Just another opinion...I have several, wood and Plexiglas. I prefer the Plexiglas one. It has a synthetic gasket and I can see if I was successful. The concept is nifty and it is fun to play with. I have better luck with flint and steel, but it does work and just uses a pinch of tinder. I think it's easier to use a bow and drill too, but these are fun to work with, at least I find them so. I keep one as an alternate firestarter/available-match extender, but wouldn't be my sole fire starting capability. Like most skills it needs practice, but the resulting coal is hot enough to get a fire going in a tinder nest, if you're only looking for a technical up or down. Hope this helps...