BlastMatch Fire Starter

[Survival Cal]

Hey folks,
I've had the BlastMatch fire starter a good few years now and the times I've put it to use I've been very impressed, so I thought to post this quick review for anyone looking to get a great survival flint. mine came as part of the "ultimate survival technologies survival kit" and along with everything else in there it's performed perfectly.

It has a nice sizeable piece of flint, very long lasting.

It has a durable handle/case with lanyard hole, though if you use a lanyard you cannot secure the cover in it's open position as seen bellow. I keep it in the Otterbox without a lanyard with the rest of the kit anyhow.

One thing i did notice is how flexible the thin parts of the cover are when opening and closing it they would probably snap under any serious pressure, that would stop you being able to secure the flint inside the handle keeping it compact. though the functionality wouldn't be lost.

When secured in place in the closed or opened position though there is no stress put on them and there is little chance that they will get broken.

All in all a fantastic piece of survival kit, extremely usable, would recommend to any survivalist/prepper along with the the rest of the kit, which includes a signalling mirror which you can aim, the stupidly loud "jet scream" whistle, a chainsaw and WetFire fire starters which work better when wet, though i haven't tested those yet

 

[Muddy Boots]

Thanks for the post

 

[ged]

Thanks for the review, it is indeed a great piece of kit and one of my favourites. You need to press the striker quite firmly onto the rod to get the best sparks.

The 'flint' is in fact a ferrocerium rod, and this brand is about the best I've come across. I reckon you could probably light a damp brick with it.

Note that there are some Chinese copies of this design, my example of the copy doesn't give such big fat hot sparks as the original, but it does work well enough. It was quite a lot cheaper, but these things aren't too expensive so if anyone is thinking of getting one I'd say go for the original and you won't regret it.

 

[Survival Cal]

Thanks for the review, it is indeed a great piece of kit and one of my favourites. You need to press the striker quite firmly onto the rod to get the best sparks.

The 'flint' is in fact a ferrocerium rod, and this brand is about the best I've come across. I reckon you could probably light a damp brick with it.

Note that there are some Chinese copies of this design, my example of the copy doesn't give such big fat hot sparks as the original, but it does work well enough. It was quite a lot cheaper, but these things aren't too expensive so if anyone is thinking of getting one I'd say go for the original and you won't regret it.

Cheers for the info!, very interesting, I didn't know it was ferrocerium, it certainly creates one hell of a spark, i was thinking to do a video review and try lighting something in the rain with it

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

Id echo that Ged. my deal extreme copy was a bit poor but i smashed it up and use the ferro rod with no problems

 

[Lister]

I like the BlastMatch but the 1 thing i don't like it that you need a hard surface to use it on, I think the makers missed a trick but not having a pullcord attached to the bottom that would allow you to pull the rod back into the case (against the spring) whilst still pushing down the striker....if that makes sense? that would allow you to use the BlastMatch without a surface to use it against (like you would a standard flint 'n' steel).......maybe a weekend mod?

 

[Survival Cal]

I like the BlastMatch but the 1 thing i don't like it that you need a hard surface to use it on, I think the makers missed a trick but not having a pullcord attached to the bottom that would allow you to pull the rod back into the case (against the spring) whilst still pushing down the striker....if that makes sense? that would allow you to use the BlastMatch without a surface to use it against (like you would a standard flint 'n' steel).......maybe a weekend mod?

Good point and great idea, makes sense to me.. how would you attach the cord?

@ Ged
Thanks for the info, I didn't know it was Ferrocerium, it certainly has an impressive spark at 1,650 °C!

 

[Retired Member southey]

It was originally designed to go into US aircrew survival kits(not sure if it actually made it in though Santanaman could answer maybe,the main part of the design is to be used single handed if injured this is why its a spring loaded system, the rod it self is brilliant, throughs very well, I am going to strip one of mine to make into normal ferro rod,

 

[Lister]

Good point and great idea, makes sense to me.. how would you attach the cord?

@ Ged
Thanks for the info, I didn't know it was Ferrocerium, it certainly has an impressive spark at 1,650 °C!

Not entirely sure on that, possibly take the thing apart, drill a hole in the back of the rod and try and attach a cord to its rear (think: tampon), not sure how exactly, maybe an screw eye-hook set up? if you can't attach it to the rod itself then maybe to the spring but as close to the rear of the rod as possible?

 

[ged]

I like the BlastMatch but the 1 thing i don't like it that you need a hard surface to use it on, I think the makers missed a trick but not having a pullcord attached to the bottom that would allow you to pull the rod back into the case (against the spring) whilst still pushing down the striker....if that makes sense? that would allow you to use the BlastMatch without a surface to use it against (like you would a standard flint 'n' steel).......maybe a weekend mod?

Good point and great idea, makes sense to me.. how would you attach the cord? ...

Not entirely sure on that, possibly take the thing apart, drill a hole in the back of the rod and try and attach a cord to its rear (think: tampon), not sure how exactly, maybe an screw eye-hook set up? if you can't attach it to the rod itself then maybe to the spring but as close to the rear of the rod as possible?

I've never thought it necessary to do anything like that. Rich is right, they can be used one-handed as they are. It doesn't exactly need to be a hard surface to press the tip of the rod against, a bit of wood will do. You're probably going to have a bit of wood handy if you're making a fire.

I know one of the makers on here does drill holes in this kind of rod for putting a keyring through or something like that, so it's certainly possible. As metals go the alloy is really quite weak, so you'd need to be careful that there was enough meat around the hole to take the forces.

I don't think the spring itself would take that sort of treatment for long, it's quite a flimsy thing just to push the rod out of the housing ready for you to strike it. I wouldn't recommend fastening a pull-cord to it.

 

[woodpoet]

Hi. Used a Blastmatch for quite a while. I must have been heavy handed as the piece of steel broke off. I took it apart put handle on it and now use it as a normal firesteel. Still gives the best sparks of all the firesteels I have.

 

[SimonD]

does anyone have a link of where to buy in the uk?? thanks in advance

 

[Retired Member southey]

Here you go matey, Kitmonster

 

[Retired Member southey]

or a cheap assed version here

 

[SimonD]

Here you go matey, Kitmonster

you are a gent

 

[The Lord Poncho]

It might be technique (probably is if everyone here finds them so good), but the few times i've seen these in use, they kept on sliding off the stick that they were being pressed against, and when it didn't, it kept knocking the tinder- extinguishing it before the sparks could ignite it. I came to the conclusion that unless i only had one arm, a standard fire steel was a little more adaptable and effective- not requiring a firm surface, and allowing you to shower sparks from whatever height or angle you wished. Happy to be educated otherwise though!

 

[ged]

or a cheap assed version here

Or here:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/fire-s...mping-hunting-flint-with-plastic-holder-33799

or knock yourself out:

http://www.dealextreme.com/c/fire-starting-gear-1638?page=1&pagesize=52&pagesort=relevance

I particularly like this one:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/steel-reuseable-matchstick-wilderness-survival-keychain-19144

 

[Retired Member southey]

hahah Yup lots of cheap assed stuff there!

 

[ged]

It might be technique (probably is if everyone here finds them so good), but the few times i've seen these in use, they kept on sliding off the stick that they were being pressed against, and when it didn't, it kept knocking the tinder- extinguishing it before the sparks could ignite it. I came to the conclusion that unless i only had one arm, a standard fire steel was a little more adaptable and effective- not requiring a firm surface, and allowing you to shower sparks from whatever height or angle you wished. Happy to be educated otherwise though!

I think you're probably right about the flexibility of the rod-and-striker approach. Let's face it all that really matters is lighting a fire. The thing that impresses me most with the Blastmatch is the sheer raw power and volume of the sparks. I find it a bit easier to direct the spark with the Blastmatch than with other arrangements.

 

[Survival Cal]

I think you're probably right about the flexibility of the rod-and-striker approach. Let's face it all that really matters is lighting a fire. The thing that impresses me most with the Blastmatch is the sheer raw power and volume of the sparks. I find it a bit easier to direct the spark with the Blastmatch than with other arrangements.

Agreed, although getting the right fire starting set-up takes a little more preparation once set the BlastMatch creates a huge direct flurry of sparks.. Either way you get a nice sizeable piece of Ferrocerium to do with it what you will!