Even a small amount of fuel can buy you time while the wood you picked up is drying. Building a nice fire with wet wood while it's 40 deg F and raining is not a fun time. Then again, if you happen to be in SOCAL, building a fire when it's tinder dry isn't necessarily a good idea either...

For those who had no chance to watch the video: It's not just a firestarter with a pencil sharpener, but also a bullet puller, wood scraper, small knife, and a whistle. All in that small brick, not in a pile of pieces. I loved the thorough engineering approach to making that thing. Just a little attention to the side slopes and you've got a whistle and a scraper. Just a right lanyard hole diameter and placement and you have a bullet puller, use a screw with a slit matching the scraper - and you have a detachable micro knife...

A problem here is that I would have so little confidence in this thing that I would have to carry all of my more trusted stuff anyway. So, ironically, this thing becomes unnecessary weight, instead of saved weight.

A lot of that stuff he's doing would be difficult even in ideal conditions. Forget about that whistle for a real emergency where I'm tired, weak, and desperate, and it requires two hands. My real whistle is louder, requires zero hands, requires less breath, and is plastic. The tinder prepping he's doing with that tiny blade, I can forget about that too. I'm just not that skilled. I have difficulty getting my charcoal grill going in my comfortable backyard if it's too wind outside. I know my limitations.

Bashing the neck of the cartridge with a rock would be a better "bullet puller".

They seem to have taken several reasonable ideas, combined them into that miniature little thing, and in doing so made each good idea into a marginally useful (or even useless) shell of it's former self. That itty bitty ferrocium rod and micro scraper? Taking apart a pencil sharpener and calling what's left "a blade"? Labeling the right angle edge of the thing "a scraper"?

Looks more like something you'd find in a Cracker Jack box to me.

I agree with all of the above - prepare better to your skills. However, if that's the only thing you can effectively hide from a search or left after losing everything - it's multifunctionality comes in handy. Many PSKs come with a scalpel blade for the knife substitute, which is way more awkward to work with. And I'd make that sharpener blade larger. The typical right angle machining on the pocket things is usually quite rounded on purpose. I doubt you can scrap anything with your typical magnesium block. The rod, despite its size, works fine on the video. Also I would never rock pound a cartridge as it doesn't sound safe at all (depends on the propellant).

I am in total agreement , - not a fun time which is why I pack a decent stove in challenging conditions. If liquid fueled, and the stove malfunctions, you can employ "Boy Scout firestarter." A whole lot of us like to pare our gear down to critical essentials. Even with that in mind, redundancy in firestarters and tinder seems to be very common, and for good reason.

The flip side is the doofus who starts a fire when conditions are wrong. Some of our most recent worst fires were ignited in that manner.

Sounds like a novel idea at first but it's not something I'd consider buying personally, let alone rely on in any sort of "situation".

You can buy a decent Mora knife and an excellent ferro rod for less. I'm confident that combo will work far better even under highly adverse conditions, and you'll still have a few $ left to spend on a whistle and button compass to complete your survival kit.

Anyway, what the heck is one really supposed to do with that "bullet puller"? Pounding a cartridge with a rock, why not. I knew a guy who could remove a bullet from its case with his teeth. Rambo does it too when he has to cauterize a flesh wound.

Ok, I'm getting off topic but seriously, I can think of safer ways to start a fire. Maybe the product is well made but it just looks like a gimmick.

Calling theirhole-in-the-block a "bullet puller" seems exaggerated. I have always used more subtle methods. Of course, the hole does make the piece a bit lighter - It's supposed to be a lighter, right?

Very true, and even if one can't afford to carry a gas or liquid fuel stove there are decent pocket sized alternatives available. E.g. trangia or esbit stove.

Well, it seems the more I consider this thing, the more it appears they are charging for "Rube Goldberg" style engineering. Pretty hard to justify paying that much moolah for something that, if deconstructed, would be 1/10th the cost for the same functionality.

Not exactly what I'd call frugal investment. But at least it does appear to work. Buying survival equipment/supplies that don't perform as advertised would be worse, no matter how inexpensive they might be.