Warning: My $40 magnesium fire starter left me shivering in the rain for 45 minutes

Tried using a cheap magnesium rod from Amazon on a damp Washington evening last fall and it took 37 strikes just to get a weak spark that died before touching the tinder, has anyone else found that the price jump to a ferrocerium rod actually makes a difference in wet conditions?

3 comments

3 Comments

nina_campbell24d ago

...and honestly that price jump isn't always the answer either. I got a nice ferro rod from a local outdoors store last year and had it fail on me too when my hands were too cold to hold it steady. The real trick I've found is carrying a tiny piece of fatwood or a vaseline cotton ball in a waterproof case, then you don't even need a perfect spark every time. My buddy swears by those electric arc lighters but they're way too finicky for real wet weather, just more things to break in the field.

ray_campbell4623d ago

Yeah I used to be one of those people who thought you had to spend big on gear to make it work but honestly @nina_campbell made me rethink that whole approach. I bought a pricey ferro rod last year and still had to fumble with it for ten minutes in the drizzle before I got a spark that actually caught. Now I just keep a few vaseline soaked cotton balls stuffed in a pill bottle with my regular lighter and call it good. That cheap magnesium rod taught me the hard way that prep matters way more than the tool itself.

morgan_martinez23d ago

Man I gotta say I think yall are overthinking this whole fire starting thing. Ive been camping my whole life and I just carry a Bic lighter in my pocket, works every time, even when its wet. That whole ten minute struggle with a ferro rod sounds like a pain, and I aint got time for that. I mean if you're really out there surviving, sure pack the fancy stuff, but for a weekend trip it just aint that serious.