Firesteel vs. Bic

[Dan Yeruski]

Easy to use a firesteel with jute twine.

[Dave .]

>>Firesteels are ineffective for lighting some of the required things.

What are you lighting up, dude?

[Brad Groves]

EJ, (and all) any of the firesteels at that goinggear link will work great. They're all the same steel, just differ sizes. I'd recommend not going for the smallest diameter or two, frankly I've broken one. However, the others are great. The strike itself takes a little more technique than a LMF tool, but the sparks are way hotter and better from the goinggear stuff.

[Dave .]

>>There's a reason more Bics are sold!

Yeah, because they're on the counter of every drug store whereas firesteels are specialty items sold mostly to people who actually know something about fire building and who purposefully seek them out.

Fire steel tip: Don't get the really skinny UL ones. Get the slightly thicker ones as they throw more sparks. No point in carrying one if you're mostly going to scrape it away ineffectively.

[Dave .]

Brad, we cross-posted the same tip at the same time. Nice!

[Dave .]

These aren't bics or firesteels, but they are pretty sweet.

http://www.kmmatchcase.com/

I'm thinking or ditching my bic for one of these.

[Bailey Gin]

For a spark generator I prefer the Ozark Trail lantern lighter at Wal-Mart. Easy to use, replaceable flints, very accurate spark placement and moves my fingers/hand a bit away of whatever I'm trying to ignite.

Firesteels: I like the "softer", ones like what's on the Doan's Magnesium firestarter and the rod I salvaged from a Ultimate Survival Sparkie Fire Starter. From either I can get a decent spark using only a 1/4 inch of the rod with little pressure effort. The "harder" ones like from goinggear.com takes about 7/8 inch with more pressure effort to spark…but does seem to give bigger longer burning sparks.

b.gin

[Kathleen B]

Tom – take a look at Brad's link to goinggear's firesteels. The 1/4" X 3" one, plus postage, is a little over $4. For a striker, if you don't want to use your knife, carry a really short saw blade (about 3") that fits into an electric drill.

[jim draucker]

Hello all

The Boy Scout version of striker is cheap and very light:)

I have a question about mini bic. I have seen but been unable to find this item. It is small rubber/ plactic , cup/socket
thingy that a bic will slide into. It has a hole on the end to allow bic to be put on keychain , lanyard etc. Any ideas.

Thanks Jim

[Dustin F]

>Which one?

Any of the rods which are labeled Ferro, just pick a size you want. The smallest they offer is hard to use, I think I have the bobcat, no handle.

[Buck Nelson]

>>There's a reason more Bics are sold!

>Yeah, because they're on the counter of every drug store whereas firesteels are specialty items sold mostly to people who actually know something about fire building and who purposefully seek them out.

The reasons that Bics are on the drug store counters is that they are simple to use, cheap and effective. Bic claims they sell 5 million a day.

The vast majority of people who "actually know something about fire building" will choose a Bic over a fire steel for the same reason: they are easy to use and effective.

People should use whatever they want for starting fires. Personally, I'm confident that I can start a fire with a Bic in real-world conditions, including soaking wet wilderness conditions, because I've done it many times.

[W I S N E R !]

">>There's a reason more Bics are sold!"

I think cigarettes and weed account for more Bic sales than fire building…

[john Tier]

Jim,

I have for many years hung a bic on the dummy cord to my belt loop….Easiest thing in the world is to take a 1 inch strip of duct tape and a safety pin… Put the head of the pin in the torn off corner of a small plastic bag… Place the closed pin, with loop extending past the end of the lighter… Wrap the length of tape around both…Add the dummy cord and you are done.

Bonuses:

Pin is available to lance a blister, if needed in a survival spot.

Pin is available to secure anything that needs securing, missing button, snap, torn etc.

Duct tape is avail for blister cover, to close a wound of hold a bandage, Also it will secure a hiking pole that is collapsing from a worn out section tightener. Etc. Etc.

Pan

[John S.]

Why put the head of the pin in the torn off corner of a small plastic bag? I'm not understanding that part.

[Dustin F]

Better carry your BIC in a ziploc bag, wet wheels dont spark or barely spark. Have fun with it in a downpour, I do when trying to light my cigarettes. :)

[john Tier]

John,

By essentially wraping the head end of the safety pin in plastic the gummy stuff of the duct tape does not transfer, thus I don't have to put up with it if the pin is ever used "for other uses" in an emergency.

Pan

[A D]

I use a firesteel most of the time. I think the reason people have issues lighting natural tinder with them is lack of technique. I see people flicking them with the striker as though trying to use flint and steel.

I use the back of my knife blade on the ferro rod, as though trying to carve a sliver off it. This hard, controlled movement produces great sparks. Flicking it quickly will just give you a pretty display of sparks.
Once you get the technique, you can even light feather sticks with them.

Someone mentioned the firebow as an alternative… I've lit quite a few fires with this method, but have found that if there is even a hint of humidity, the ember doesn't ignite. Certainly wouldn't want to rely on it as my primary method.

[Buck Nelson]

>>Better carry your BIC in a ziploc bag, wet wheels dont spark or barely spark. Have fun with it in a downpour, I do when trying to light my cigarettes. :)

I do carry at least one of my Bics where they'll stay dry. And I don't light fires in a downpour unless the tinder is protected from the rain!

Seems like Bics are pretty easy to dry out. I've done it many times. I just soaked a Bic and had it going in 10 seconds. See the video mentioned in the original post.

To me it's sort of like down vs synthetic bags. Yes, a case can be made for dire circumstances where synthetic is better. Personally, I am going to use down because for me it works better and gets the job done and I have faith in my ability to keep it dry or to deal with the consequences of getting it wet.

[Taeji Nedilsky]

Careful with that Ozark Trail lighter! Been known to leak and flare. Others have found that the trigger breaks, so it becomes unusable.

While it's attractive to have the reach to light a flame beneath and within tinder and kindling, I find a lot of barbeque-type lighters to be flimsy. And, of course, more bulky and heavier than Bics.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml99/99088.html
http://www.moshannonfalls.com/ozark-trail-windresistant-lighter-fail/

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