The blastmatch

[woodstock]

I have just acquired a Blastmatch It is a flint and steel fire lighter which can be operated one handed I have ignited various substances with no problem birch back, pine resin, kitchen role, the kitchen flooring the sparks burn really hot..has anyone else got one or tried one £16

 

[weaver]

I have a few. In extreme cold the striker will break and maybe get lost. Always be sure you have another way to strike it or be sure you have a knife with you. Other than that and in more moderate climates they are great kit.

I think they sell for $19 here, but a couple years ago the NRA store had a sale. For $12 you got a kit with an Otterbox 2000, blastmatch, whistle, tinder cubes and flash mirror. I bought one for each of the kids, my wife and one for me.

 

[British Red]

The blast match.

Like a ferro rod - just less useful, less long lasting and more prone to failure

Red

 

[woodstock]

The blast match.

Like a ferro rod - just less useful, less long lasting and more prone to failure

Red

This is a link to the one I bought im sure it says somewhere it carries a lifetime guarantee
http://www.ultimatesurvival.com/product_view.cfm?product_line_ID=156

 

[British Red]

Yep, got one. Its a ferro rod with a friction attached striker. Of course you only get about a third of the rod that you can get elsehwere for £5. Sorry woodstock - they are a gimmick. The nature of the device says you have to rest the end of the rod on the tinder which risks scattering your tinder on the down stroke. The set up means if the striker becomes detached internaly (which many do) it stops working. It may have an advantage if you have one injured arm. Other than that a 9mm ferro rod and a striker gives more "bang for your buck", has less chance of failure and is far better at not messing up your tinder on lighting.

Seriously - a basic ferro rod and some practice is cheaper and better

Red

 

[woodstock]

Bloody sucker for gimmicks I'll take my frost mora and rod as backup red cheers for the input

 

[British Red]

Me too - see my article on "the science of fire"

Sadly, the more I learn, the more that I realise that, for all the gimmicks I own, a basic ignition source and good technique is all I need. Anyone for a huge kit bag full of 20 sorts of tinder, fire piston, hand drill, bow drill, magnifying glass, fresnel lens, ferrocium, flint and steel, parabolic lens, KMnO4, batteries and wire wool, match case etc. etc.?

Candidly, an old fashioned flint and steel and a lighter is all I need these day

Red

 

[Ogri the trog]

Anyone for a huge kit bag full of 20 sorts of tinder,
Red

AAARRGGGHHH don't do that.
I'm slowly coming to a similar realisation. I tote a plastic crate of fire works around with me for demonstrating - which I'm sure is appreciated. But for day to day ignition one or two items are the mainstay. Though I am lacking in the solar fire producers.....

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Spikey DaPikey]

Aha !! The "Big bag of Fire" Lots of fun stuff in there

 

[British Red]

ROFL

I forgot you had met the "bag of fire"

Red

 

[Spikey DaPikey]

Better than a 'Ring of fire!'

 

[woodstock]

Me too - see my article on "the science of fire"

Sadly, the more I learn, the more that I realise that, for all the gimmicks I own, a basic ignition source and good technique is all I need. Anyone for a huge kit bag full of 20 sorts of tinder, fire piston, hand drill, bow drill, magnifying glass, fresnel lens, ferrocium, flint and steel, parabolic lens, KMnO4, batteries and wire wool, match case etc. etc.?

Candidly, an old fashioned flint and steel and a lighter is all I need these day

Red

Me to if truth be told

 

[John Fenna]

Flint steel charcloth and birch Polypore as standard Ferro rod for back up and a Bic somewhere in reserve.....
Oh yeah - blastmatches fry your thumb if you are not careful!

 

[ZDP-189]

I'm still having trouble getting fire from any ferrocium rod. Why do we carry them if we have to carry a supply of charcloth? What happens when the charcloth runs out? Why not carry a second BIC lighter instead?

Sorry, I'm a bit of a newbie at these things.

 

[OzaawaaMigiziNini]

I'm still having trouble getting fire from any ferrocium rod. Why do we carry them if we have to carry a supply of charcloth? What happens when the charcloth runs out? Why not carry a second BIC lighter instead?

Sorry, I'm a bit of a newbie at these things.

Char cloth can be easily made with the proper materials.

What kind of knife or striker are you using with your Ferro rod? I had issues with my mora, until I ground the back completely flat.

 

[Seoras]

Can I just say about the Blastmatch that the one I have had for about 3 years has been fantastic. No way am I linked to whoever makes them just happy to use one.

Amongst many other firemaking tools I have been using my one in the classes I run and have had no problems with it.

I appreciate that they are more prone to fail (based on what others have said) in comparison to a normal Swedish firesteel or traditional steel but please do not dicount it as it is a great training aid especially with groups of kids.

When I have large numbers of kids to teach/entertain/keep out of trouble I sometimes use the Blastmatch with char cloth. I line up on a piece of wood one piece of char cloth per kid then they take it in turn to light their cloth with the Blastmatch. Any kid who is not stong enough I get them to plunge it with the assistance of one of their friends. All this has to be done very fast to build a team spirit.

When all the clothes are charring they are piled into a tinder bundle, one kid holds it and the rest take turns blowing it into flame. Works a treat and then time permitting then I move onto strikers new and old, and then to friction.

Do I carry one all the time? No.
Are they a Gimmick? Probably yes but kids love them.
Could I rely on one? Yes. If the plunge system fails or the rod comes loose it will work just as a normal striker with a sharp piece of rock.

As a different teaching tool I think they are great and are good for fast team work getting a fire going. Keeps kids interested and makes them more willing to try harder methods after seeing they can make fire in what many would call more bushcrafty ways.

Cheers

George

 

[rapidboy]

Tried one a few years ago and it's OK but not great.
Part of the plastic case broke on mine, didn't stop it working as it was only one side of the lanyard loop but it did make me wonder how long the rest would last.
For me the attraction of a ferro rod is the simplicity and the reliability of it and once you start to complicate that then the real attraction is lost.
The one thing it cant do like a regular plain Jane ferro rod is throw sparks, i use my ferro rod and knife to light my trangia burner.
On a bad night in a storm the only way to light the burner is to keep it inside the windshield and "throw" sparks at the burner from above, trying to use a blastmatch means having your hands too close to the meths for comfort and possibly tipping the whole thing over.

For those that don't know what they look like

 

[John Fenna]

Good shot of you frying your digits there!
That is a big drawback with these babbies IMHO!

 

[British Red]

I'm still having trouble getting fire from any ferrocium rod. Why do we carry them if we have to carry a supply of charcloth? What happens when the charcloth runs out? Why not carry a second BIC lighter instead?

Sorry, I'm a bit of a newbie at these things.

ZDP-189

you sure don't need charcloth for a ferrocium rod - you can light bark, down seeds, feather sticks...all sorts directly with one. Charcloth really comes into its own with traditional flint and steel though which produces a cooler and duller spark

Red

 

[tombear]

I'm still wondering why I bought mine to be honest.

Rather than leave it stranded in the-big-box-o'-combustables I'll stick it in the cars first aid kit on the off chance some one does break a arm and needs to light the hexistove brew kit I keep there.

I vaguely remember something about them being in USAF emergency kits due to the high rate of broken limbs received during ejection.

So, probably not such a bad idea then, the number of times herself has threatened to shove me out of the Mondeo due to my helpful driving advice...

ATB

Tom