Especially as part of your Secondary and Extended EDC, having the ability to start a fire is critical. Fire is one of the basic needs of man as it provides warmth, protection, clean water, and cooked food. When you need it most, being able to start a fire quickly can mean the difference between life and death.
As with any part of everyday carry, depending on the situation you are headed in, you need different gear. Know where you’re going or where you could possibly end up and pick the fire starter that is the most appropriate for what you’re doing (and make sure you have a backup–or two). Use what you like and practice with what you have.
With so many fire-starting options, it can be overwhelming as to which you should pick for each situation. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each fire starting method so you are better educated to figure out what will work for you.
Bic Plastic Lighter
Under ideal conditions, a Bic Lighter can light upwards of 3,000 fires (counting a short flame burst as a light). Simply, it’s a small plastic container filled with pressurized butane gas.
The gas stays pressurized inside the lighter until it turns from gas to liquid by opening the valve. Using your thumb to also rotate a wheel, you create a spark. The spark combined with the gas creates a flame.
Pros:
- There are many steps to fire-making: 1) spark –> 2) ember –> 3) full flame. A Bic Lighter jumps you all the way to Step 3
- It’s lightweight. Depending on the size, a Bic Lighter weighs around 1 ounce
- It’s small. At less than an inch wide and half an inch long, you can throw these in your bag, organizer or car and hardly notice them
- It’s inexpensive.
- You don’t have to have special kindling that will take a spark; just use a handful of dry sticks and you can easily get a fire started
- Even when the lighter is out of fuel, it still can throw a good spark that can ignite a tinder bundle
- You can salvage the flint
- It will not get damaged long-term by being submerged in water
- Easy to use if you find a hand/arm injured
Cons:
- Although simple, Bic Lighters are still mechanical with pieces that have to work together to make a flame. There is a chance that they won’t work because one of the few parts is defective, worn out or broken (we’ve had a few in our lifetime not work right out of the packaging and a few that stopped working after they were in the rotation)
- It will eventually run out of fuel
- Gas can leak out if you accidentally press the gas release button
- In colder temperatures, butane stops vaporizing and remains a liquid (at about 40F/4C). If the gas does not vaporize, it will not escape from the valve and therefore you will be unable to get a flame (you can warm up the lighter with your body heat, but it’s not ideal if you’re in a survival situation and need a fire immediately)
- Any water in the wheel can prevent a spark from forming and waiting for it to dry can take 1+ hours, even in warm temperatures
- If ice forms on the upper part of the lighter, you can’t use it until you thaw it out or unless you can get the ice to pop out or scrape it away
Metal lighter
Similar to the Bic Plastic Lighter above, the MARATAC Stainless Steel and the iconic Zippo lighters are made out of metal instead of plastic. They are refillable versions of their plastic counterparts, which come with their own pros and cons.
Pros:
- If the lighter doesn’t work, you can use the fuel to assist you in lighting a fire with one of your back-up methods
- It’s refillable
- With the three steps to make a fire (spark, ember, full flame), a lighter jumps you all the way to Step 3
- You don’t have to have special kindling that will take a spark; just use a handful of dry sticks and you can easily get a fire started
- Even when the lighter is out of fuel, it still can throw a good spark that can ignite a tinder bundle
- You can salvage the flint
- Easy to use if you find a hand/arm injured
Cons:
- Just like Bic Lighters, the metal lighter is made up of mechanical pieces that can break, wear out or be defective
- You have to remember to fill up or top off the lighter so it’s ready when you need it
- It will eventually run out of fuel
- Gas can leak out or evaporate out if it’s not sealed properly
- In colder temperatures, gas stops vaporizing and remains a liquid
- Any water in the wheel can prevent a spark from forming
Kitchen Matches
Invented in England during the early 1800s, the first wood kitchen matches were named “Lucifers” due to the lighting power they came with. They have changed over the years to become much safer, but it’s also diminished their lighting power.
The term “kitchen matches” is a fairly generic term as there are couple types. It includes:
- The kind that is made out of a cardboard
- Wooden kitchen matches with a green or red tip (what is pictured above)
- Wooden kitchen strike-anywhere matches that have a white tip at the end
Cardboard or wooden kitchen matches are both dependent on a strike pad, so your best bet is a strike-anywhere kitchen match. That’s what we’ll focus on for our pros and cons.
Pros:
- With the three steps to make a fire (spark, ember, full flame), strike-anywhere matches jump you all the way to Step 3
- You don’t have to have special kindling that will take a spark; just use a handful of dry sticks and you can easily get a fire started, although you may need a couple of matches to fully get it going
- Matches are simple to use and fairly easy to master
- Not affected by altitude or temperature
- Easy to use if you find a hand/arm injured
Cons:
- Need to keep them dry; You can dip them in wax as a backup to keep them dry (but in hotter weather, you could easily end up with a waxy mess)
- You can’t really “strike anywhere” as some surfaces will not work
- Strike-anywhere matches are not as readily available anymore (Ohio Blue Tip Match Co. that made the hard-core matches you grew up using are now out of business) but you can find them online or more often in rural areas
- It still takes a little bit of practice to know the technique and materials you need to light it
- In wet/snow/rain conditions, making sure you’re able to find something to get a strike on and keep it lit can take experience and practice
Stormproof Matches
UCO’s Stormproof matches take the kitchen match to a different level. A chemical on the match head makes it easy to ignite and is extended about halfway down the match body, which allows it to burn regardless of the elements (even underwater).
Pros:
- With the three steps to make a fire (spark, ember, full flame), stormproof matches jump you all the way to Step 3
- Much more reliable than kitchen matches
- Store seemingly forever until you need them (no fuel to dry out, like a lighter)
- Simple to use, even with frozen hands
- In conditions of rain/snow/wind, they will stay lit
- Not affected by altitude or temperature
- Easy to use if you find a hand/arm injured
Cons:
- Not “strike anywhere” matches, although they will strike on a variety of surfaces
- Have to be kept dry
- Even though they are fairly fool-proof matches, it still takes experience and practice to ensure you can effectively use these in a life/death situation
Ferro Rod
When struck, a Ferro rod can spark as hot as 3000-5000 degrees Fahrenheit, which can ignite a dry pile of tinder quickly. Shavings of magnesium are created with a scraping motion which also lights the savings, creating very hot sparks.
Pros:
- Not affected by water and can be used even if it’s been submerged
- Not effected by altitude
- Lasts a very long time
- Durable and not prone to breaking
- Can be stored for long periods of time
Cons:
- A Ferro rod uses shaved-off sparks to light tinder; the colder outside temperatures are, the quicker the sparks will cool when they come off the rod
- It takes skill and practice to be able to reliably use a Ferro rod
- If you’re injured, a Ferro rod is harder to use (think about if you only have one hand)
Candle
Easily looked over as a good back-up fire starting method, candles can have a place in your EDC. They are dependent on being lit by one of the methods above but once they are lit they can provide much-needed assistance.
Having a birthday candle (preferably the “trick” candles that are hard to blow out) or a tea light candle are great candle options.
Pros:
- When used with another fire starting method, you can extend the use of a flame which can come in handy if your kindling is not 100% dry
- “Trick” birthday candles will stay lit in windy weather
- Not damaged long-term if they are submerged in water
- Store for long periods of time
Cons:
- Dependent on another fire starting method
- Can’t light with a Ferro rod
- Made out of wax, candles will melt into a huge mess if exposed to sunlight and heat
Do you carry a fire starter in your Primary or Secondary EDC? What do you carry? Any other pros and cons we missed?