Firesteel? ... why not a lighter?

A

Alberto Salas

Joined
Jan 30, 2003
Messages
268
Well, that's all!
Why is the firesteel so popular?

I'm about to buy one, just for the cool factor, but, it had advantages over the simple and cheap Bic lighter?

Worth the buy?



BETO
====================
Sorry for my english :o
 
Firesteels ALWAYS spark,when its too cold for Bic's or when wet. For their size and weight they give more potential fires than anything besides a magnifying glass.

That said I always carry a bic too.
 
Derfinitely roeth the dough....I carry a mini bic in my psk as a back up but my firesteel throws sparks even when wet....it throws alot more sparks tha a lighter and never runs out of fuel. If you want to try a cheaper one before you commit to getting a super duper one try a bsa hotspark they can be had for 2-3 dollars, and work fine and they are small enough to be worn around the neck or thrown in a psk, I keep one of those in my osk and a Light my fire army firesteel in a loop on my knife sheath
 
Best darn backup for a Bic if ya' need. ;) I always carry one with a Bic.

I don't understand why some people carry only a firesteel, lighters are much more beneficial.
 
Alberto Salas said:
Well, that's all!
Why is the firesteel so popular?

I'm about to buy one, just for the cool factor, but, it had advantages over the simple and cheap Bic lighter?

Worth the buy?



BETO
====================
Sorry for my english :o
Click to expand...

Your English is fine :)

Ever hear of Murphy's Law? Murphy is a mythological character that we ascribe all kinds of cynical sayings to, the main one being: if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. The whole "science" of survival preparedness is to defeat Murphy's Law. In the case of a lighter, it is a mechanical device and can break. Simple is better and a firesteel is stable and works if it gets wet, dirty or anything but lost. So cary a mini Bic AND a firesteel AND matches AND know how to use a fire bow. Redundancy rules!

Or look at it this way: are you going to trust your life to the reliability of a 99 cent device?
 
I am also planning to get a firesteel for my psk but I intend to carry a Bic
as well. I think a full size Bic is a better choice as it holds much more fluid
and seems to be more durable than the minis. The minis are much easier
to break. I heard someone say that a see-thru plastic lighter is a better
choice so that you can monitor your remaining fluid but, like the mini Bics,
these see-thru types seem poorly made when compared to the full sized
Bics. Nice thing about the firesteels is they are not likely to break. Just
do not lose it.
 
Wabajack...

We use them more than a bic..
The more you use it, and not depend on a bic, the less you'll need it...

For example..

Person #1 only carried a FS, uses it all of the time in different weather conditions. Comfortable with it, and confident that he can start a fire in most conditions..

Person #2 Carrys a Bic and a firesteel as a back up..Uses the Bic more than the FS. Not as comfortable with the FS because he uses the Bic more often. In fact, he may only play with it a few times a year...

Bic runs out of fliud..

Who has the better odds of starting a fire with a FS ??

ttyle

Eric
O/ST

A FS is an Awesome piece of kit that should be used as primary fire ignition..

Like I tell my scouts.. Any Chump can start a fire with a lighter or matches...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
Normark said:
Wabajack...

We use them more than a bic..
The more you use it, and not depend on a bic, the less you'll need it...

For example..

Person #1 only carried a FS, uses it all of the time in different weather conditions. Comfortable with it, and confident that he can start a fire in most conditions..

Person #2 Carrys a Bic and a firesteel as a back up..Uses the Bic more than the FS. Not as comfortable with the FS because he uses the Bic more often. In fact, he may only play with it a few times a year...

Bic runs out of fliud..

Who has the better odds of starting a fire with a FS ??

ttyle

Eric
O/ST

A FS is an Awesome piece of kit that should be used as primary fire ignition..

Like I tell my scouts.. Any Chump can start a fire with a lighter or matches...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
Click to expand...

Hows this for a situation-
Farking cold outside. Far below zero. Wet, not optimal conditions. NO GOOD TINDER around. Man with FS is hiting his sparks on the only tinder he can find that keeps flying away in the wind. Man with Bic whips it out, holds the flame on a piece of a bark for a minute and it lights up. Firesteel is cool, but the advantages of technology can never be ignored.
Also, the odds of a Bic messing up is just as good as a firesteel messing up.
Oh crap, I fell, my Bic is screwed.
Guess what? My firesteel is in pieces too!
 
Hey Groovey...

Very true my friend..

However the same can be said for : If it's that cold outside, what if you don't have the fine motor skills and dexterity to operate a Bic.. We also know that Bics don't work well in cold weather...

The scenarios are endless here,, we could go on for pages...
What I'm trying to say is if you are Well versed with a FS in different conditions,, you are more adapted to lighting a fire, over somone who has less training with a FS if there is failure with a lighter.

Take ten random adults into the woods on a shitty day and not all would start a fire with even a lighter..Less would start a fire with a Steel...

In my mind the firesteel should be concentrated on more heavily...

I'm not saying at all to Not carry a Bic,, I'm just saying use it as a last resort...

The more well versed you are in the hardest of methods in the harshest conditions, the easier it is to start a fire on Any given day,, whether it's Cold, wet or windy..

Training with what you have is key..
To me,, a Firesteel is Fool proof.

Edited to Add:

Your firesteel is Far less likely to malfunction than a bic Any day..

what is there to malfunction with a Firesteel,, other than losing it or the handle coming off...
It's not a fragile piece of kit, a fall will hardly break it,, and if you Do happen to fall hard enough to snap it,, it is still useable,, and you have far Greater things to worry about with a fall...

Sorry dude,, I'm not buying it....
Firesteel is still King of the fire....No matter how you slice it...
Not perfect,, but not far from it either...

You have to ask yourself...

Stuck on an island for possibly years..
What would you take with you ??
A butane Bic lighter or a Swedish Army issue Firesteel.

That answer will determine What is the Best!
The Answer is Simply Common Sense...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
Normark said:
Sorry dude,, I'm not buying it....
Firesteel is still King of the fire....No matter how you slice it...
Not perfect,, but not far from it either... Sorry dude, I'm not buying it. :) While firesteel is a valuable piece of gear, and like Karl Malden, "I wouldn't leave home without it", the ability to make fire by using what nature provides is King of the Fire
You have to ask yourself...

Stuck on an island for possibly years..
What would you take with you ?? The knowledge and skill of fire by friction.
ttyle

Eric
O/ST
Click to expand...

Having said that, Bics and firesteels :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Doc
 
I like lighters. I always just use a lighter when backpacking. The cheap ones work fine at 12,000 ft and pretty cold. Firesteels are nice to have just in case.
 
my $0.02 it is waterproof and dosen't break, small and neat, usable as a siginal devive too, dosen't run out. and it reminds us of the old school flint 'n' steel our for-fathers used.
 
DaleW said:
Your English is fine :)

Ever hear of Murphy's Law? Murphy is a mythological character that we ascribe all kinds of cynical sayings to, the main one being: if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. The whole "science" of survival preparedness is to defeat Murphy's Law. In the case of a lighter, it is a mechanical device and can break. Simple is better and a firesteel is stable and works if it gets wet, dirty or anything but lost. So cary a mini Bic AND a firesteel AND matches AND know how to use a fire bow. Redundancy rules!

Or look at it this way: are you going to trust your life to the reliability of a 99 cent device?
Click to expand...

FWIW Murphy is not mythological. He was an aerospace engineer who worked on the rocket sled projects in the 1950's. One day they fired off a test engineer on a rocket sled. The guy was supposed to be covered with g-force indicators. They were flat discs, and it turned out the technicians attached them upside down. So they fired off the guy, but got no data. Murphy looked at the two sided disk and delivered the famous phrase, "well, if there's a right way and a wrong way, they'll do it the wrong way." It got built into the rest of the program and from there to the rest of the aerospace community. They decided that they would design things so that there would only be only be one way to put things topgether: the right way. If you ever look at wiring connectors and screws in an SR-71, each one in the same area has a different fitting, you cannot put the wrong wire in a plug. I don't fit.

Ach too much beer. I babble. Too bad for you. You already read it.

I carry sparker and lighter in my kit.
 
GroovyMr1337 said:
Hows this for a situation-
Farking cold outside. Far below zero. Wet, not optimal conditions. NO GOOD TINDER around....
Click to expand...

Butane lighters are terrible in sub zero temps and suffer at altitude too. I carry tinder quick tabs in spy capsule with my firesteels-- you can get five in a small capsule. If you have wood, you have tinder-- that's what fuzz sticks are all about. Pull the lint off your socks, or the stuffing out of your clothing, etc. I'm carrying matches and those trick birthday candles you can't blow out. :thumbup:

I was going over a first aid kit today and realized that the alcohol wipes would make good firestarters, as does alcohol gel hand cleaner. I use Esbit fuel to cook with and carry a spare in my PSK. A dab of hand cleaner on the Esbit and ANY ignition source will get you 15 minutes of 1200F flame. IF that doesn't work, it's a race to the Paleolithic and time to make friction work for you-- good luck!

I want an emergency fire starter that is the size of a 35mm film can that burns hot like a road flare and is easy to ignite-- striker cap or a ripcord.

It's a battle of the wits-- the ammo is above your eyebrows :cool:
 
knarfeng said:
FWIW Murphy is not mythological....
Click to expand...

Well, we've built a whole school of philosophy around Mr. Murphy, with a lot of sayings and cynical and irreverent musings on the failings humankind, fate, and life's inevitables. Maybe the word is legendary :)

Gimme a "C"! Gimme a "Y"! Gimme an "A"!

WHAT'S THAT SPELL? CYA!
 
*laughs*

Welcome Alberto, you're english is fine. Better than my spanish. :)

Firesteels (aka ferrocerium or ferro rods) are just one of the tools. I carry them, and lighters, and matches, and even highway flares! The reason why I laughed is becuase every lighter has a small pace of ferrocerium (or something very similar) as the "flint", which hasn't been flint for decades. A bigger ferro rod is just more forgiving to variables like getting wet, getting cold or using found tinder rather than a gas.

In a survival kit, I don't see it so much as the ferro rod being back up to a lighter, but a lighter being a more limited and physically less robust resource held in reserve to back up a ferro rod when it can't cut it. I'm lazy- ferro rods are easier and faster than a fire bow. I'd generally start my fire with a ferro rod or some other kind of sparking system. If the situation makes it harder for my tinder to ignite, I get the lighter. If it's wet or cold or something happened that let the gas out, I reach for the matches becuase they are simple, self contained chemical reaction (the only exception to this is lighting a liquid or vapor fueled stove- matches and lighter-ignited twigs are best for this). And if I need fire RIGHT NOW and/or the weather conditions are truly lethal and keeping me from lighting a fire, I'll crack a flare. Each item gets progressively expensive, bigger, heavier and hotter per lighting of a fire.
 
Firesteel is popular because if you have it with you, it will function and do what it is supposed to. I carry a lighter as well because typically a lighter is faster to light a fire. Also for the weight...why not. The Bic is always more reliable than other brands. The white ones are translucent, so you can hold them up to a light or the sun and see the fuel level. The bigger firesteels seem to be able to use more types of tinder, and I have used some that work better than others, like maybe they were slightly softer in composition. You will find out what works for you if you play around with it.
 
I would take a ferro rod/striker and vaseline cotton balls over a lighter any day. Ferro rod/striker doesn't run out of fluid or malfunction.
Scott
 
Soak a bic and a fire steel in a bucket of water for week and try to start a fire with each, that should give you a good idea of why people carry firesteels, I do carry both however.

Any Cal,
Sorry, I didn't mean to blow you off about the fat wood, some things came up and I didn't get a chance to send it. I am back now and still willing to send you some, if you are still interested drop me an email.

Again my apologies, Chris
 
Hey Eric, I agree with what your saying for the most part about being confident with what your carrying.

I used a FS almost exclusively this past winter when my Bic wouldn’t work (to darn cold :D). But like I said the instant flame advantages of the Bic is far better than the FS, which is really just a semi-convenient back-up.

There really is no need to use a FS all the time when a Bic will do what you need very easily more than 90% of the time. It’s like making a bow-drill every time you go into the bush incase you loose your fire gear sometime in the distant future, not necessary. But hey I do go out though an play around making a bow-drill every now and again.

At any rate, “Any Chump can start a fire with a lighter or matches” that’s the benefit of technology. :D

“Stuck on an island for possibly years..
What would you take with you ??
A butane Bic lighter or a Swedish Army issue Firesteel”

Both. Where not talking about a plane crash in the Atlantic here though, were talking about some time in the bush and a lighter with a back-up wins out. Lighters make for a faster fire, and if its easier to use, use it.

:D

~ Wabajack
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top