Do Tinder Quik tabs get old? I've tried to find info about what they are made of, but had no luck. Are they chemically treated, so that the chemicals might degrade over time? Can I stock up and pass them on to my grandchildren? <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

As far as I can tell, cotton fibers and some kind of microcrystaline wax.

Half life on the cotten in the wax... probably the end of the universe. Half life of the wax... I'd say rotate them every five years or so.

Hi Ors,

I don't know, but they sure are nice and clean... I doubt they can go bad.

Making your own firestarter can be lots of fun... I liked a recent post in which the member suggested to coat CB/PJ with wax to make them less of a mess. That being said, I must admit that I bought a Spark Lite with 8 Tinder Qwik pieces and I love it. It came in a small orange reusable plastic box. I don't think i'm going to mess around with CB/PJ anymore.

I very recently burned several pieces of TQ that came with an original SparkLight (similar in design to a Coleman lantern lighter). Those pieces had to be around 10 years old or so and they ignited without any trouble...

M

I recently came into possession of a 21-year-old survival kit, unopened and stored in a twin-engine aircraft nacelle locker, that had one of the original Spark-Lites in it. The Tinder-Quik in the kit worked just fine. There's really nothing to go bad, just cotton and wax. The wax will discolor over time, but burns just fine.

Did the original Spark Lite flint wheel thingy still work?

Yes