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.