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To sumise, I think it can be agreed that matches are outdated as a PRIMARY fire-starting source, but are still useful enough in certain situations where a rod or lighter are not.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.