Byrd..i swear by that fire paste,every spring a buy a new tube and take it with me on the canoe trips.i like it because you can use a dab or a big blob depending on how much starting you need.with a heap of birch bark a bit on a edge helps things along fast.with the dry, but wet from the rain,black spruce twigs and branches a nice big squeeze of this stuff will get a fire going.it works great to pre-heat stoves.it's fast to use,no scraping or fooling with gizmos just the touch of a match will do it.i don't take a sparkier for everyday use so i don't know about that.i was using the Army heat tabs but a hold in the foil and they went to dust.other tabs were burning uselessly after the fire was going and wasted.i like candle stubs if it looks like it's going to be a really hard start but the fire paste gets 90% of the use.
by the way i'm in for the BW in early June this year.i hope i don't have the storms i had last year and can have a fire rather than huddle in the shelter in every bit of clothes i have.