the problem is, no ne ever knows when they will need to expediantly start a fire. many people go solo, bad idea in my opinion, none the less they do. for whatever reason, it seems many accidents happen when your solo. perhaps, their isn't that buddy telling you "hay! don't cross the river there". what ever the case, it would be prudent on the soloist part to have an easy, effective way to start a fire on their own. you never know when you'll fall through ice or in a cold river, when out and about.

make no mistake, just because it is the middle of summer, doesn't mean you won't suffer from hypothermia. a quick dip in the river, produced from snow melt, will surly change your mind. add to that your doing a solo adventure, hmmmm! sounds like recipe for disaster.

personally, I don't care how well I can start a fire with two sticks of wood or a lighter, I'm going for the guaranteed fire starting method. for me, that's a flare.

Alan Halcon