Hi guys I ended up on the County comm website last night by mistake but before I left I noticed this brass quick light style fire starter "1.5 inches long and only $4.80.

That's looks like a cool device. It's small and inexpensive, so why not throw it in a kit?

I'd throw it in a kit, but I still have a couple of criticisms about these little sparkers. One is you need specialized tinder. It's going to have to be cotton or similar, and it can't be a little wet. The sparker is going to throw not nearly as many sparks as a ferro rod and scraper.

Another criticism is that a Mini Bic requires less room overall than this sparker from Countycomm. Here's why. For this sparker from Countycomm, you will need to carry tinder within a case (preferably waterproof). In contrast, a Mini Bic includes a sparker and tinder all within one unit that costs about a dollar, and you still have the sparker on a Bic if the fuel runs out for whatever reason.

Could you fit this Countycomm sparker and its tinder into a container that's smaller than a Bic? Perhaps you could with some ingenuity. Let's suppose you could. You then have to ask yourself, is that package more reliable/useful/convenient than a Mini Bic? The Mini Bic, a humble little device, sets the bar pretty high.

Nice little sparker, and it looks smaller and a lot more robust than a plastic sparklite. It would be nice if they included a bail loop on the screw end so the device could be attached to something.

I have two concerns with it if used as a primary fire source: In addition to the special tinder that ireckon mentions, you would have to carry spares of those tiny lighter flints. Replacing those with cold hands would be a challenge.

The second concern is related to my bail loop comment. The brass will patina to a dull brownish color....drop the sparker in muskeg or forest duff, and it would be nearly invisible.

Probably useful in a mini kit with cotton balls etc, but for me, I'll stick with orange mini bics.

I bought one with no particular need in mind a few weeks ago. Work has been kicking my behind of late and I've started no fires with it.

The comments in this thread make sense to me. Compared to a Spark-Lite, I don't see any real advantage other than if you plan for it to be a primary fire starting method and you'd rather replace flints than sparkers.

I make my poormans sparklites from dead lighters I find when running or walking. They're free, tiny and work well. As for tinder cotton, dryer lint, duff and shredded fringe from a pair of cut off jeans have all worked well. You can see one in my current thread 35mm psk. The best are made from BICs. Stronger flint throws a more robust spark, but are considerably larger.

Nice, but not for me. For that price, you can purchase a 4 card pack of mini BICS that will provide a lot more better and flexible options in the long run...

Why not just buy a new lighter. They are so cheap they are practically free, tiny, and work significantly better than a spark-lite so long as they have fuel.

You don't really take old lighters you find along the road as trash and put them into survival kits do you? who knows how long they have been sitting there rotting away. Why take the chance on something when a fresh,new lighter is so cheap?

I have always avoided to mini-spark things if possible.(even the good ones) They are waaaaay to dependant on the proper type of tinder, not to mention trying to use one when it's -50 deg cel outside.

Exactly.

If you are going to carry something that makes flame or spark it may as well be reliable.

Looks like a smaller version of the excellent TAD sparker. At that price I'll have to pick up a few. Thanks for the heads up! CC is a great vendor, BTW.

Thanks Phaedrus, happy to help.

Guys, I know a lighter or ferro rod would be better but it seemed like an alternative to a spark lite. I guess I was wrong.

Guys, I know a lighter or ferro rod would be better but for one handed use this seemed like a alternative to a spark light. I guess I was wrong.

I think this is a good point. The thing that makes a Bic spark is a very small ferro rod. Ferro rods oxidize and degrade from exposure to certain environments. Why risk it when a fresh, new one costs $1... and includes butane?

I see several improvements to a regular spark lighter (as in the DR Kit) in that one, besides the stronger brass construction. The grinding wheel looks larger. That means it will be easier to rotate and it will produce more sparks at a time. The bottom screw for the flint installation is what I had to improvise on my DR sparklite. It's very easy to replace flints and also you can throw in at least 2 of them into the tube (3 if you shorten the spring a bit) - that's enough to forget about replacing them for years.

Bic lighter is nice thing while fueled, but its weak sparks (especially on a worn out one) are not good enough for natural tinder you can find in the field. Sparklite, on the other hand, produces a lot of really hot sparks to light up even a wet tinder. Just let them dry it a little by sparking over the same area several times.

My only concern with this lighter is corrosion. It looks like it is made of 2 milled pieces set tight on a thin wall tubing. These joints may fail very quickly in wet climate and the lighter will fall apart. I would coat it in epoxy paint at least or use solder iron over joints.

I like these a lot, Thanks for posting.

Not to hijack this thread but I want to remind everyone of more alternatives in the area of firestarters .

I got a few (free) flint strikers like this one



... as well as a ton of spare flints.

I stashed them in several of my kits.

Although this striker is considerably larger than a sparklite and such, but it can be included in most kits (except Altoids can) like a Maxpedition pocket organizer or larger. You can put it and fill the spaces between its arms with other stuff.

Oh, I removed the cup and exposed the striker surface for better contact with tinder. The shower of sparks is not that bad and replacing flints is not difficult either.

I test each one and they are reliable. As for old I run that same route three or four times a week so they've only been there a day or two. The original tic tac kit I built for an adventure junkie held one and sparked three fires in the jungle with no problem. Why destroy a perfectly good lighter with lots of guaranteed flame to get a spark device? That's a Ranger Rick trick I simply do not agree with. Thanks for the question Stephen.

Hey Glock.
I obviously don't use a corroded flint and part of my process is to coat them in silicone spray, allow them to dry before reassembly. As for failing, I ha ve had Glocks fail on me several times. I can understand picking up a strange one in the field and having it fail, but my own weapon? I have several Glocks simply taking up space in a safe because I don't trust my life to them. Just my opinion.

Where do you run and find discarded lighters on such a regular basis? I am lucky to see maybe 1-2 discarded/lost lighters per year even in a large metro area. Even then it is not worth the hassle, time nor chance to rely on a found lighter of questionable provenance to use in an urban or wilderness PSK...