Well, I got my two NRA survival kits last night. Well worth the $9.95 even with the problem I'm about to relate.
Never having seen or handled a Blastmatch before, I eagerly popped open the case and began playing with the Blastmatch trying to create a shower of sparks the likes of which have never been seen before. I IMMEDIATELY (within 10 seconds) snapped off the striker.
Now admittedly I am a ham-handed fool. But this is supposed to be a SURVIVAL tool. Maybe I got a defective one and the other one is more sturdy--I don't know because that one is earmarked for my brother-in-law the elk hunter, and now I'm afraid to test it and even more afraid to give it to him. Suppose he needs to start a fire one-handed (and with numb hands at that) in a Utah blizzard: can the Blastmatch pass muster?
I reiterate: I am ham-handed as heck; but I was also sitting comfortably in my kitchen reading the directions as opposed to squatting out on the mountain in a 40 mph sleetstorm trying to light a fire. I have much more confidence in my sparklite. Will/Can someone set my mind at ease and tell me this is an aberration?
By the way, the rest of the kit is absolutely first-rate as far as I can see.

Regards, Vince