mm thick. I scraped that off with the spine of my knife. Stuck it in my pack. Works as good as my other ones.
So yes, they corrode, but they don't just completely disappear on you especially while they are in your pack or kit kept dry and away from the elements.
