Frenchy: Some final thoughts...

Make sure you're using cotton balls made with real cotton, not a synthetic. Once you land a spark in a cotton ball it HAS to catch fire. Adding vaseline to the cotton ball just makes it burn hotter and longer.

To get sparks where you want them hold the scraper still and pull the flint rod out, rather than holding the flint still and moving the scraper in.

You could also just carry dry cotton balls (just jam them in anywhere) and add the vaseline if and when you want to. Your antibiotic cream is probably in a petrolium base.

Finally, you the SparkLite set includes some pretty darned foolproof tinder, and is only as big as a small box of wooden matches. And none of that pesky magnesium.

Bear