can any1 compare the sparklite and the Ranger Rick 4 fingered firestarter? i havn,t used either, but would like to get one. other firestarter reviews would be helpfull aswell. thanx!!

IMHO, Ranger Rick's "Survival Necklace" is a pile of excrement. The sparklite works very well and is not fragile. The Ranger Rick is a cut down mini-bic lighter without the butane. It is rather flimsy. I saw several at the blade show, and most were making fun of it. Andy.

Andy, I thought about buying one of the necklaces at one time and decided I could put one together cheaper and with better items that would suit my needs. I don’t know Rick, but think he is trying to fill a niche. I doubt he will get rich on the product; it likely has a limited market. Even if a product does not meet up to the standards/needs of this group, I would urge not making fun or using derogatory remarks about a product, it might inspire individuals to come up with their own version. Pete

Thanx guys. Sparklite 2 - 0 Ranger Rick. can any1 beter that score :-) ?

I have both the sparklite and have made a pseudo-sparklite from a mini bic disposable butane lighter.(Tom Ayers has as well). The original spark-lite beats the copy hands down in terms of quality and sturdiness. But in terms of firestarting ability, they are about on par (OK the spark-lite generates more sparks). If you've got the right tinder, both will do the job. I would say the pseudosparklite is even better than a MFS in terms of starting a fire with the same tinder (MFS=lots of sparks but going everywhere at once cf. conc. sparks on the sparklite/mini-bic head)<br><br>The plus side of the pseudo-sparklite is that it is really easy to make on your own, functional and the bottom of the lighter can be filled with fishing gear / matches / tinder to save on space in a PSK. A simple and fun project to do on your own and is virtually free if you take someone's used lighter (the butane usually runs out before the sparking ability, but best to start with a fresh new lighter, unless you want to replace the flint)<br>It's a little exercise in thinking out of the box and like tom did, a good scout project.<br>Also, for guys like me who have to order the sparklite from the US its a good start.<br><br>here's the link to tom's post <br>Scout project<br><br>Plus, you won't throw away the bic lighter now after it's gas has run out. It can still start many fires. So if you know how to modify it, you would have two fire starting devices in one !

I am a big fan of the little sparklite. It is easily packed, the tinder will not deteriorate and it has never failed. It's no flamethrower. Flamethrowers are nice, but a sparklite encourages a little care and deliberation- qualities that make for success. The Ranger Rick unit is better than a damp book of paper matches. I personally found it awkward-bad news in the cold or dark. In any case firemaking options should be redundant. The metal matches that produce sparks when struck by a knife ( or attached hacksaw blade) are the simplest ( no moving parts) but require some tinder either gathered or added. If a commercial flight banned flammables this may be your best carry option. Matches, lighters, various fire pastes, candles and fuels are additional options, but being consumable units are hampered by service life.

i s like the sparklite no doubt about that but personally think the rangerricks fire starter is better. it is about the same when it comes to durability and when it comes to sparks ranger ricks produces many more and the sparks are much hotter than the sparlite's the other thing i likes about ranger ricks is that it has a compartment on the bottom foe tinder i was able to fit 1 sparklite tinder tab in the compartment.

i also carry a magnessium block in my moonbag (is that wat you guys call a fanny pack?). is there an easier way to shave the magnesium? it really takes a long time and never falls in one place.

I agree that shaving the magnesium is a real pain. There is unfortuantely no easier way to shave the block besides, well, shaving ;-). I use the back of my lockback knife to do the shaving and striking my flint rod.<br>I usually use a small piece of foil and (try) put all my shavings on it so that it will form a neat pile (or a big leaf will do) as trying to get the shavings from the ground is darn near impossible.<br>The bigger the pile the better the flash fire for your tinder.<br>But I still prefer the spark-lite and its copy... :-)<br>MFS is too tiring to use.....<br><br>

No one advocates Zippo-type liquid fuel lighters (because of fuel evaporation) but if you find an old garage sale sample of the small one, it's basically a sparking device with tightly packed cotton inside the case. Fits in the watch pocket of your jeans.<br><br> If you didn't want to use it the normal way with liquid fuel, you could easily store lots of cotton soaked with petroleum jelly in the base, plus spare flints enough for a year in the wilderness. No pocket goo, and stays nice and dry. If you had a mind to, you could probably also fit an Xacto blade or two, fishhooks, sinkers, what have you in the lid, wrap the case with fishing line, tape, or whatever. Only downside is the weight of the metal case, but it would have an innocuous appearance and not scream "survival kit." Pair it up with a mega-keychain and a Fresnel in your wallet, and you'd cover most of your EDC items<br><br> If you carry only the sparklite or the Ranger Rick version, a single flint could be a weak point, and they're hard (impossibile?) to replace in either one.<br><br> I'm also playing with the "metal match", that has a screw-in metal "match" in a very small cotton fuel-soaked container. You strike it by scraping on the ferrocerrium rod along the side of the container. Looks a bit Mickey Mouse, but seems to work pretty well. No idea as yet how long the fuel takes to evaporate versus a Zippo type lighter, but it appears somewhat promising, since the "match" screws in and seems to seal the opening where evaporation would occur. Find 'em on Ebay, if you're interested, for a few bucks.<br><br> BTW, even if you're not impressed with Ranger Ricks's survival necklace, I think he deserves credit for thinking outside the box." His website (www,therangerrickdigest.com) has a lot of neat ideas, and shows that he's "one of us."

the striking rod of my metal match give quite alot of spark, so you might be able to use that to start a fire wenn you run out of fuel

We have fixed the image links in Tom's post.

aluminimum and/or magnesium flakes are used in for the flecks used in some car finishes. An auto supply shop would have it tubes. Carry a little vial, and you have enough for three, four fires ready to go, or just one really big flash.

If you carry a multitool with a file try using that instead of the knife blade to make Magnesium scrapings. It is a bit easier to control the dispersion of the shavings as it is much easier to slowly file off the metal rather than slicing it off.<br><br>I also file a pile of shavings onto a piece of paper or large leaf or piece of bark to allow me to collect then in a dense pile before trying to ignite them with a spark.

A common solution is to get a coarse hacksaw blade and break it to be the same length as the MFS. Use the hole in the end of the saw blade to add it to the bead chain on the MFS.<br><br>You can use the saw blade to scrape the MFS. It makes consistent shavings it a relatively small area. I too collect my shavings on a leaf. Once the pile is large enough, I use the other side of hacksaw blade as a scraper on the striker. <br><br>Protects my knife. It also makes the MFS a complete package. Some people have been know to cut the MFS in half length wise to make it smaller and easier to pack.<br><br>One person took the half without the striker, cut a groove along its length, and superglued some zippo flints along the groove. Now he had 2 MFS. <br><br>Don't forget to coat the MFS with nail polish, laquer, or other covering to keep oxygen away from the magneisum. Otherwise it will oxidize and you will have a white sandy - powdery coating on your MFS. It does not effect the ability of the MFS to work, it just make a mess in your kit.

Luister Boertjie the real easy way to shave a magnesium block is to hold your blade or scraping tool at 90 degrees to the block and scrape away. Try shaving it in a bowl or container this will stop it from blowing all over the place.<br>Regards<br>DieselDave

Agreed. Don't try to cut if off like you are whittling a stick, just use the edge of the blade (I use a piece of hacksaw) at a right angle to the block...

>>>A common solution is to get a coarse hacksaw blade and break it to be the same length as the MFS. Use the hole in the end of the saw blade to add it to the bead chain on the MFS.<<<<br><br>I added a strip of duct tape along the blade edge to prevent the teeth from tearing my fanny pack/bum bag.

Actually, I am impressed by Ranger Ricks necklace. I made an aborted attempt at marketing a PSK some time ago. It isn't easy putting anything even decent, let alone state of the art on the market. His booklets are well known and appreciated.