I recently went through a fire starting test, too. The normal fire starters I carry camping are waterproof matches and a lighter.

Here's what I found:

Dryer lint, if fluffed up, works with a spark-lite or the flint on a mag block, but it's tough to do. My clothes are almost all cotton, which probably makes the lint light easier than other types.

Magnesium shavings, by themselves, are easy to light but burn too quickly. A combination of magnesium shavings in lint works much better than either one separately. (I'm sure a big enough pile of shavings would burn just about anything. I'll have to experiment more with that.)

As finely as I could shave wood (pine), I could not get it to light with a spark. Same goes for a pile of shavings from the router, which surprised me because they are very fine.

I could not get cotton twine to light from a spark. However, cotton twine with just a drop or two of alcohol or kerosene catches easily from a spark and burns great.

The tinder tabs packaged with the spark-lite work great. Mine are several years old. I opened one up, tore it in half, fluffed it up, and it caught and burned great. These things are a very good value, IMO, and I'll be buying more to stuff into various kits.

One last thing I tried was an alcohol based hand wipe. This caught easily and burned well, but the cloth itself did not burn after the alcohol burned off. I wouldn't depend on this as a carry item because the alcohol could be evaporated from the wipe before it's opened. (DR pointed that out years ago in a review I read.) Good to know that they catch easily, though, that could come in handy.