I love the Coughlan's windproof/waterproof matches*. I also love the REI stormproof matches. They both are great. The difference in appearance from the BCB lifeboat matches is that the REI ones are bigger and the Coughlan's ones are red. I use the Coughlan's for commercial airline travel, because they are almost as good as the lifeboats, but look more like "normal" matches in a cardboard box than the lifeboats do in their white plastic bottle. I prefer them for travel over REI's because they are normal sized, whereas REI's are oversized. I don't want to give any security officer any reason whatsoever to do a double-take when (s)he looks at them.

And yes, you're right. Of the three I just mentioned, the matches I got from this service look most like the Coughlan's. They're not oversized, and they're not two-tone, and they're not brown. However, the Coughlans' are consistenly and evenly applied and the burnable material has a glossy finish. These looked like they might be knock-offs of the Coughlan's style, but the burnable material had been unevenly applied and has a splotchy, flat finish which looked quite different.

Please understand me, they work just fine; there's nothing wrong with them. I have carried them and used them and like them well enough not to complain. They're completely acceptable, and yes, they are rather waterproof and hard to blow out. I'm not complaining about them at all, though I guess my earlier post may have sounded like that. Sorry for not being clearer. I guess I was just disappointed, because I got my hopes up.

But, I'm a gear snob, I guess, and prefer to pack BCBs in my PSKs. I carry Coughlan's when flying, 'cause they look normal. I usually carry REIs when hiking or camping, because I like the longer burn time of the larger matches. Since I got these matches from the above link though, I've been substituting them for the REIs, and I guess I'll continue to do so until I use them all up.

I don't have a problem with these matches, I just wanted everyone to know what was what, so they weren't surprised if they ordered some too.


*I always like to point out that I'm not talking about Coughlan's "waterproof" matches. Those are different.