If the packets are sonically welded, it must be physical forces that are causing people's packets to come apart. It seems that with this particular tinder, protecting it in a container of some sort would be indicated.

I think I'm going to try to find a small container just for the tinder for my kit.

-john

Well my tinder is in a gold wrapper and protected by the otter box the kit came in. Guess what? It still has the same issue of the seams being open.

Sounds to me like UST is about to be flooded with returns....

If the box isn't crushed, sounds like a defective batch.

-john

Nancie -- many thanks for coming here and providing us with info and support. I just tried your extension but apparently you are out all week, so I was able to speak with Bill Clark instead. He was very friendly and helpful and I'll be sending in some tinder pulled at random with replacements headed my way.

I bought a couple of Strike Forces years ago, close to 15, I think. I also purchased some extra tinder cubes with them when I bought them. I just checked and they all are intact. This was when the StrikeForce was marketed by Gerber.
I also have several packs of Esbit fuel, I have not noticed any deterioration in performance in any of those, but I can attest to the fact there is a very distinct odor when I open the airtight container I store them in.
You all have me thinking about just sticking to Trioxane and petroleum-jellied cotton balls. I will test my stores as well and get back with you, also.

Anything in foil in a pack is likely to get jostled, loosened, and leak... power bars, light sticks, even this wetfire tinder. It's the nature of the package.

I received the replacement tinder the other day from UST (thanks!); these batches were in small cardboard boxes, same gray foil wrapper. Just need to get outside and give them a try...

Discovered by accident that Lock & Lock makes a small round plastic container that is 100 ml / 3 oz. / 0.11 qt. in size and holds five pieces of WetFire tinder perfectly. Both Uwajimaya and H Mart (asian food stores) carry lots of various Lock & Lock containers. Should work well for protecting the tinder if anyone needs something cheaper than an Otterbox or Pelican case.

I spoke to UST at Outdoor Retailer about these Wetfire failures. They are looking at bringing the sealing process in-house to exercise more control. While I agree that the packets need to be opened easily, it may be that they have erred too far in that direction. It could also be that QC in production sealing of the packages may not be as good as desired. <shrug>

We also discussed the fact that while the latest retail packaging notes that the cube should be shaved for lighting with a sparking firestarter, the reality is that many users do not realize this. That becomes even more critical when the cube has been exposed to air for any length of time, losing some or most of the volatile elements that make it easier to light. I suggested that they should print that sort of instruction on the individual packaging itself. They indicated they might consider it down the road when they have used up existing packaging material.

They seemed pretty adamant that a recall is not warranted. I am not yet convinced of that. I was told they may post a notice on their Web site offering to replace any packages that have come open, as they have posted here. That would be a good start, but since many, if not most, purchasers of the Wetfire will never stop by the UST site or find that offer, or even notice the individual packages have come open until too late, a more critical issue, I am not convinced that solves the issue.

I should note for those that like this product, there is another seemingly identical product available (the manufacturer claims it is identical and it seems to work the same) that seems to have more secure and somewhat tougher packaging, but which is, unfortunately, a larger cube, which would create some packing issues in a small kit. This is Fastfire by Solkoa: www.fast-fire.com.

Of course, another alternative is the Spark-Lite Tinder-Quik product, such as I use in my Pocket Survival Pak.

Both products have their advantages and disadvantages. Neither is the perfect tinder.

UST probably cannot afford another recall.

I have been thinking about unwrapping the WetFire cuboid and casting it in wax and then wrapping it again. The layer of wax would protect it from air and therefore deteoriation. And the wax would be useful for fire starting too. I could actually get smaller pieces this way - cutting the cuboid and casting the individual pieces in wax. What do you think? Would it be good storage method?