Are Matches Outdated?

Reading the thread on Zippos someone posted they don’t use matches any more. I have 2 older metal match safes that I take with me all the time when camping. I have a few of the green plastic ones in various kits and my van. But I never use them any more; I use a lighter (the evil Bic) and fire steel. If I had to make a choice, I would rather have fire steel then matches. A match safe only holds about 20-matches at the most. For its size that’s not a lot of lights. Even less so if it’s windy and it takes 2 or 3 to get a fire going. I know someone will say they can do it every time with one match. But this is the exception, and probably a bit of embellishing.

I do use strike anyplace matches to make fire starters, but as far as pulling out a match to light a fire, I don’t do it any more, it’s been 20-years or more since I have.

I would suspect the government at some point in the future will stop the sale of strike anyplace matches, saying they are too dangerous. And for our own safety they are going to make them illegal. At this point matches become even less useful for the outdoorsmen.

For now I’m not going to stop carrying my match safes full of matches, I will continue to cycle the stock of them in the match safe and have them with me for the “what if day”. But I suspect that when “what if’ comes I will use the lighter or fire steel.

When camping I have been using the fire steel more then the lighter, I see it as a skill I want to have and feel am not good enough at starting a fire with it yet. On a nice day it’s easy to do, But I want to be able to do it when its raining. But I always have thee Bic there if needed.

I pretty much have stopped using stick matches. The vast VAST majority of the time I use either a sparker or a butane lighter.

My Coleman propane lantern has a peizo-sparker on-board. I think my propane stove does too (I don't use it much - prefer Coleman fuel for stoves). My older Coleman liquid fuel stove and my MSR backpacking stoves are lit using either a sparker or a butane lighter.

The only place I still find them non-replacable (can't find anything else that will work) is to light my older Coleman liquid fuel lantern. It's globe only has a small hole through which a stick match is the only thing that will fit.

I tried installing one of Coughlan's lantern sparker devices, but it won't fit on the globe of my paticular model. I assume it fits OK on other (unknown) models.

Ken K.

I installed a Coughlan's lantern sparker in a 2-mantle Coleman gas lantern, it works great. I had to drill a hole in the lantern base to mount it. It fit because it’s a large lantern.

I guess I am just backwards, but if I am cold and wet,give me a match. Even the Mountian men used a match when they could get them, flint and steel, just last longer than a match when you are Way up in the boon docks and the store is open next spring. Don't get me wrong, I still have and use my FireSticks, but when push comes to shove give me a match. Strik anywhere matches are almost a thing of the past here in So. Calif. But I use mostly REI Storm Matches or the lifeboat type of match. I also carry lighters in all my kits, but like the fire steels are just back ups.

I have some OLD news for you. The Government outlawed true 'strike anywhere' matches years ago. It seems the composition of the matchhead was perfect for improvised explosives.
The present formulation is good, but hardly 'strike anywhere.'
The second blow to match use was the determination they are a HAZMAT product with greatly increased shipping costs.

It is FOOLISH for anyone to dismiss common methods of firemaking. A few years back, Randy Davenport was briefly the guest expert at a knife site. He too, dismissed matches. So I postulated this scenario: Randy was lying unconscious from some mishap in the snow. A troop of girlscouts came upon him and decided to build a fire. Looking through Randy's pockets they laid out ;magnesium block, firesteel and flint, New Guinea Higlander firepiston,custom bowdrill with ceremonial eagle feather. Oh, and by chance a book of paper matches courtesy of the DEW DROP INN in Boise Idaho.

There are a plethora ( spit like bad guy in The Three Amigos) of firemaking tricks from the common to the show off and MacGyver wow wee.

It is foolish not to carry multiple methods, AND one almost universaly understood by all people.

I don’t know if the strike anyplace matches I buy (they are hard to find by the way) are any less of a match then ones I have used in the past. They seem to work on a lot of surfaces.
The strike anyplace matches I buy are the Diamond brand, use to be called “Ohio Blue Tip.”

I do carry matches with me, and said so in the first post, and that I will continue to do so. I was just wondering if others have found that they don’t use them much anymore.

As far as carrying multi methods of fire making, I think we all do that, and a lighter (and I carry several at a time) is about as universally understood as it gets, probably more so then a match.

While certainly not a strike anywhere match, I've never found the REI stormproof matches not to light a properly prepared tinder ball on the first match. Granted these matches require a striker, but even the most fervent of gram weenies out there would have a hard time making a case against that.

Jim

I don't think there's any form of fire-starting that's outdated.

I still carry matches.

They don't take up much space, they're light, and they're pretty handy if you don't want to leave somebody's bathroom smelling funny after you've done your business...

Agreed. I use a non-refillable butane fire stick most of the time, to light the BBQ, campfire here in the campground, the pilot lite on our oven (try that with a metal match/flint and steel), etc. When camping and using a Coleman gas stove and lantern, usually strike anywhere matches. I probably have five or six boxes of them, vacuum sealed, stuck here and there. I have a Boy Scout hotspark on my keyring. I have a reproduction of a good old mountain man flint and steel set, complete with char cloth that I play with from time to time. But in my pocket right now, and all the time, is a GI match safe, filled with REI Stormproof matches and a striker board, still sealed in plastic. Those guys are easy to light, and they don't go out 'til they burn out. You do have to shorten them a tad to get them in the match safe, but big deal...

I find it ironic society keeps 'improving things' and I am less enchanted with the results. I have to get this converter box for an older TV for mandated digital TV. Words cannot express the joy I'll feel watching'reality' shows with Paris Hilton & Co improved. I would personally prefer Red Skelton on our old Black and White again, the picture sometimes tweaked by Arizona winds playing with the guy wires on that parasol antannae we had.

There is nothing wrong with advances in technology. What is wrong is the failure of it's users to define what is an advance, and what is merely painting wooley mammoths on cave walls with acrylics after forgetting why we painted those animals.

Firemaking, that most ancient and basic of skills that has translated itself into Saturn Rockets has become commonplace and ill appreciated.

Our oldest forum member, Oetzi carried flint stones, tinder AND a container with a preserved ember.There he was in a resource rich environment, one he knew intimitely. And yet he 'thought ahead'because immediate firemaking was as much survival as convenience.

People are wrongly focused on the intitial production of the ancient flame. People fail miserably in translating said flame to an enduring fire of intelligence.20 matches, firesteel, Bic lighter; It is irrelevant if you lock onto a set piece of doing something, or discard others.

Matches... bleh.

Here's what I have in my fire making kit:

2 magnifying lenses
2 ferrocerium rods
7 Bic lighters
1 magnesium bar


Matches need not apply.

I carry them. In style. K&M matchcase,Thank you very much.

In it I have:

5 British Army issue lifeboat matches with two striker boards.

12 strike anywhere matches. Varnished so as to a)waterproof them & b) nail varnish is flammable so the match burns longer & hotter.

4 Tinder-Quick strung together with saddlers thread

1 needle.


If I'm hurt bad with oh, say, a broken arm I can open the case with my teeth and strike a match with one hand.

And even if I ain't there is something quintessentially satisfying about lighting a fire with one match.

When I get a wild hair I make up a half-dozen 'match bundles' or 'match bindles'.

These are wooden matches, either strike anywhere or needing a striker. I include a great enough number of matches to keep the package from bending and breaking the wooden sticks. Usually four to six matches are about right. I include a strike if the matches require one. A striker can also be included for strike anywhere matches. Around this packet I wind a strip of wax paper to keep the tape from sticking to the matches, and to act as tinder.

I then seal this bundle between two pieces of industrial aluminum foil tape applied sticky side to sticky side. Before sealing the last section I squeeze out all the air. Once sealed I follow up with a plastic applicator that concentrated pressure and permanently bonds the adhesive. I follow with a pair of scissors to square up the edges and round the four corners.

The result is a airtight package that is quite small, typically about a quarter inch and just a touch longer than the matches contained. These can be tossed into jacket pockets, slid into seams and otherwise shoehorned in just about anywhere. I have dispersed so many I forget where they all are. I usually have one tucked, or loosely stitched, into the headband of whatever hat I am wearing.

The work boots I reserve for sloppy work has one slid in alongside the tongue. It has been there for over a decade. Dating back to when those boots were used for hiking. From experience I fully expect that if I pulled it out the bindle the matches would still work.

I like Bics. I like the mini-Bics even more simply because they are smaller and lighter. These match bundles are even smaller and lighter. If you wrap them tightly and seal them well they seem to last many years. I have tried ones I wrapped a dozen years ago and unless the foil was breached they were all good.

So, to answer the original question, matches are no IMHO completely obsolete. Match safes, those clunky hunks of brass or plastic, are pretty much obsolete. But sealing the matches into much smaller, expendable, packages of just a few matches makes sense to me.

Well, although I am quite fan of the firesteel, matches are well secured as my firestarting equipment.

I can put several matches and a striker inside every package of tinder I carry. Just a backup. What if I lost my firesteel or whatever happened to it? I still have a package of tinder which also includes a way to start a fire. What if I have to quickly grab one piece of equipment and run away or swim - and when I have to choose quickly between solely firesteel and box/bag with tinder + several matches I would grab the second option because in adverse conditions I have learned that solely firestarter without tinder is useless. That´s why I also like complete solutions (like Strike Force) - no separated tinder carry - you can grab it and you have everything you need to start a fire.



Although I can light a candle with Strike Force, matches are more "user friendly" in this situation. Say your hands are cold an fingers are numb and you need to start a fire. But you have to gather some wood first which will take some time. Well during this time you can get even more colder and could not be able to start a fire at all (in this situation I would reccomend running around fast and warming your hands in your armpit). Or you can quickly pull out a small candle and your wind/water proof trusty matches, light a small flame which will warm your hands for several minutes and then you can light a fire without the stress.

Another scenario. You happen to be lost with someone who has no experience with fire steel etc. Whatever the reason may be now your group have to split up. You have to go to get help.The other person has no survival equipment nor training. Well you can teach him how to make a fire with your backup firesteel or you can give him the matches you also carry and a tinder. I guess everyone can light a fire with plenty of good tinder and matches. Now the person can for example make a signal fire (smoke signal, ...) so he/she can be located later by the SAR team. Or to stay warmed.

Good matches can also be used as a tinder - for example to accelerate the process.

Firesteel.com, man.

Really, though. Matches get wet, lighters break/run out of fuel. Firesteel works.

And many exposed metal matches can corrode. No one system is perfect. That is why we carry 3 sources of ignition. What gets one may not get the other and vs a vs.

I agree totally SockPuppet and Chris, fire is so important that I carry all three methods in case any one or two fails.

That being said, when you fall into the water and are dripping wet and shivering, good luck with a match as the water drains from your heavy winter clothing and runs down your arm all over your gear. Do you carry 100-matches? But strike the firesteel and it sparks, wet or not. Thousands of times.

Consider with shivering, numb hands and fingers the dexterity to strike a match, without breaking it, may not be possible. A firesteel you can spark with heavy handedness, even fumbling movements.

As for the "comical sizes", I dunno. Being able to easily light thousands of fires from a single rod in your preparedness cache could come in handy post SHTF.

I live in a -40F winter area. Believe me, I know winter survival. Firesteels work. Period.

"...Firesteel works..."

Most of the time. I have had less than great luck in high winds. Not that it can't be done, but it isn't fun...

"...dripping wet...good luck with a match..."

Never tried a REI Stormproof match, have you???

Each situation is different and at times it can be very difficult to light a fire even when very experienced - like in the mountains during a raging snowstorm with 40-mph wind gusts. The best advice I give is to carry a lighter, waterproof matches, and firesteel. And even have backups placed in clothing, in your vehicle, and in your pack.

Tinder is very important. Vaseline and cotton balls or dryer lint is excellent for helping to start a fire with damp or wet wood.

An interesting point made on that survival topics website is the need for fuzzy tender to get a fire going with a firesteel. Which means you either need to carry cotton balls or quiktinders equivalent to the number of fires you want to make (do you carry one hundred pieces of tender?) or rely on finding fuzzy tinder in nature. Consider with shivering, numb hands and fingers the dexterity to make dry fuzzy tender from available sources with out taking your thumb off with your knife.

Lets face it, each fire starting method has its own strengths and its own weaknesses. And honestly when you're cold and wet, relying on starting a fire inherently has problems. One, fire is not the fastest or most efficacious way to warm up someone who is hypothermic. Two, trying to start a fire using any method when cold and shivering can be damned difficult. Three, starting a fire is most difficult when its most needed, when everything is wet. So when I'm out and about in the winter time, I not only carry multiple methods of starting a fire, I carry multiple methods of getting and staying warm.

I carry fire starting materials, matches, lighter and firesteel. And the requisite tinder. All packaged to be waterproof. I also carry a small butane stove. Stoves are easier to light then fires, especially when wet and require no collection of materials. With a stove I can make a hot drink, which warms the body much faster then the radiative heat of a fire. And I can make that hot drink much faster then I could with a fire. Finally at the lowest level, I carry a flameless ration heater and hot beverage bag. Together with water, I can make a hot beverage and put the heater inside my coat to warm me up. Requires almost no dexterity to use and weighs only what the water weighs.

The flameless ration heater and hot beverage bag is one of my favorite tricks since its so light and flat. Of course it helps that I have a steady and limitless supply of MRE's.

As most of you have probably guessed. I'm a bit of a pyro. As far as matches go I've pretty much given up on on them. Most match cases can hold a dozen to maybe 2 dozen matches. Call it on an average 20 fires. A Bic or equivalent lighter is about the same size or a bit smaller. Never tried to figure it out but at a guess they can generate well over a thousand fires. It's no contest. If I have space for a match case I'll carry an additional Bic. As a smoker I carry 2 or 3 at all times anyway A user, A backup and one just to be sure. And that's just in the house.

Yes when out I carry other means also.

Biccity, Biccity, BIC!

I don't use matches anymore.

I got a firesteel that I use to light up my MSR Windpro stove, or just to show people what it is and how it can be used. I got a tiny Spark-lite stored in my utility/survival kit.

After shooting down the 'urban E&E' thread as dangerous fantasy, I'm a bit reluctant to give this information.
But here goes anyway:
When we did Escape and Evasion exercises we were trained to coat matches in wax and slip them inside clothing seams. One thing about matches; they are the smallest fire making method.
It didn't work of course; the platoons doing the hunting for us had had the same training. They simply took all our equipment and clothes and gave us new ones. Maybe it would be helpful if you were travelling in the middle east or somewhere being held prisoner by amateurs is a possibility. Concealment equals guilt in LE eyes; so I'd avoid it anywhere civilised.
The Sock

I don't understand what is comical about a 1/2 x 4 inch firesteel. It fits in the palm of your hand. That's not any kind of burden.

And I tell you what, 1/2 inch diameter firesteels give off a huge shower of sparks compared to the thinner ones. That makes starting a fire a heck of a lot easier.

That may have been me. I just don't think they are worth it. They are quite bulky for the number of lights you get. They are vulnerable to water. They are hard to use one-handed. They are not especially wind-proof. They can be dangerous eg if you allow friction to rub heads together.

A lighter is my first choice, with a ferro rod as backup. And then another lighter and another ferro rod. I do often carry a Sparklite as well, because it has small size, one-handed use and in my experience has been my most reliable method of starting fires, but I think a ferro rod is ultimately simpler and more trust-worthy. (I have played with other methods, such as potassium permanganate, and Fresnel lenses, but I wouldn't rely on them at all.)

I carry a small amount of tinder. With a firesteel, you can use improvised tinder when that's convenient and prepared tinder in emergencies.

When camping, I carry more tinder because I find it helps even when using a lighter.

I try to carry at least 3 different ways of firemaking, sometimes more, since they are usually quite light.

I still like matches, although after 10 years of storage, I've found them to be iffy. My fault. I like the REI's, but once the chemical coating burns off, they go out. You have 15 seconds of great flame, then good luck. I prefer a regular match with 45 seconds of good (not great) flame.

I tested different ferrocerium rods out on my last camping trip. I was very surprised at the difference. The larger ones not only put out a lot more sparks, but much, much hotter and longer lasting. I still keep a small one on my keychain, but pack the big boys for everything else.

I still love my zippo, but pack bics also.

It's interesting discussion sitting at my computer, but when I'm wet and shivering, I don't really care how. Knowing different techniques with different equipment give me options, which I appreciate.

Next camping trip, I'm going to try some old road flares I've had laying around for years...

What people tend to forget is that firesteel can also be used as a signaling device. It´s a little bit like a strobe light because the sparks are visible from every angle unlike concentric beam of the flashlight. In addition it doesn´t need batteries. (I am not saying that it´s better than flashlight/strobe light etc. or whatever - just another signaling tool in your arsenal). In this case it´s good to have rather bigger firesteel - you get brighter, more visible sparks, it can be held more comfortably in your hand when signaling and it will not run out of sparks when signaling whole night.

You can also need to dry out some tinder by "bombing" it with shower of sparks before it catches the spark. Again the more (and the bigger) sparks your firesteel can produce the better.

So I think that bigger rods can be useful. But my EDC is rather small Pro Force firesteel which is attached to my Maxpedition keyper because something with larger rod would be too heavy for my pocket. However I don´t mind carrying big Strike Force in my backpack.

I think at the end of the day it boils down to your personal preference - whatever works for you is good. Many of us carry at least several fire starting solutions and various tinders so I guess we are quite prepared. It could be worse. I bet there are people that carry only several ordinary matches and think they can start a fire whatever the conditions.

I have a few fire steels none of them that ½ by 4 inch one. And they work well. I do notice the bigger they are the more sparks. This means I have talked myself into ordering one of those big ones to play with. Actually a few of them (my 18-year old son will want one) and I like to have spares of most things. Need it? NO! Want it YES!

The signaling aspect of it is interesting, never thought of that.








I carry a Swiss Champ Swiss Army Knife, it’s the biggest one they make. I have had it in my pocket every day for 30-years. I feel naked without it. It’s big, bigger then most people would want. I have left for work a few mornings without it and then turned around to go back and get it.

I think while an item may be big it still can be very useful and like my Swiss knife people will see the worth of having it.


I also agree that the small key chain fire steels are of limited use because of the small spark. I have a few of them but they are now with my camp stoves, they produce enough spark to easily light gasoline, alcohol or propane. I have a pouch that I put my Svea 123 stove in, I hooked a fire steel on the cinch strap of it so it’s always with the stove.

No. Absolutely and utterly, NO.

Matches DO have the just about the worst light per mass/volume ratio out there, no doubt about it. But they don't freeze up like lighters (ANY lighter) that isn't in your pocket will.

Likewise flame-based ignition systems, either matches or lighters, don't touch the much touted thousands of lights on even a smallish ferro rod. But spark based ignition needs two things- dry tinder, and somewhat fluffy tinder. That rules out candles, anything waxed or shellaced, and natural tinder that is damp.

Everything in the arsenal has a role. Run the ferro rod when you can, the lighter when needed, matches when you must, flares when nothing else will do. And if you have no other choice, follow Heinlein's advice- rub two Boy Scouts together.

My dad was a fireman for 41-years, I have always had access to free flares through the firehouse. When I was in the boy scouts we always had a campfire. We always had a fire going good before any other troop got theirs started because I took a lot of flares with me. We got to calling them a “Boy Scout Match.” At times on rainy weekends we were the only ones with a raging fire.

Coleman fuel used to be called "Boy Scout Water" for a similar reason...

I carry a variety of firestarting things in my EDC backpack. Matches (strike anywhere & REI waterproof), Bics and a firesteel along with dryer lint.

Will matches go out of style? Style is unimportant to me, function is. I'll continue to carry them as long as I can buy them.

Actually I tried to light the candle using firesteel. I was quite surprised that it took only several strikes. But I agree that it is not the most straightforward method. It´s good to know that it can be done in emergency though.

That was Ayla, not Layla. Interestingly, she opted for the rock-striking method as opposed to spinning a branch in a piece of wood to make fire.

I can't think of a scenario where I would have candles in the wilderness. I don't have candles in my BOB, and I don't take candles camping. My main source of light in the woods is a campfire. And if I have to stray too far away from the campfire (nature calls) I have a flashlight.

The only place I do have candles is at home, and even at home they are a last resort if for some reason my battery powered lanterns malfunction. And if I do need to light a candle at home, I have a ton of lighters that can do that.

Interesting idea. I guess its importance depends on what kind of tinder you are carrying. Wetfire tinder doesn't need to be dried out, and it burns long enough to get a fire going without wasting lighter fluid. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea for me to carry a candle, just in case I'm ever in a situation where I'm forced to use natural tinder.

I'm frightened that I understood that.

To sumise, I think it can be agreed that matches are outdated as a PRIMARY fire-starting source, but are still useful enough in certain situations where a rod or lighter are not. You can get around this I suppose...a waterproofed lighter would offer many of the same advantages, but the point is that redundancy for this tool is desirable especially since the tools are so small and light, and diversity gives you flexibility in different situations.

I like candles for a kind of long lived tinder addition, and I always put a couple of the trick birthday candles in my match cases. Light a small one, gently place a bit of soaked tinder on it, quickly and gently add tinder. I never count on being able to get dry natural tinder, or even thawed natural tinder.

I also have three finger long and thick cheapies in my ditch kit (in plastic bag). One, two or even all three will get a fire going under almost any conditions not requiring an life raft. :P

I carry a 9 hour candle in my daypack, one of these days, I'm going to see if it's REALLY good for 9 hours. In the cars, I keep a 3 pack of the canned heat (not sterno), I think it's called magic heat or something like that.

I think long burning candles are great, not only as a "better match" or tinder but they can come in handy and warm you in those areas where there is no wood (in the mountains above the tree zone ...) or in those situations when you are not able to collect the wood fast enough to keep the fire burning because of broken leg etc.