I found the tinder sticks made by Coughlan to fall apart easily also. I pay a little more for them, but similar ones made by Coleman don't break as easily. They come in a robust ziplock bag, but I cut them to size to put them into a real small tin to keep them from breaking and making a mess in my BOB. They flame up excellently, and one cut about twice the size of a bullion cube will burn for about 5 minutes.
I'm still looking for the perfect homemade tinder. I guess from what I've been doing making different tinder might make somebody think I'm a pyromaniac.
I don't know about their tinder sticks, but their emergency tender is great... And if you can find it with their flint and steel, it is even better, because their flint and steel is nothing of the sort, it is actually a permanent match, though whoever wrote the directions had no idea what it was...
Just put a little lighter fluid in the thing and you are good to go for at least 6 months... It has a real gasket, unlike a Zippo, so the fluid does not evaporate much at all...