Need help with my PSK

nydude said:
Why wouldn’t he just ad a small lighter….shouldn’t firesteel be the backup?
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This is a PSK, lighters suck for that because after being stored and rattled around they will lose their gas. I carry a lighter in mine, I also carry two firesteels, a fresnal lens, NATO matches, and a magnesium bar. I will give up the lighter first! If I lose it I have lost the ability to make less than a hundred fires, if I lose a firesteel I have lost the ability to make 10,000 fires.
Any questions?
 
Ok, so I've been thinking about this quite a bit. First, I don't want this to get too big, but I also want something I can carry that is has more capabilities for a day hike. So I decided to make it modular. I just bought this pouch from Maxpedition to hold all the most of the stuff shown in the first post. This will be my pocket sized survival kit.

Next I plan on building another small pack with a tarp, poncho, pocket tent/shelter, and the water bottle and cooking utinsels. This way I can MOLLE the two together.

What do you think?
 
Necrodamus said:
This is a PSK, lighters suck for that because after being stored and rattled around they will lose their gas. I carry a lighter in mine, I also carry two firesteels, a fresnal lens, NATO matches, and a magnesium bar. I will give up the lighter first! If I lose it I have lost the ability to make less than a hundred fires, if I lose a firesteel I have lost the ability to make 10,000 fires.
Any questions?
Click to expand...

wow ok...yeh I have questions.

How many thousand of those fires do you intend to light before every other expendable or breakable part of your PSK is no longer useful? Is it a requirement of PSK fire starters that you be able to pass them on to your grandchildren? :rolleyes:

If you ever in a situation were you need to use your PSK, how many of the 1-3 fires you'll probably need to start could be set more easily with a lighter than a firesteel? Oh, right, all of them.

Thinking as you do, why on earth do you carry matches? They make far fewer fires for their size/weight than any lighter I've ever seen.

Put a zip tie around the button on a bic, or buy a lighter with a cap.
 
Joben said:
wow ok...yeh I have questions.

How many thousand of those fires do you intend to light before every other expendable or breakable part of your PSK is no longer useful? Is it a requirement of PSK fire starters that you be able to pass them on to your grandchildren? :rolleyes:

If you ever in a situation were you need to use your PSK, how many of the 1-3 fires you'll probably need to start could be set more easily with a lighter than a firesteel? Oh, right, all of them.

Thinking as you do, why on earth do you carry matches? They make far fewer fires for their size/weight than any lighter I've ever seen.

Put a zip tie around the button on a bic, or buy a lighter with a cap.
Click to expand...

Look at the size of this kit. Iggyd is going minimal. Its a waste to have a lighter with the limits I have already mentioned when you can have a firestarter that last 1000s of times longer with a backup taking up the same space. There are also other things he could use in that space. Not beating this dead horse anymore.
 
Hey Joben,
I like your kit on your belt that you posted in the WS&S forum. Mind breaking that down here?
 
I think there is an over-reliance on Bics, Crickets and Zippos. This is just my opinion. I think the Bic and the Mini-Bic are great tools and you should have them in there. I know someone posted earlier about losing gas in them while stored in a kit. Just take a micro-sized ziptie and zip it under the fuel tab button, whatever it is called, and you won't lose fuel.

Again, in my opinion, the only reason they are valuable is because you can use them with one hand and that should be the only reason they are included as far as I'm concerned. I just had me brother make me a kydex carrier for a regular sized Bic and a Mini-Bic, so don't think I'm just criticizing the lighter carriers for their choice of gear.

I also carry a Spark-Lite Firestarter for the same reason, I can use it easily if one of my hands or arms is broken.

I think people that won't carry a ferrocerium rod of some kind and either REI Brand Stormproof Matches (1st choice - best) or British Lifeboat NATO Matches (2nd choice - 2nd best) are making a mistake.
 
I'm sorry dude, I didn't mean to start a fiery debate..

My understanding is that this is an emergency kit which can translate to a SAR kit quickly if you happen upon an incident on a trail .

When you have an emergency and your health as well as that of a stranger may be a concern; speed and effectiveness will be important. No matter how good we may become at making fires with a firesteel, if you have an injured party or are loosing light, go ahead and use the lighter. Striking equipment and waterproof matches are excellent and important backup tools.

Further, if you have found yourself in the woods long enough to make over 1,000 fires, it's time to re-evaluate the rescue plan.

As for shelf life... these things last years, and Joban's twist tie / rubber band idea is solid. Also, they are only a dollar, so they can be replaced when you restock the energy bars that should be in the kit anyway.
 
Not to indict anyone in this thread, but the people I have met in real life on the trail, to a person, those that preferred lighters were totally incapable of building a proper fire, anyway. They always ended up lighting the fire with wads of newspaper, using Coleman fuel or charcoal lighter fluid, etc. The point I am trying to make is, you need to learn how to build a "one match fire." That's what my Dad called it anyway. You can light the thing with one regular match because you have prepared your tinder, kindling and larger fuel properly.

The only time when a Bic lighter is a "lifesaver" over a ferrocerium rod is when you have a broken hand or arm. Even then, you can sit on your ass and light a fire with a ferro rod and a knife, but that's another story. 8-)
 
actually when I was growing up thats exactly what we did...
I was given one match to light fires, if I couldn't I had to step aside and let my Dad do it. It took a few times to figure out having everything ready.
Les Stroud once said that once you had "enough" firewood, then make the pile 3 times higher
 
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