Ultimate Survival Technologies BlastMatch Fire Starter

Ultimate Survival Technologies BlastMatch Fire Starter
List Price: $8.25
Price: $15.25
Updated on 4-17-2012.

Product Description
I use ferrocerium rod based fire starting heavily. I start my charcoal grill without paper or starter fluid with these rods. They work well - if you know how to use them. They will not start a charcoal briquette directly for instance. This product has a great idea behind it - to start a fire using gross motor skills, one handed. This means that if you are hurt, cold and tired you can still use it. Great idea. The problem is, the plastic case is weak and in cold, brittle. I have had two of these in less than a year. The first died after being dropped on a rock while I was on a light day hike. I took it out to show it to a buddy, and with my butter fingers, dropped it. The case cracked and the spring went awry and the whole works came out. Busted. Now the ferro rod inside still works, but only two handed now, one hand to hold and the other to scrape. Get it if you want it but I'm hoping for a more Murphy proof. I figure that a survival tool should handle a dolt dropping it more than once. Erg

The BlastMatch is a unique one-handed fire starter that generates intensely hot sparks with minimal effort.