I admit that I'm "magnesium challenged"...maybe it's supposed to be easy to use but I don't have much luck with it. It takes forever to get a decent pile of shavings, then they like to blow away. And when they do actually light they seem to "flash" burn before I can get anything done with them. And it's not a cheapo Dones bar, this is a big soft block from Firesteel.com. I even got a bag of mag turnings from eBay; those suckers need exposure to naked flame.

No, for me it's 1) Tinder Qwik, 2) cotton balls (naked, waxed or PJ'd), 3) fatwood and/or 4) Weber grill lighter cubes. To light them I've usually got a lighter, a firesteel, a Spark-lite and matches. What can I say...I'm a pyro!

BTW, forgot jute cord. I've had good luck with it, but it does seem to wick up moisture out of the air fairly easily. If I have jute it's gotta be sealed in something.