Read this and several related site forums over a period of time and trends ( dare I say fads) become obvious. Currently it's a Nessmuck or Bushcraft blade with a metal match snug in a papoose sheath. My first arctic instructor used state of the art Ontario/Camillus USAF survival knives and wooden matches. Somewhere in between I figured out every system has it's merits and drawbacks. Rather than pose your question "What do you guys use to start a fire?" Lets ask "Why do you start a fire?" DUH!!!!! Chris, because we are cold and it's dark and scary and we need these 3 signal fires for the black helicopters to see. O.K. did you just emerge from a freezing lake and shivering so badly the entire box of 250 strike anywheres flew into the snow( Metal match gets the nod)? Is one arm shattered by Bart the Bear before fleeing under the retaliatory blows of your Swiss Army knife? ( Sparklite) Your at the New Mexico hot air balloon festival and the ETS promo balloon suffers a blowout ( those guys seriously denude quickie marts of disposable lighters and carry several.) No one situation can possibly be handled 100% effectively 100% of the time by one method alone. Bowdrills just don't cut it in a descending hot air balloon. Skills aren't something done by consensus or whats popular. Learn each and every method, regardless of your personal opinion ( I hate magnesium bars) and pack at least 3 systems with different advantages. The first guy with a fire going and fixings for smoors wins <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />