Magnesium Flint Firesteel Fire Starter Kit - Perfect for Outdoor Survival

Josh S.: Good value product which produces a good spark shower... However the picture was a little misleading. Its a very tiny thin ferro rod which is mounted in the long rod protruding from the handle. The ferro rod is the full length but its only probably 1/8in diameter and of course you can only strike the one side facing out.

Still, like I said, works well. Just won't last forever since the rod is a small diameter.

United States on Nov 08, 2015

CaptainBasic: So sometimes you have to eat your words. This is one of those cases. I originally gave this thing 1 star because the ferro rod portion was about 3/16' diameter and was glued onto what I thought was aluminium. Turns out I'm just ignorant about what I was buying. The word is that this is not aluminium but magnesium. Which, when shaved into a pile, will ignite. I stand corrected on that point. I still think the ferro rod portion is a bit small but at least it is what it said it is. The ferro rod does work. I haven't tested the magnesium bit yet. :-). My original review follows, for your amusement:

Not as advertised. Picture is not accurate. YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE RIPPED OFF. Previously, I purchased some fire steels and the entire rod is fire steel. These had the rod made out of aluminium with a very small (1/8 inch or 3 mm) fire steel glued onto it in a little channel. For the price I'm honestly not surprised BUT it's really misleading to advertise it as a fire steel, showing a picture that looks like a normal fire steel and then send something far inferior. Just be honest.

United States on Sep 22, 2015

Ehren E. Turner: This is a consumable product designed to be too simple to fail, though one could easily fail to use it properly if one expected too little of it. The outer anodized coating is not flammable, so it won't actually work until you've scraped it, hard, a few times. It gets easier once you're through the coating. This firesteel is actually two alloys-- magnesium on one side to create a filings to mix with your tinder, and a sparking side to ignite it. While you could start a fire using only the sparking side, it could be a challenge. There are single-alloy steels out there, and ones with much more magnesium, but none I know of for so small a price. For a genuine survival-situation fire starter, this is good. It's cheap, light, simple, and works.

United States on Mar 28, 2014

S H: Overall diameter is 7/16 inch and the majority is magnesium with a ferrocerium rod that is about 1/8 inch diameter recessed into the top. The rods are 3 inches long and 4 1/8 inches overall length. Striker is adequate. You will need to scrape the paint off before you will get good spark. I have about 300 strikes one and am past halfway. I now scrape magnesium with the strikes I take but it is not an issue. Remember these are $1.52 ea. shipped. If I lose I won't cry like losing a $20, $40, or the $110 ferrocerium monster. Surprisingly, the handle has stayed tight. These make great gifts and I don't expect them to last for ever. I'm likely lose it or give it away before I'll wear it out. I wanted the combination of magnesium and ferrocerium at a rock bottom price without having to by a 1000 of the things. Doesn't replace a quality rod but is a good supplement rod and gift.

United States on Mar 28, 2014

Charles M. Bonanno: The Good... it works and it's cheap. You can buy many larger, and certainly more expensive magnesium fire steel starters, but it's hard to improve on such a basic device. The price is low enough to guarantee you'll squirrel one away in every conceivable location rather than carry around a much more expensive unit that you're bound to leave behind along when it really counts.

The Bad... expect to spend ten minutes or more removing tough paint off the magnesium bar before it's usable. I'd hate to ever be in make a fire or freeze to death scenario and have to waste time scrapping it clean.

United States on Jan 31, 2014