Sorry Taurus, I couldn't resist... It WAS meant to be a compliment... Honest.

I agree with you though... one of the very first things we teach new Boy Scouts is how to build a fire. My troop also does an annual "survival" camp-out to get them thinking. This Forum/site has given me lots of ideas for next year's event!

Lifeboat-matches, especially the NATO-ones suck...badly..

They are very hard to light and you CAN blow them out, also you can throw them out well before they have expired..

I would suggest either Coghlan's Wind/Waterproof matches or REI storm-matches..or a road-flare if you want a bombproof-way..

Coghlan's? Are you serious? Everything I've ever bought from them turned out to be inferior (except for maybe their orange potty trowel). This would be a first.

I'll have to check out REI's model vs. the NATO ones. The NATO one's sure do get talked up a lot.

Anyone got any special tricks for lighting the NATO ones?

I have been digging around and I think the ones I have are made for and used by the Canadian Coast guard so they may be very similar to the NATO style. Usually we get issued the Coghlan's wind and waterproof ones. I have never had any real problems with those but the new issued ones are far superior.

Pushing them across the striker seems to work better, from what I have read.

I have some, but never used them. Guess I need to bust one vial open.

The only special trick I know of with the NATOs is that you can only light them on the striker built into the lid. I never found a way to light them on a normal striker or anything else for that matter.

Problem is, that striker isn't very water or friction resistant. Protect it at all cost if you are going to use them. This is my least favorite part of the whole design.

Me, I've got other options. *grins* I had a couple of tubes of these in the late 90s, finally tested them shortly after Y2K, and discovered that they had a shelf life. Or I had a really messed up lot.

EDIT: Yes, they should be struck, not pulled, across the striker. Hold the butt of the match against your finger, and jab downward, a short, swift stroke, of the black tip down the striker. That was the only way I could get them to be reliable- the stems were to thin in my batch, they broke about half the time if you tried to normally draw across the striker.

This technique also applies to normal stick matches- you can light them off a bit of striker the size of a first class stamp this way!

I'll try to bring some gear out this Saturday morning and see what I come up with. Maybe my bic can light the Life Boat matches ...

I know.. the Coghlan's matches actually work well..unlike some (read: most) of their products

And I've tried all the tricks to light those damn NATO's, but they just don't work...

Hi Jim,



The NATO matches do work, but the problem is the striker pad which is applied to the plastic lid of the more commonly available lifeboat match container. Its pretty useless. Whats required is the striker pad supplied with the NATO matches supplied in UK ration packs (NSN 9920-99-737-1041). You can get these at http://ukkitmonster.com/product_info.php?products_id=308



The NATO matches and Stiker are seperately wrapped in individual poly bags in the same way as Taurus's first post photo's to keep them dry (especially the striker pad).

You can also view Ray Mears using the correct technique to light/strike matches at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsbSMplJ6g4

These look identical to mine. They are most likely the same but packaged differently. Like these, There is no striker strip on the vial but rather there are 2 inside in small vacuum bags. They light VERY easily. The only problem is that when you strike them there is a bit of spray of sparks from the small chunks of the stuff on the tip which can burn your clothes if not careful.