Don't feel bad samhain, I suck at fire making as well. I have been learning as I go and I have switched most of my fire steel over to Ultimate Survival Technologies steel. What ever they use as there mix to make there firesteel works well with me. I have light my fire steel as well as others but the UST steel has performed the best for me. I guess it's more idiot proof but I can make fires the first time with there steels on a lot more things than I could with other steels (least path or resistance for me). I bought 2 blast matches and I already own a STRIKEFORCE which I had for ages, and one day I was cleaning out some old boxes and found my old STRIKEFORCE and had forgot about the WETFIRE in the handle. It was raining out that day so I said what the heck it had been in the handle for probably 15 years or so and I don't remember them being UST at the time but on a wet driveway and still raining that thing took one spark and lit right up and burned for several long minutes and I was throwing wet sticks to see if it would dry them and catch on fire (which it did). I had been carrying the cotton balls and PJ but in liu of some of the experiments I've been playing with, I cut up my old STRIKEFORCE to get the steel out and used it's old striker to hang off the keychain.

The WETFIRE tender I believe is definitively the way to go for energency tender because you can crush it up in powder and put it in a smaller container than cotton balls and it works wet or dry vs keeping cotton balls dry plus for the price and emergency use you can't beat it. After 15 years it took one spark in a wet environment and i had fire for minutes. I'm sold, I try to set everything up to be as easiest as possible for emergencies just in case I have other needs to worry about(broken legs or arms or hypothermia)and I need a fire now and not to fool around with failed or wet gear.

Sorry as usual for the rant, just speed read the highlights.

Base Gear has a sale on UST products right now anyway.(Ends 12/12/08)

Ultimate Survival Wet Fire Tinder (8 pk)
http://www.basegear.com/wetfiretinder.html
$5.95

Ultimate Survival Blast Match
http://www.basegear.com/blastmatch.html
$17.95