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The KSF Fire Kit video review
- Thread starter TwinBlade
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2008
- Messages
- 9,491
Great review Jeff!
Big Mike brought out his kit on Tuesday and I gave it a try. The coated paper and cotton pads do burn for a long time! The sissal takes a spark very well, and if you take the time to fluff that cotton pad up,(not that easy), that will take a spark also.
All and all, its a great lil emergency kit. I would add some PJCB's to mine when I get one, just for ease of use. It's still the quickest to fluff up and take a spark IMO.
Thanks for the review!
Big Mike brought out his kit on Tuesday and I gave it a try. The coated paper and cotton pads do burn for a long time! The sissal takes a spark very well, and if you take the time to fluff that cotton pad up,(not that easy), that will take a spark also.
All and all, its a great lil emergency kit. I would add some PJCB's to mine when I get one, just for ease of use. It's still the quickest to fluff up and take a spark IMO.
Thanks for the review!
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2007
- Messages
- 205
hey twinblade thanks 4 the vidieo very informative
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2007
- Messages
- 9,786
Very good Video twin blades. I've gone to adding a piece of hacksaw blade to my kit, not as a striker (I have a dedicated on of those), but for use as a hacksaw 
I have a bit of mixed feelings on the KSF kit. It is a great little organized piece of gear and I have no fault with how it is built, intended use and certainly really respect KSF. My mixed feeling is that this is reminiscent of so many of those FAKs out there. Lets face it, most of us build and keep a kit exactly like that (maybe without the super case). The real value of self-made kits is that you experiment and use them regularly and know exactly how to use them. In fact, my emergency fire kit seems to undergo a constant evolution, removing and adding new items that I'm testing out or currently like to use, always with a constant eye to add something I think is the best at the time.
However, a majority of folks (and this is no way intended as an insult to the OP who is as good at flint and steel as anyone), who buy this kind of thing are the same ones who buy the delux first aid kit, stick it in their pack, shrink wrap and all, and never actually practice or use the items. Lets face it, a guy who has never used a firesteel will be lucky to be able to get a fire going with one under a survival scenario. They are tricky little buggers that require some technique and practice.
The ironic thing is that pre-made fire kits, survival kits and first aid kits always suffer this problem. The person most likely to buy one of these, because they are convenient, give themselves the false confidence of a gadget geek, believing that whatever magic stuff is in there will get them through. The actual value of a self-made kit is that the person is familiar with every item placed inside of it. That they have a preconceived notion of what those items will be used for and hopefully have practiced and tested those items out before judging them to be robust enough for inclusion. They know because of their level of experience that they can be successful with all of the items they have added. They may have even gone so far as to consider how well they may be able to use certain items when their motor skills or mental acuity is compromised.
As a quick aside, last night during my annual over-nighter camping trip where I teach University students gill netting methods, I took the time between net checks to show them fire skills. They were a group of 16 students between the ages of 20 to 24. All of them in 3rd or 4th year undergrad, well educated and used to being trained by demos as I was doing. Of the 16, 5 were willing to try different fire starting methods I was demonstrating (firesteel, flint & steel and bow drill). Only 1 was able to catch a spark with flint and steel. This was with me standing right next to them coaching them after demonstrating the method to them first. Three of the five were able to get PJCB to flame with a firesteel. Again, this was with me sitting right there and ensuring optimal tinder. I was a bit shocked at a number of things. 1) Less than 1/3 of the students were willing to even try a method. Even though they all crowded around my demos and were talking and seemed to be excited about it. 2) How easily many of them would give up and simply say "I can't do this". The window for giving up seemed to be about 2 minutes. 3) We as a group here on W&SS take a lot for granted in terms of our abilities of muscle coordination and fine motor skills. Okay a lot of these students don't know which way to unscrew a standard thread to tighten or loosen it. A lot of them had a hard time trying to strike a flint accurately. Some had a hard time holding a ferror rod while striking. They clearly were not used to working with their hands in this type of manner.
So one thing I suggest for improvement in an 'everyman's kit' would be adding a mini-bic or one of those little blow torch lighters into the case. After all, that otter box will serve as great protection against mechanical damage and moisture which is the big downfall of a lighter. It is also the thing that most folks have some experience with and will know how to use when the chips are down.
Again - sorry Twinblades for such a long post. I think your review was great and the reason I typed so much here is that your post got me thinking about fire kits!
I have a bit of mixed feelings on the KSF kit. It is a great little organized piece of gear and I have no fault with how it is built, intended use and certainly really respect KSF. My mixed feeling is that this is reminiscent of so many of those FAKs out there. Lets face it, most of us build and keep a kit exactly like that (maybe without the super case). The real value of self-made kits is that you experiment and use them regularly and know exactly how to use them. In fact, my emergency fire kit seems to undergo a constant evolution, removing and adding new items that I'm testing out or currently like to use, always with a constant eye to add something I think is the best at the time.
However, a majority of folks (and this is no way intended as an insult to the OP who is as good at flint and steel as anyone), who buy this kind of thing are the same ones who buy the delux first aid kit, stick it in their pack, shrink wrap and all, and never actually practice or use the items. Lets face it, a guy who has never used a firesteel will be lucky to be able to get a fire going with one under a survival scenario. They are tricky little buggers that require some technique and practice.
The ironic thing is that pre-made fire kits, survival kits and first aid kits always suffer this problem. The person most likely to buy one of these, because they are convenient, give themselves the false confidence of a gadget geek, believing that whatever magic stuff is in there will get them through. The actual value of a self-made kit is that the person is familiar with every item placed inside of it. That they have a preconceived notion of what those items will be used for and hopefully have practiced and tested those items out before judging them to be robust enough for inclusion. They know because of their level of experience that they can be successful with all of the items they have added. They may have even gone so far as to consider how well they may be able to use certain items when their motor skills or mental acuity is compromised.
As a quick aside, last night during my annual over-nighter camping trip where I teach University students gill netting methods, I took the time between net checks to show them fire skills. They were a group of 16 students between the ages of 20 to 24. All of them in 3rd or 4th year undergrad, well educated and used to being trained by demos as I was doing. Of the 16, 5 were willing to try different fire starting methods I was demonstrating (firesteel, flint & steel and bow drill). Only 1 was able to catch a spark with flint and steel. This was with me standing right next to them coaching them after demonstrating the method to them first. Three of the five were able to get PJCB to flame with a firesteel. Again, this was with me sitting right there and ensuring optimal tinder. I was a bit shocked at a number of things. 1) Less than 1/3 of the students were willing to even try a method. Even though they all crowded around my demos and were talking and seemed to be excited about it. 2) How easily many of them would give up and simply say "I can't do this". The window for giving up seemed to be about 2 minutes. 3) We as a group here on W&SS take a lot for granted in terms of our abilities of muscle coordination and fine motor skills. Okay a lot of these students don't know which way to unscrew a standard thread to tighten or loosen it. A lot of them had a hard time trying to strike a flint accurately. Some had a hard time holding a ferror rod while striking. They clearly were not used to working with their hands in this type of manner.
So one thing I suggest for improvement in an 'everyman's kit' would be adding a mini-bic or one of those little blow torch lighters into the case. After all, that otter box will serve as great protection against mechanical damage and moisture which is the big downfall of a lighter. It is also the thing that most folks have some experience with and will know how to use when the chips are down.
Again - sorry Twinblades for such a long post. I think your review was great and the reason I typed so much here is that your post got me thinking about fire kits!
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2008
- Messages
- 3,214
Nice Video Twinblade. Kit looks good. I agree with KGD though that adding an easier to use source of fire would be a good idea. My suggestion would be hurricane matches: straight forward to light, bomb proof in all weather, and would work well in a box (striker could be glued to inside top of box lid). I'd keep a ferrorod or misch metal rod in the kit as well, but for an emergency fire, simple matches rule (Storm, Hurricane, Lifeboat).
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2008
- Messages
- 20,082