I see almost everyone carries matches as a fire making tool but it would seem that a more durable reliable tool, like a lighter or 2 would be much more useful. I know you can make them more waterproof by waxing but still, 10 waterproof matches or so can only start 10 fires, at best. With those tiny disposable biks a person can afford to carry more than one. Just wondering.

matches can't leak ! matches has no moving parts, so not much can fail, a broken match can still be used ( just watch those fingers ). for redundancy most of use do carry a lighter as well...
btw you can start 2 fire's with 1 paper matches by spliting them with a knife or even with your hands ! it has No noticible performens loss ! atleast I didn't noticed any....

Sometimes it´s easier to start the fire with a match and there´s more distance between the flame and your fingers. This can be an asset when you have light a flameable fluid. Apart from that redundancy means to have tools that work on different principles.