Personal preference. Use what works for you - neither are any good if you can't get a fire going with them.

And Chris K is right on the money - I always have some fatwood. Cut a store-bought piece into thirds, pre-split one into toothpick sized pieces, and toss all of it in with the PJ cotton balls. A pinch of a cotton ball and 3-4 little bits of fatwood will start anything but dripping wet kindling everytime for me.

I've almost forgotten how to use a BIC or matches - I always use a FC rod. EDC, left front pocket, BSA HotSpark quick-clipped to a tiny Meyerco lock back (triple redundant knife). Clip is sort of like a tiny Fastex with a keyring on each end - came with the knife and wish I could find a source of them.

The FC rods that Martin sells are awesome - I can start birch bark, dry grass, pounded cedar bark, etc directly without any intermediates. One is in my pack as an uber back-up to my Hot Spark.

Personally, the mag bars are a waste of space/time/effort. But that's my personal preference <grin>. Happy scraping.

Tom