Quick intro
Another impressive product that we saw at the Outdoor Retail show a couple of weeks ago was an emergency tool called the Survivor Firestarter. This little nugget is colored in a bright plastic orange handle and along with the flint and strike it has a magnesium stick, a compass and a temperature gauge.
Video Review
Experience
I took the Survivor Firestarter with me this last weekend on a trip in the Moab area to give it a test. I had briefly tried out the alloy flint which is quite bright and gives a 500 degree spark. But I had not yet tested any of the other functions. The top of the tool has a simple floating compass that seemed to work well enough, and a temperature gauge that read 100 degrees while we were down in the desert. The manufacturer told me that the temperature gauge would also work in water. The real test came when it was time to try and start a fire.
I brought a good six-inch blade with the intention of using it to scrape shard’s of magnesium, but I could not locate my knife when the time came so I just used the equipped striking tool instead. I scraped off tiny shreds of magnesium on a rock and then striked the flint in order to light it. But the wind was strong and I had not really built a small pile of tinder so all that happened was the magnesium would light and burn rapidly.
Eventually we built a bit of a wind shelter and were successful with some dry paper and the magnesium scrapes in getting a fire going. For a first time attempt it was a lot more difficult then I excepted in starting a fire. My take away is that as an emergency tool it would have been wise for me to try it out and be familiar with it before an emergency occured. Also it would be easier I believe to get larger pieces of magnesium burning, thus the need for a descent size sharp knife. One down side of the Survivor Firestarter is that once the flint or magnesium runs out then it’s a throw away and you would need to replace it. All-in-all it is a compact, multi-function, emergency tool that can be thrown in any small bag or emergency kit.
The Good
- Three-in-one Emergency Tool
- Striking tool is large enough for big hands to use
- Compact
- Magnesium burns at 5000 degrees
- Lights when wet
The Bad
- Shaving the Magnesium takes practice
- Disposable, (Website says 20,000 strikes)
