This was my first experience with lifeboat matches--and they didn't do what I expected--so I purchased an expensive pack of NATO-spec lifeboat matches for comparison. Lifeboat matches are not the paper book matches, nor are they the ordinary kitchen matches. When the match head compound burns down--that's the end of your match! I verified this with an expensive ten-pack of lifeboat matches. Once lit, the Fantastic Wind and Waterproof Survival Match does continue to flame and spark.
As part of a fire-starting kit these are excellent and an outstanding value. Keep your matches dry!
On the other hand, you have to make a fire in reverse order. A fire starts when you strike the match, then apply match to tender, then the tender lights the small fuel and that lights the main fuel supply. Fire is Man's original Weapon of Mass Destruction--it will grow like a living creature and you can easily lose control over your fire; the summer wild-fire season is a constant reminder of fire's destructive potential. When you need a fire, you need the entire works: a contained place for your fire, fuel, a bridge between tinder and fuel, the tinder to catch and amplify your ignition source, and a spark.
These matches provide the spark. I've timed them from 7 to 12 seconds. Build your fire first, then get REAL close to the tinder and light your match. Immediately use the match to ignite the tinder. The tinder will set fire to your bridge fuel and cause the main fuel supply to heat up to ignition temperatures, to give off flammable vapors. I make it sound complicated--it is the original rocket science--but it is actually simple. Sometimes you don't need tinder when your bridge fuel (a heat tab) will do both jobs. Sometimes your main fuel supply is liquid, as in many lanterns and stoves.
The Rule of Three is to carry three ignition sources at all times. These matches are one--and may work when the butane lighter or metal match fail. A fire-starting kit will include tinder and possibly some sort of bridge fuel--and several good ones are on the market. Or you can pick lint from your pocket. Scrap paper can be both tinder and bridge--if your fuel is suitable.
Whatever you get, exercise your kit first. That's where this product shines--cheap enough you can expend half in practice and keep the rest in your fire starting kit. Just having matches doesn't make a fire. Matches START fires--but a pack of 20 lifeboat matches will make only a small, short-lived fire on its own. Think in terms of systems--and don't forget: CONTROL YOUR FIRE! A small fire to warm yourself, purify water and heat food (cooking takes a LOT of fuel and time!) is enough. For signaling, you need either lots of smoke or you need to place your bright fire in the open where it can be seen. Matches just start fires.
| Brand Name | Avidexia |
|---|---|
| Color | yellow |
