This little guy can make lots of sparks many times over. However, you need to practice to get the motion right. It isn't like striking a match, and it helps if you understand how it works. It is like a flint and steel, only the flint is replaced with magnesium (which is in flint). The striker, when you drive it down the shaft of the rod, propels off tiny magnesium particles which ignite in the air due to heat caused by friction. This being said, you need to use a firm, fast stroke. It must scrape off lots of particles, and also have enough energy to ignite them. It doesn't need to be incredibly fast, so practice getting it steady and strong first, then you can add more speed, which will cause more friction, which will create more sparks.
This is also different from a match because a match burns for a while. These sparks exist for a half second, during which time they must ignite something. With this in mind, you need a good tinder to get it to catch. I keep a little bag of dryer lint (which there is no shortage of in this country) with me, because I think it is the best tinder. However, tissue, toilet paper, and other such very light material will work very well, especially if you shred it. It might take a few strokes to catch newspaper, very dry birch bark or leaves, but shred them and experiment. (If you have one of those magnesium fire starter blocks that you shave bits off of, that works great with this)
This thing is also a lot of fun to use. Feels very manly and makes cool sparks. I definitely recommend it and will buy some for my friends who I am going backpacking with. It could've been five stars, but I wanted to emphasize that its different than matches, and takes some skill and practice.
| Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 6.5 x 3.9 x 1 inches |
|---|---|
| Package Weight | 0.15 Pounds |
| Brand Name | Light my Fire |
| Country of Origin | Sweden |
| Color | Oak |
| Material | Oak |
| Part Number | 177350 |
| Sport Type | Camping & Hiking |
