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Customers most agreed on the following attributes:
from garland, maine on 7/22/2008
This will replace my StrikeForce in my pack. I've had the StrikeForce for years, but it's large and heavy. This is a perfect replacement for it in my pack. I'll retire my StrikeForce for campground and home use only.
from Upstate, NY on 7/14/2008
The Swedish Fire Steel fire starter comes in three models:
* The Mini model is available in orange, weighs .5 oz., is 3 inches long and is rated for approximately 1500 uses.
* The Scout model is available in red, weighs 1 oz., is 3 inches long and is rated for approximately 3000 uses.
* The Army model is available in black, weighs 2 oz., is 3 3/4 inches long and is rated for approximately 12,000 uses.
The fire starter consists of a steel striker and a composite metal rod attached together on a lanyard to keep everything together. The metal rod is composed of ferrocerium, an alloy of iron and mischmetal (primarily cerium) and iron. When you first get your Fire Steel it will have a clear protective coating on the metal to prevent corrosion, simply scrape this coating off before first use.
The fire starter produces numerous hot (5,400 degree F) sparks when the attached striker is stroked along the main shaft. The sparks lodge in tinder (not included) and voila! Fire!
Having good tinder is key to the success of this process. My favorite tinders are cotton balls saturated with petroleum jelly or a few shreds of birchbark. In fact, my fire kit now includes a small ziploc bag with both items. One technique to keep your tinder from scattering when striking is to hold the striker still and pull the shaft upwards or away from the tinder so that you can create sparks without scatting the tinder.
Starting a fire with a Swedish Fire Steel
1. Build your fire platform/layout and organize your tinder into a pile. Have additional tinder and small kindling available.
2. Holding the striker in one hand and the Fire Steel rod with the other hand make contact with the striker at an angle to the rod over the tinder.
3. Using some force to keep the striker and rod engaged, pull the “slowly down” with the thumb of hand holding the Fire Steel
-easely lights fire
-small and light
from Bridgton, Maine on 1/2/2008
This little piece of equipment really throws a spark! Great to have tucked away with the camping gear- you never know what your going to get for weather- and this is a very reliable firestarter.
It's almost weightless, though, so zip it in a pouch or something so it doesn't get lost amongst your gear.
from New Hampshire on 7/8/2007
The Light My Fire fire starter is the best spark-maker I have seen. All you need is some fluffy material like lint, cotton wool, shredded paper, leaves, grass or similar and you WILL GET A FLAME! I Simply make a small nest of fuzz/paper/leaves and strike the sparks into it. The walls of the nest catch after 2-3 strikes. I Blow softly to feed the flame then turn the nest over gently and place under my kindling. It works in any weather conditions and can also be used to signal for help. I have two-one on me and one in my fire-kit. I've tried dozens of other fire starters in my career and this is absolutely the best. It is trusted by many professionals who need a reliable fire starting method. These are used by Bear Grylls on Man vs Wild. Once you try it, you won't trust anything else.