Has anyone ever heard of the "International Survival Instructors Association". They seem to have no web site and I say them of the REI Website claiming that they approved of the firesteel.

FWIW, I haven't heard of them (but I'm no expert in the field).

They do seem to be ghosts on the Web. That's odd these days, but doesn't necessarily mean anything. A Web presence is not a legal, or practical, requirement; nor does it indicate competence or lack thereof.

Perhaps you should contact REI and the product manufacturer and ask for more information about the organization and its testing process and approval criteria. These are fair and valid questions.

BTW: I have one of these firesteels, and they produce an impressively hot spark -- quite effective, even with very coarse tinder. But I haven't given it a total hell test, so YMMV.

Nope, same problem Bruce.

All I keep finding is the ad copy from Light my Fire where they claim the International Survival Instructors Association approved of the Swedish Firesteel.

Possibly they mean "The International Association for Safety and Survival Training" which does exist, but I doubt it for some reason.

Maybe contacting Light My Fire would get you an answer.
http://www.light-my-fire.com/10-contact.htm

I have an idea it is just ad copy.

Yeah, "ad copy" was my first instinct. As in, "ad copy ... and paste ... from supplied materials;" it happens.

But seriously, before piling on, I confess that I don't have any hard facts about the "recommendation," so it's just a question mark. (As noted earlier, the product does have some merit IMHO; I'd be glad to have one in a pinch.)

I haven't done business with REI, but my understanding is that they're a pretty solid outfit. I think if the approval was fuzzy, they'd have the class to correct it in the event they'd been "had."

And, just for perspective, it's a $10-15 item. I regularly buy stuff to test if it looks promising. If it fails, cross it off the list. That's the cost of education. No problem.

Try This
www.iasst.com
I typed in International Survival Instructors Association into search and that is what I got


Mike

I own a large number of Firesteels and they are excellent, it is purely cuiriosity to see if this organization really exsists and who is in it?