Fire Starters

What counts as a fire starter

A lighter makes a flame from fuel. A fire starter makes heat some other way and hands it to tinder. That's the whole family, and it splits into a few kinds:

• Ferro rod: a rod of ferrocerium you scrape to throw hot sparks
• Magnesium block with a ferro rod: shave magnesium first, then spark it
• Fire piston: a sealed tube that heats air by squeezing it fast
• Flint and steel: the old way, steel struck on a hard stone
• Kit: a sparking tool packed with tinder and sometimes extras
• Strikeable tinder and storm matches: fuel that lights itself off a striker

The table on this page lists them together, sorted by the rule in the box above it. For each one it shows the type, rod length and diameter where there's a rod, whether a striker and tinder come in the package, the handle material, the weight, the pack count and whether the maker says it works wet. The maker's figures come first and the Amazon listing's fill gaps (marked as listing values), except weight. When neither states something, you get a dash.

Real talk: most fire-starter trouble isn't the tool. It's the tinder. Keep that in mind for every section below.

How to choose a fire starter

Here's what actually separates one listing from the next, in the order I'd check it at the kitchen table.

Type decides the skill you need

The type column matters more than anything else on the row. A ferro rod is the most forgiving: strike it, sparks land, tinder catches. A magnesium block adds a step, because you shave a pile first. A fire piston asks for special tinder and a firm, quick push. Flint and steel is the hardest of the lot and mostly a hobby now.

Pick the type for how much practice you'll actually do. If the honest answer is "one evening in the backyard," that's a ferro rod.

Rod diameter and length set how long it lasts and how fast it sparks

On rod-type starters, the table shows both. A thicker rod has more metal to scrape off, so it lasts more strikes. A longer rod gives a longer stroke, and one rod maker's guide says to drag the striker along the full length for the most sparks. Makers rate their own rods in strikes, and those numbers aren't measured the same way from brand to brand. The details are on the ferro rod page.

A striker in the package saves your knife

The table marks whether a striker is included. Without one, you strike with the spine of a knife, which is how a knife maker's fire-starting guide shows it. That works, but it means your knife and your fire starter have to be together every time. A striker on a lanyard is one less thing to forget. Ask me how I know.

Tinder included is a convenience, not a fire

Kits often come with tinder, and the table shows which ones do. Some tools hold it inside the handle, in a capsule the maker may call sealed or waterproof, sized for a few tinder tabs or cotton balls.

That built-in tinder is your emergency supply. It's usually small, so carry more. The fire starter kit page covers the packaged sets.

Works wet is the maker's claim

The table's Works wet column says yes only when the maker says so. It's a claim, not a test. More on what it covers below, under waterproof fire starters.

Handle material is about grip in gloves

Handles in this group come in wood, paracord, G10 and plastic, and the table shows which one each listing uses. You're pulling a rod against a striker with cold hands, so a handle you can hold hard matters. Paracord also doubles as cordage; that's a nice bonus, not a reason to buy.

Weight and pack count

Weight shows up in ounces where the maker lists it. Most of these are light enough that it only matters for backpackers counting every ounce. Pack count tells you how many units are in the box. A two-pack means one for the hunting pack and one for the truck, which is how I'd use it. (Renee says I've never owned one of anything. Renee is correct.)

Spark temperature is a number from the box

Spark temperature is listed in the table when the maker or the listing gives it. It's a maker claim, and most rods quote a similar figure, so it rarely decides anything. Your tinder doesn't care about the last few hundred degrees.

Which fire starter type fits which camp

Ferro rods for most people

A ferrocerium rod throws sparks when you scrape it with a hard edge. One rod maker's guide says rain, cold, snow, heat and even submersion don't affect it, and you can use it down to the core. The catch, as the same guide puts it, is that the sparks have to light another material to make a flame. That's why this is a tool and tinder, never just a tool.

The ferro rod page goes deep on diameter, length, strikers and technique.

Magnesium blocks for wet wood and wind

A magnesium starter is a block of magnesium with a sparking rod along one edge. Mother Earth News describes the routine: shave magnesium into a pile about the size of a quarter, hold the tool within an inch of it at roughly 45 degrees, and strike. In wind, shave the pile into a small depression so it doesn't blow away. The shavings burn hot and fast, so the tinder has to be ready before you strike.

Gun Digest notes a related difference in rods themselves. Softer rods with more magnesium throw burning flakes that can even light paper, but they're harder to aim and wear faster. The magnesium fire starter page has the specifics.

Fire pistons for the patient

A fire piston works on compression. Alderleaf Wilderness College explains that slamming the piston into a tight cylinder heats the trapped air enough to light tinder sitting in the piston's tip. You withdraw it right away so the tiny coal gets air, then move the coal into a bigger tinder bundle and blow it to flame.

It needs tinder that lights at low temperature, like char cloth. Regular cotton won't hold an ember. The fire piston page covers the rest.

Flint and steel for the history buffs

Traditional flint and steel works the opposite way from a ferro rod. Per Wikipedia's ferrocerium entry, the hard flint knocks tiny bits of iron off the steel, while a ferro rod is the part that sheds the burning bits. The "flint" in a cigarette lighter is actually ferrocerium. So a lot of products sold as "flint fire starters" are ferro rods with an old name.

Kits, strikeable tinder and storm matches

A kit bundles a sparking tool with tinder and sometimes a whistle or a pouch. Strikeable tinder skips the sparking step entirely. One maker sells sugarcane-fiber sticks soaked in vegetable wax that light off the box, and rates each one at up to 7 minutes of flame.

Storm matches sit at the edge of this group. One maker says its stormproof matches burn up to 15 seconds and stay lit even after being dunked. Those are maker claims, and they're still matches, so they run out. Bulk tinder and matches have their own home on the fire starter sticks page.

Tinder is half the fire starter

Every type above ends the same way: a small heat source meets something that catches. A rod maker's guide lists dried grasses, birch bark, inner tree bark and very fine wood shavings. A knife maker's guide adds dryer lint. Another maker suggests cotton balls with petroleum jelly set on top of fatwood shavings. That last one is the kind of thing I'd put in a film canister and forget about until the day it saves the evening.

Build it in order: tinder, then pencil-thin twigs, then thumb-thick sticks, then real wood. Have all of it within reach before you strike. The knife maker's advice is to keep the tinder in a nice pile and make sure you have enough, which is the most underrated sentence in fire starting.

Walt's take: "Fire is a match and some patience." He's not wrong, he's just describing the dry days.

Waterproof fire starter: what the claim covers

When a maker says a fire starter works wet, it usually means the spark maker does. A ferrocerium rod doesn't care about water, per that rod maker's guide, and Mother Earth News says a wet magnesium tool just needs drying off. Neither of those makes wet tinder light.

So a waterproof fire starter is really three things:

• A spark source that shrugs off water, like a ferro rod
• Tinder kept dry, in a sealed capsule, a zip bag or a tin
• Tinder that tolerates damp, like waxed sticks the maker rates for damp conditions

Mother Earth News also notes that damp wood can work, but soaking-wet wood won't. The fix in November rain is the same as always: split wood to reach the dry middle and start small.

Set up and care for a fire kit

A fire starter in the garage drawer lights nothing. Here's how I'd set one up.

1. Practice at home first. The knife maker's guide recommends learning before you need it, and the first few strikes are the clumsy ones.
2. Use the pull-back method. Hold the striker still and pull the rod back, per that guide and Off Grid. That keeps sparks on the tinder.
3. Pack tinder in a sealed bag or tin, and more than you think.
4. Keep the striker tied to the rod with a lanyard.
5. Put one in each pack and one in the truck. (That is three fire starters for one guy. I counted.)

On a tool with a replaceable rod, the maker sells refills and the rod threads out when it wears down. On a fixed rod, the whole tool is done when the rod is.

The camp joke is that Walt still calls me "the kid" because I need three ways to light one fire. I'm 44. The fire doesn't know that.

Fire starter safety

Sparks and embers land where they want, not where you aimed. Strike on cleared ground, keep water and a shovel within reach, and never leave a fire unattended.

Smokey Bear's campfire guide asks for a spot at least 15 feet from tents and brush, a 10-foot circle cleared of anything that burns, and overhead clearance at least three times the flame height. Use an existing fire ring if there is one, never start a fire with flammable liquid, and don't burn in dry or windy weather. To put it out: drown it, stir it, drown it again, and check with the back of your hand. Dirt alone is not enough. The National Park Service adds that gray coals can hold heat for hours and flare back up in wind, so don't sleep or leave until it's cold.

Keep fire starters, matches and lighters away from children, as match makers' own safety notes say. Store them in the fire kit, not in a kid's coat pocket.

Campfire rules and burn bans vary by state and by property. Check your state wildlife agency or the land manager before the trip.

Who should skip a fire starter

If your camp has a woodstove, a box of matches and a lighter by the door, you don't need a ferro rod for the cabin. A fire starter earns its spot in packs that leave the truck: day hikes to a far stand, backcountry trips, the bag that lives behind the seat. If you'll never practice with one, skip it and carry two lighters instead; a tool you've never used is a bad thing to learn in the rain.

My one opinion on this page: carry a fire starter as the backup to your lighter, not instead of it. A knife maker's fire-starting guide gives the reason. Lighters run out of fuel and struggle in high wind, matches crumble and get wet, and a ferro rod has neither problem but needs prepared tinder and a little skill. Two methods cover each other's weak spots.

Pack it, practice it, keep the tinder dry. Then go back to arguing about whose turn it is to haul the firewood.