I've seen this on the forum and on the ETS site, Why do you call coghlan's matches ''Waterproof'' , arent they so?

I also think that coghlan's wind/waterproof matches far outpreform the british lifeboat matches that are very difficult to lite and CAN be blown out by the wind! I've been there, done that.

Any match will go out under the right conditions. Although if that happens your chances of igniting a fire are somewhat slim. Lifeboat matches are not intended for lighting fires. Sorry folks, they ain't. They were originally developed for use in conjunction with distress flares. Modern distress flares have their means of ignition built in. Usually as a primer. of some description, that ignites the fuse or main propellant charge. You pull or bang the trigger, and up or off it goes. Up untill the middle of the last century or there abouts distress rockets had a gunpowder or salpetre fuse not dissimular to that on a modern firework. Obviously that presents significant problems in terms of keeping the fuse and charge dry. The usual solution was to incorperate the fuse into the main body of the rocket/flare with just a very small part of the fuse accessable through the touch hole. Waterproofing was done by the application of one or more coat's of varnish. Which did it's job very well. As I am sure you have all just appreciated, that presents problems in terms of igniting the fuse, in a lifeboat that heaving up and down, its raining sideways, and trying to get a conventional match lit is a non-starter. Not to mention trying to burn through the varnish over the touch hole. That is where the lifeboat match comes in. The very large head is intended to be lit & pressed against the touch hole long enough to burn through the varnish and ignite the fuse. Unfortunatly, that means that they are not best suited to conventional fire lighting. Any survivor who is attempting to light a fire will, if at all possible, always seek to light it under the calmest, dryest condition's possible. So the question of a match's ability to remain lit under adverse conditions becomes moot. They do have their uses, especially in an adverse weather,emergency hypothermial situation, because you can gather tinder, unwrap a hexamine/alcohol block & drop a lifeboat match on it. That more or less garentee's ignition. I personally happen to like the Couglans matches. It's a pity that they are let down by the diabolical quality of the match box itself. Best way to ignite a lifeboat match is to PUSH IT across the striker. Don't pull it. It will snap. Using your knife to remove the varnish from the very tip of the match also helps.

yeah. Gimme the wind/waterproof matches anytime. oh, and some of their tinder too....

Can somebody compare/contrast the Coghlan's with the REI Stormproof matches? I just picked up some of the latter to go in my new K&M case. How do they compare as far as burntime, length, and performance?

I don't know that anbout the REI's, but since they are included in the Aviator Survival pak by Doug, they should be good.....

I just bought the Coghlan's wind/waterproof matches. I tried to blow them out and didn't make it, so I guess they are really windproof. But their burn time is very short. Since I've heard that you can immerse quickly in water the real British NATO issued and they will relight, I decided to try it with the Coghlans. They were blown out instantly. Even a drop of water will blow them out. So I'm not sure if they are really waterproof. I want to compare them with the NATO issued but unfortunately for me, the only retailer I found in Canada that have them, survivalpro.com, don't have them anymore because the importer has discontinued this item. I will have to order them from the US maybe.

Frankie

The NATO match will not reignite if immersed in water. I tried it. It went out.

The burn time for the REI matches is about 15 seconds. It is like a blowtorch and it does re-light after dunking it in the sink. It might be a good alternative to the Coghlans.

I could even blow the NATO match out. It didn' t relight.
They are also really hard to ignite.
IMHO: lose the NATO's and get coghlan's wind/waterproof or REI

REI are "unable" to send the matches to Canada.

Did they tell you why? I wonder if they are considered some sort of incendiary device or something.

They just said "Please note the information on the product listing" and indeed it says "Can not be sent to Alaska, Hawaii, APO, FPO or international addresses."

Pretty sure that's because they can't fly those items to their destination... they go UPS ground here in the lower 48. You might be able to get them to ship them to you via UPS Ground if they deliver to your address. Otherwise, ask them for Canadian Distributors.

It's becoming a bit too much trouble to get matches and it goes against one of Cody Lundin's principles that states your kit should be comprised of components that can be easily purchased or made... I can get the REI if I want but I'm wondering if it is really worth it for a... maybe not perishable but a degrading good. Do you know if their storm proof matches can keep like 20 years and more like the NATO matches without too much deterioration? Of course I would only use some to get familiar with them and then keep them for a situation where everything fails. I wouldn't use them to light a candle during a power outage...

Thanks
Frankie

i just bought some strike anywhere matches (big wooden ones), coated them with clear nail polish sealer, and put them in a waterproof match holder. total cost is around $3.00 for about 250 waterproof matches + nail polish + container. i know they won't re-light if submerged in water but i ran mine under water for about 30 seconds, wiped it off on my shirt, and they still light right up. the positive side is you'll have plenty of tries to light a fire cause they're so cheap to make.

oh, and i put a cotton ball inside the waterproof container to stop the matches from rattling . and, of course, i can use it as tinder if i need to light a fire.

I will do this for sure. So is nail polish better than paraffin?

Thanks
Frankie

i've never used parafin but the clear nail polish works great. actually i got the idea from Doug Ritter when he listed his additions to his retail PSK. he mentioned adding some nail polish coated matches, katadyn MP1 tabs, etc. here's the link:
http://www.equipped.org/pp/pic1357.htm

Another thing you could do is encase your matches in paraffin wax. You take your matches out of the box, line the box (or another container) with aluminium foil, lay out an interlaced layer of matches, pour melted paraffin wax over the 1st layer, wait for it to harden, lay out another layer and repeat.
Wrap up the block of wax encased matches in the foil so that they don't mess up your pack / container.
When you need a match, just pull one out from the block. it will be coated with wax and burns for a much longer period (mini candle).

If you're too lazy to melt wax in a double boiler, you could always use a tea-candle and pour the melted wax (as the candle is burning - please be careful not to get burnt) on your matches.....

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An easier way to do that is to get a large candle, something that's about 4" or in diameter, light it and allow the wax around the wick to melt. That will give you a pool of molten wax. Dip you matches into the wax.

I've tried both polish and wax and I have found that polish covered matches seem to last longer. You have to scrape the wax off the wax covered ones before striking and sometimes the wax has softened the match head too much to strike.