I want one of these as a backup fire starter:
http://www.tripleaughtdesign.com/Equipment/Tools/Survival-Spark
It's similar to a Spark-Lite but more robust.

It works like a ferro rod.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpD63JZTAX0

Does anybody use that or a Spark-Lite? How is it?

It's basically a brass version of the Spark-Lite. I use a Spark-Lite and it's amazing, a top notch piece of gear. There's also an all-alluminum version available that has replaceable flints. I agree the brass TAD version is cool but operationally it appears identical to the Spark-Lite. The main appeal would just be that it's maybe sturdier, but of course at the expense of being much heavier.

how about this option: METAL SPARK-LITE™ FIRESTARTER KIT???
http://www.bepreparedtosurvive.com/FirestarterProducts.htm

Some really nice stuff all in one place. Thanks for posting.

Darn you guys, another 35 bucks on fire starting gear.

Great site, pretty much most of the tried and true fire starting devices on one page.

TAD Gear is bomb proof.

The flint is replaceable on these metal ones (by TAD or by Spark-Lite). However, I'm still uncomfortable paying $20 for a tiny sparker that has moving parts and all. I like to buy devices like this in pairs or more. Paying $40 for two sounds dumb. I'm looking for a bargain, like $10 per sparker.

Amazon has a great deal on the plastic Spark-Lite; a 2 pack is under $15 with free shipping. The cool thing is if you "subscribe" you get an additional discount- it ends up being just over $12 for two, still with free shipping! By subscribing you'll be sent an additional two pack ever so often at intervals you set (eg every month, or every three months). You can cancel you subscription at any time with no fees or obligation. Or, if you run out before the next batch is due to ship you can have them send an extra, still at the reduced price. I think this is a great option for stuff that gets used all the time. I subscribed to the Ritter/AMK PSP, too.

The regular plastic Spark-Lite works very well. I haven't carried it enough to say how long it would last but I suspect it's fairly durable. If you carry it inside of a hard case it should last indefinitely. At any rate I think it'd be at least as sturdy as a disposable lighter. When I get my first pair of 'em I'll stick one in my Altoids fire kit.

I think the Spark-Lite is probably as durable as it needs to be. I have one in my Ritter kit and since I bought two kits- one to play with and one to keep for emergencies it has given me ample opportunity to evaluate it.
What I would be concerned with as far as the Sparklite is its ability to withstand temperature extremes. Plastic does get very brittle in extreme cold and if the little wheel got clogged with ice or snow I could see a catastrophic failure occuring.
However, I always carry a firesteel on a beaded chain around my neck in addition to matches in a waterproof case.
The main advantage of the Sparklite to me is its ability to work one-handed. For the eventuality of being injured and needing to start a fire one-handed, it should have an adequate life-span.
If I lived in Alaska or elsewhere that temperatures plunged deeply, I'd probably explore the added durability of a metallic Sparklite type device. But a Bic lighter is pretty cheap in comparison...

There are some good considerations here. I'm currently most interested in fire starters for when I go off piste snowboarding. The issue of temperature keeps raising it's ugly head, thanks for reminding me. Instead of a sparker device as part of my system, I'm inclined to carry an extra ferro rod. I started a new thread for this issue:

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=209081#Post209081

FWIW all this discussion of the TAD finally pushed me into ordering one last nite! I got an email that it shipped today.

My Survival Spark showed up today! Overall it's a nice little piece of gear, very solidly constructed. And it's very very compact- tiny even. However, I do find it a little to small to use comfortably, and being totally round it's difficult to keep it from rotating or shifting in the hand in use. I prefer the Spark-Lite and find it easier to use. I suppose now I'll end up getting the aluminum version, too.

But don't get me wrong, I do like the Survival Spark. I look forward to getting out in the woods and trying it out.

Thank you for the comparison, good points I had not considered.

If you have good pre-made tinder, it seems like the Survival Spark (or Spark-Lite) is nearly full proof.

Spark-Lite isn't entirely reliable. For example mine did not perform well at all. I would not bet my life on this piece of gear. I have nothing against it, it's just a warning. After all it's a *survival* gear, not a toy, and has to deliver when your life might depend on it.

Mine has never failed to spark. Of course, I haven't had it that long, either. It's easier to use and more ergonomic than the TAD product but maybe not as well built. I don't want to blow it out of proportion- in a survival situation, the fact that the handle isn't comfy won't bother me so long as the TAD strikes my tinder! I still want to try the aluminum Spark-Lite, though.

In case it doesn't go without saying, let me say I don't plan on either one being my only fire lighting tool. I plan to keep them to back me up if I lose my firesteel, lighter and/or matches.

BTW, you can check the date of my other post and see that TAD ships pretty quickly! I was surpised to get it so fast.

I've had the plastic version for couple of years and just recently bought the aluminum version too. I'm a fan.

That said, for your intended cold weather purposes, consider too that the Sparklite is small and isn't the easiest thing to grip and use one-handed in any weather, especially if you've got good-sized hands. Gloved or cold hands would make even more challenging.

The Zippo Emergency Fire Starter Kit is a similar concept and a bargain, relatively speaking.

http://www.zippocasemuseum.com//index.as...=productdetails
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye3x87M82ec

If I had seen this product earlier, this thread's topic would have been this.

At $20 the Zippo Emergency Fire Starter Kit is no bargain. Just get a old cleaned out boot polish tin and fill with cotton balls and drizzle with white gas and then close up. You get wrap some old butyl inner tube around the lid to double seal the tin. It also provides additional tinder. The cost is virtually nothing and will easily out perform this product.

A single cotton ball removed from the tin will take a single spark even from an old fashioned traditional flint and steel and you will get a 2 foot high flame for about 1 minute.

BTW the Zippo Blu mentioned in this video is probably the most ineffectual piece of supposed survival gear out there. It's a terrible lighter.

OK... I own about 15 firesteels because they're my favorite fire starters, but there are other threads for discussing those. Back to this thread...

These are similar products:
http://www.zippocasemuseum.com//index.as...=productdetails
http://www.tripleaughtdesign.com/Equipment/Tools/Survival-Spark

The Zippo is essentially the Survival Spark plus waterproof housing and compartment for tinder. Also, there are deals out there for less than $20. For someone who wants a metal flint sparker, this Zippo looks pretty good.

I have just spent the last 5 minutes trying to get a waxed cotton ball to light with the zippo sparker (from a Zippo blu). It eventually lit but this was in highly controlled conditions and it gave me a sore thumb.

I would give these gizmos a wide body swerve and stick to the $3 Firesteel from DX. It lit another waxed cotton ball first time around. These sparky devices need highly volatile tinder to get going such as the white gas cotton balls or bicycle rubber cement. Even then it has trouble igniting a jet of butane gas about 5-6 mm away. Also the flints internal to these sparkies had a very limit number of strikes, although you can carry around a set of Zippo flints if required.

good to know, thanks

I agree with Am_Fear_Liath_Mor. I have the same experience.