Firesteel? ... why not a lighter?

scenario: It's raining and windy, but you find something to burn - although it's not really dry enough - and you get it behind a rock or something, as much shelter you can get from the wind.
How do you light it? A flare? Petrol/gasoline? A lot of Vaseline-soaked cotton balls?


scenario: It's raining and windy, and there is nothing dry to burn - the locals use up most of it anyway, and you can't get out of the wind. Maybe you have a plastic tarp or a space blanket, but there's nothing to tie it to.
What do you do? Wrap yourself in the tarp and hope the weather gets better?
 
Cat, those are valid questions, but they should probably be a thread of their own. A lot of knowledgeable people might miss them tacked onto the fourth page of a somewhat contentious thread.

-- FLIX
 
I haven't yet read through this whole large thread, so excuse me if my answer is repetitious.

Why a Firesteel? Why not a lighter?

A firesteel is windproof, waterproof, shockproof, fireproof, and lasts practically forever. It works in extreme cold; and it works at high altitude. Once you learn how to use it, it just plain works.

Lighters can leak fuel, can crack, can have their mechanisms break off. They're fussy in extreme cold and at high altitude. They don't work when they get wet, until they dry. They are almost unusable in high wind. They are great when they work, but they're rather unreliable, in extreme circumstances.

That said, I carry both. I use the firesteel as my primary source of ignition, and rarely touch my lighter, except to check that it is still in working order.
 
Some of the arguments here in favor of the firesteel are rather dubious to say the least.

Such as the "wind proof" argument...
If the wind is blowing so hard that you can't keep a match or lighter lit, then I seriously doubt that you're going to be able to ignite your tinder with a firesteel.
It would be smarter to either move to somewhere less windy or construct a shelter from the wind.

The water-proof argument...
It is true, the firesteel is water-proof.
But you can easily put matches or a Bic in a water-proof container so there's really no advantage here either.


The best argument in favor of firesteel that I've heard so far is this one:
...there are places I go that matches and lighters are verbotten. No one pays attention to the firesteel on my keyring.
Click to expand...
 
scenario: It's raining and windy, but you find something to burn - although it's not really dry enough - and you get it behind a rock or something, as much shelter you can get from the wind.
How do you light it? A flare? Petrol/gasoline? A lot of Vaseline-soaked cotton balls?
Click to expand...

scenario: It's raining and windy, and there is nothing dry to burn - the locals use up most of it anyway, and you can't get out of the wind. Maybe you have a plastic tarp or a space blanket, but there's nothing to tie it to.
What do you do? Wrap yourself in the tarp and hope the weather gets better?
Click to expand...

The answer:
You need better shelter, and fast.

So you need to either move to better shelter or build a better shelter.
After all, even if you manage to get a fire going, you're still sitting behind a rock in the cold wind and rain trying to maintain a feeble fire.
You would be better off out of the wind and rain even if you did not have a fire.
As long as you're in the wind and rain, you're at risk of hypothermia, fire or no fire.
 
You don't see the argument that a lighter is a mechanical device that can fail? IMO that is the biggest advantage of the firesteel over the lighter.

The firesteel is a passive device with no moving parts which in my mind means much more reliable. Also as I said before the heart of a lighter is a ferrocium flint which has all the drawbacks of a firesteel, with the added short comings of all the things already listed.

As far as the waterproofness of the firesteel being mitigated by simply putting matches or a lighter in a waterproof container, I don't think so. It requires another piece of gear, the waterproof container, and another failure point, the waterproof container, that you simply do not have to worry about with a firesteel. Chris

EDIT: A firesteel is much more windproof than a bic, the wind, unless gail force, can actually help me light my tender bundle with a spark, not so with a lighter.
 
You don't see the argument that a lighter is a mechanical device that can fail? IMO that is the biggest advantage of the firesteel over the lighter.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it is possible that it could fail...but I've been carrying the humble Bic lighter for over fifteen years and I've never had one break or fail due to a mechanical malfunction....maybe I've just been lucky.
I've carried and used them in nearly every climate and never had any problems, from winter in Korea to summer in Iraq.


A firesteel is much more windproof than a bic, the wind, unless gail force, can actually help me light my tender bundle with a spark, not so with a lighter.
Click to expand...
:rolleyes:
 
allenC said:
Yeah, it is possible that it could fail...but I've been carrying the humble Bic lighter for over fifteen years and I've never had one break or fail due to a mechanical malfunction....maybe I've just been lucky.
I've carried and used them in nearly every climate and never had any problems, from winter in Korea to summer in Iraq.


:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Allen,

I really don't know what your problem is, I too have used a bic almost everyday. I have no idea what Iraq or Korea has to do with fire making devices but if it matters I have been to those places as well and too many more to mention and yes bics work there as well.

When I need to light something on fire a bic is generally what I reach for first, I also have a firesteel in case the bic fails because a firesteel won't. You can roll your eyes all you want, a hot spark is much more wind resistant than a weak flame, that is fact, not my opinion.

If you chose to buy stock in bic and depend on them for your every fire making need I hope they continue to be as reliable, I will continue to carry a firesteel. Chris
 
Hey Guys...

Good arguments have been given on both sides.

A firesteel has been proven many times over to be the better of the technology for many obvious reasons..

Theres nothing wrong with either, use what you feel comfortable with. I don't think theres much more to be said about about the subject without starting to argue about it...

I've had Alot of dead lighters in my life, however I've never had a dead firesteel...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
This :rolleyes: was in reference to this remark:
A firesteel is much more windproof than a bic, the wind, unless gail force, can actually help me light my tender bundle with a spark, not so with a lighter.
Click to expand...
Are you actually saying that winds below "gail force" actually HELP you start a fire with a firesteel?

Again...:rolleyes:
 
runningboar said:
Yes, that is actually what I am saying. Chris
Click to expand...

And exactly what MPH do you find most helpful?
10mph?
20mph?
30mph?

So if you were on a flatbed truck cruising 30mph down the road, you would actually be able to start a fire, using the firesteel, easier than if you were not rolling at all?

Right.
Gotcha.
:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
I would say about 27.4 MPH, depending on the tender tinder I am using.

You ever blow on a coal to coax a flame, or fan it with your hat, or maybe just hold your tender ball up and let the wind do it for you, I guess not. Chris
 
It was a joke, but if you really want to know, I don't know for sure never measured the wind speed, but I'll bet charcloth will catch a spark and burn like crazy with that much wind. Chris
 
You ever blow on a coal to coax a flame, or fan it with your hat, or maybe just hold your tender ball up and let the wind do it for you, I guess not. Chris
Click to expand...
Of course I have.
Probably everyone on this forum has at some time or another.
But that's a heck of a lot different than trying to start a fire in 20mph winds.

Anyway, all joking aside, my point was that some folks overplay the "firesteel is wind-proof" factor.
Yes, it is wind-proof in that there is no flame to "blow out".
But no, just because you have a firesteel that does not mean that you will be able to start a fire in a windstorm.

Just like most of you guys here, I've used a wide variety of firemaking devices and techniques (and I'm still learning) but I can safely say that making a fire in high winds sucks no matter what you're using.
And I think that it's just a little misleading to claim "you can't make a fire with matches or a Bic in high winds, but you can with firesteel".
That's all.
 
allenC said:
"you can't make a fire with matches or a Bic in high winds, but you can with firesteel".
That's all.
Click to expand...

I never said that and never meant to imply it either, I agree with everything else you said in your last post.

The be all end all fire starter has not, to my knowledge, been invented, in trying conditions it is your skill that gets a fire. Chris
 
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