This issue has been sticking in my craw since yesterday, so I had to revisit it today. The problem seems to be with the Sparklite. I had bought two at the same time (hate to waste shipping) so I broke out the second one. It sparks about 3 times as much as the first. I got fire to the tinder on the second try. I also gave it a shot on some dryer lint. That worked just as well. The Coughlan's is still a no go, with both the Sparklite and the Blastmatch. It does have a great burn time if you can light it with something else, so I may keep a couple as backup.