Survival Fire Starter Tool.

[OneBadV8]

Bic lighter... OK you don't have that for some reason, waterproof matches... OK you don't have that for some reason... why are you making this so hard on yourself? :-) A ferro rod... though why you would have that and not a bic or matches is beyond me.

Also make sure you have the biggest knife you can find. It needs a 15" long blade made of unobtanium and weight at least 5lbs. Anything else will get you killed!

Sorry for being a bit cheeky, but I feel like people way overthink "survival" stuff. Having worked S.A.R. in the Pacific Northwest, staying warm and dry is usually all you really need to worry about. Next is hydration. Don' trouble yourself with food. You will either be rescued or die from something else before you starve to death... unless you deliberately get lost in Alaska... again, why are you making this so hard on yourself?

I think a lot of the draw to ferro rods is because they're also more waterproof than the other options.

 

[NoAdmiration]

Harbor Freight $1.49

Burns at 5,600° It will light wet wood on fire.

View attachment 378130

Honest question, have you ever gotten one of these to actually make a fire? I never could get the cheap ones to work. The ferro part works OK, so just get a ferro rod and save the magnesium for improvised redacted.

 

[teddy12b]

I think a lot of the draw to ferro rods is because they're also more waterproof than the other options.

I think the other part of the appeal of a ferro rod is the idea of a broken or incapacitated lighter for whatever reason. So if the lighter is wet (easy to fix), or plastic handle is broken or out of gas or whatever, there's a different method of fire starting that's redundant. As much as I've used a ferro rod I don't think it's much slower than using a bic. I think the quality of the fire you get going has more to do with tinder and materials than it does whatever causes the spark or flame. There's a time and place for both and that's why I carry both.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I think a lot of the draw to ferro rods is because they're also more waterproof than the other options.

And I dont think anyone is saying NOT to carry a lighter. Just have something else as a backup for WHEN that doesnt work.

 

[OneBadV8]

What they both said

 

[Creedmoor]

Honest question, have you ever gotten one of these to actually make a fire? I never could get the cheap ones to work. The ferro part works OK, so just get a ferro rod and save the magnesium for improvised redacted.

Yes, first time as a kid with my brother and dad. More times in USMC cold weather training.
You shave a small pile of shavings the size of a quarter to a half dollar and with a spark it will dam near light a wet stump on fire.

 

[NoAdmiration]

Yes, first time as a kid with my brother and dad. More times in USMC cold weather training.
You shave a small pile of shavings the size of a quarter to a half dollar and with a spark it will dam near light a wet stump on fire.

I must just be unlucky with the Harbor Freight ones.