Matches..

[tomtom]

Just interested here.. im sure most people dont use safety matches.. you know the type which can only be struck on their own packet..
does any body wax them.. does anyone use those lifeboat ones which go off like a little sparkler for about a millisecond then stay hot for ages..

i know out american friends have much better matches available to them.. some of which are illegal over here IIRC..

personally i use swan vistas which i some times wax..

so lets hear it

 

[Gary]

Swanni's (thats matches as well as shirts!) for me too - although I rarely use them, my firesteel generally lights most things I need.

 

[tomtom]

yup.. same.. anyone know of a longer strike anywhere match avalible over here..

 

[Hoodoo]

My favorite are REI wind and waterproof matches. Best I've tried.

 

[Nightfall]

I use Diamond brand strike anywhere matches. I have never waxed them. Always carry them in a orange match safe. I had a hard time finding them. Could always find the strike on box kind, but thats no good. When I finnaly found the strike anywheres I bought them.

 

[Pete E]

I don't like matches and don't carry them by choice. A few years back we were doing some trials of different survival kit/techniques and we were quite surprised at what we found.

I happened to some emergency matches squirreled away in my kit that had been there for maybe three or four years. They were ordinary swan vesta's that I had coated quite liberably with candle wax and stored them in a 35mm canister which is what many folks do. When I came to try them, not one would light! they all acted as if they were "damp" ie the chemical on the heads just came off the match stick.

They we tried those lifeboat matches in the which containers. These worked well in the dry and lit well enough in the rain too at first except there was one small problem. The special striking surface which was on the outside of the lid virtually dissolved when it was used in the wet. I don't recall what make these were but they were a fairly generic lifeboat match as sold in Millets or what have you.

Ever since I have switched to el cheapo butane lighters and just relied on having a three or four in different pockets/pouches. For back up I use a flint and steel with cotton wool soaked in vasaline as a tinder. For run of the mill fire lighting I also have a turbo lighter, but its a bit thirsty and they are prone to breaking to totally rely on..

Regards,

Pete

 

[gb]

Swan vestas for me too, cheap and readily available.

 

[Gary]

Pete E, moral of your story, and one we can all learn from is that you should rotate your matches by sell by date just as you should rotate pain killers and other perisables in your survival kit. After all you cant blame your knife for not cutting if you dont sharpen it!

Bic lighters are a good idea and I often carry one as a back up - especially if you alter the bezel and up the flame size! But again I generally only use my firesteel and thus far it has never let me down.

But let us not forget the most important factor, a fire that is well prepared will light from the weakest source of ignition and as such good technique dictates we should always prepare our fire properly before hand giving it the greatest chance of sucess every time.

 

[TheViking]

Normal Tordenskjold safety matches. I wax them in melted stearin.

 

[Squidders]

I use this type

and as Gary said, I recycle them as necessary but to be honest I'm a smoker and always have at least 2 lighters around at any given time.

 

[TheViking]

http://www.bushcraftuk.net/community/showthread.php?t=421&highlight=matches

http://www.bushcraftuk.net/community/showthread.php?t=2526&highlight=matches

 

[alick]

I'm a bit wary of waxing matches for the reason mentioned earlier about the heads softening. I also wonder about clogging up the sandpaper. If I did seal them, I'd prefer nail varnish - fast drying and sets good and hard.

In practice, matches are my 3rd line of defence so I only carry lifeboat matches. You can see them in my possibles kit in the gallery.

Experience shows that the strikers are the weak link with lifeboat matches. A striker on the outside of the container is useless ! I carry three or four striker strips INSIDE a waterproof contact lens pot with the matches. Wrap them in clingfilm to stop any accidental strikes. Two dozen lifeboat matches going off in your pocket would be exciting !

 

[ZDP-189]

Sorry, but I don't see any reason to carry matches. If you can't fit a BIC in your kit, you can still fit a mini-BIC or a steel. They last longer in storage and in use, are more reliable, light in all conditions, and are safer too.

 

[Hoodoo]

Here's some pics of the REI matches.

In addition to the strikers on the box, each package comes with sturdy extra strikers. I carry mine in a heavy duty plastic tube. I always have a package of these on me somewhere when I go into the backcountry. They are ultrareliable and burn longer than any other wind/waterproof matches I've tried. The second best I've found are the Coughlans wind/waterproof matches (not the waterproof matches though). Most so-called lifeboat matches I've tried are terrible. Hard to light and burn too quickly.

 

[Realgar]

Sorry, but I don't see any reason to carry matches. If you can't fit a BIC in your kit, you can still fit a mini-BIC or a steel. They last longer in storage and in use, are more reliable, light in all conditions, and are safer too.

A ****** good reason is that no matter who you're with they're probably able to strike a match no matter state you may be in yourself. Lighters tend not to behave when the flint wheel gets damp. Carrying a couple of methods around is always sensible though.

Realgar

 

[Hoodoo]

Lighters tend not to behave when the flint wheel gets damp. Carrying a couple of methods around is always sensible though.

Realgar

Amen! :biggthump

 

[ChrisKavanaugh]

A box of matches is not unlike the people at shooting ranges with .22 rifles and a brick ( 1000 rounds) of ammunition. Quantity overcomes quality of effort and result. Every system, and every example of that system is not without fault. Common sense dictates redundancy. It should also dictate forethought to make the need itself redundant. I was a rescue swimmer on the Oregon Coast and found myself onshore with 3 survivors I brought in. Firemaking? I was a lifeboat crewman. I had a broken hand, my knife and a penflare unit. We were cold, on a beach in difficult terrain and the helicopter was on the far leg of it's search pattern. I made a friction fire. Don't ask me how, It takes me for ever normally. After that experience I became a pyromaniac. There were crewmen who carried magnesium bars white with corrosion who had never made a fire with one. People carried Zippo's with fancy Coast Guard shields tell me it was all they ( flick,flick %@#! my fluid evaporated again) needed while trying to light a cigarette. I've learned to use every method for firemaking as I become aware of it. NOT ONE is 100% foolproof in 100% of possible scenarios. :chill: If you can make a fire with HALF of a split paper match you will appreciate a handfull of fresh,stored wooden matches. But by then your probably like me, and pack 5 canisters of lifeboats, 250 strikeanywheres, 3 bic lighters, a metal match, SPARKLITE and tinder, fatwood bundle, magnesium bar, petrolatum soaked cotton balls, and my favourite (if tresspassing across the desert bombing range) a second tarp with a painted portrait of Bin laden on it :rolmao:

 

[Hoodoo]

Well, no one has ever accused me of not being redundant. :shock:

My favorite way to waterproof matches is with shellac.

I don't think they make strike anywhere matches like they use to. I've found they work pretty good even after long storage BUT, they don't strike just anywhere. Playing around with different striking surfaces is always a good idea. I like to strike mine on dry, slighty smooth wood.

 

[alick]

The REI matches look the business. V. Nice. Much longer than the lifeboat matches I buy. I'll have to look for a UK equivalent. Shipping's a bit dear to bring thes REI ones into the UK if the post would even carry them.

Medical sample bottle's a good fit for size too.

Cheers

 

[tomtom]

Dimond SAM's look the beeezzzz knees to me :wave: better than what we get over here anyhoo