Coghlan's Flint Striker Firestarter Tool for Camping, Hiking, Emergency Survival, and Outdoor Ignition – Durable Ferrocerium Rod with Waterproof Portable Design

Great for emergencies. Does what it's supposed to do.

I've read a few bad reviews of this product, but here's the skinny folks, it's just a piece of magnesium, every company pretty much produces the same quality. This piece is fairly large in my opinion, 9mm diameter x 10 cm of length. The striker plate works best if you ensure the side that says up is facing away from the bar. You'll need to scrape a few time to remove the oxidation that forms on the magnesium strip (it forms faster if wet) then press firmly to scrap off the layer of magnesium (if done weakly it'll fail to spark)It's rated to about 4000 strikes, and that seems likely. It says it works when wet, but let me inform you that it's also harder to scrape properly when lubricated with water (or anything else)One review commented that the bar fell out of the handle fairly quickly, but as large as this bar is, you'd still be able to get a good grip on it. However if it seems like a manufacturing issue, then just return it for a non-defective one.Magnesium flint strikers are not going to light wood, unless that wood is coated in something fairly flammable (feather sticks are an exception) You need tinder; light, highly flammable material such a dryer lint, feather sticks, chemical fuels, birds nests, ect...hold the stick fairly close to the tinder, or directly on top of it and scrap the magnesium into it with a lot of force. The sparks will likely go out almost instantly, to if you're far away, it's not going to work.This flint striker functions exactly as it should, as almost all of them do. I give it five stars because I love the super size, if you lit one fire a night with 2 strikes a try, it should last you at least 5 years. Normal use? probably the last one you'll ever need until you lose it.

ORDERED THREE OF THESE AND, SURE ENOUGH, AS MANY OTHER REVIEWERS HAVE STATED, THE ROD IS LOOSE, WITHIN THE HANDLE ... BUT ... I am thinking ... THAT MIGHT BE A **GOOD** THING !Well, Kids ... Take all this with a grain of salt because I just got these and only opened one of them, as yet. ... I confirmed that it throws a very decent spark (after the coating is stripped) ... Probably "AS GOOD" as a Light My Fire Swiss ARMY Fire-Steel, in terms of it's "spark-ability". And, yup ... The one I opened is kinda loose ... The rod wiggles in the handle (slightly) ... i was unable to twist or wiggle the rod enough to pull it out, by hand, on the first try, but it feels as if I could easily remove it with pliers (or in the course of repeated use).I see the fact that the steel can be removed from it's plastic handle as a HANDY OPTION. I mean ... I may wish to stash one or more of these inexpensive steels in a low-profile PSK (Pocket Survival Kit) or to the back of a knife sheath using Ranger Bands (rubber bands made from bicycle tire inner-tubes, of various sizes). So ... I could attach one of these and a number of FIRE-STRAWS (search YouTube) to a knife sheath or into a pocket tin or a dry-bag.The other (Standard) option is, of course, to do what everyone else does and just apply a liberal amount of Gorilla Glue to the hole in the plastic handle and re-insert the rod and allow the glue to set.Note that this appears to have the same 3/8ths diameter, as an LMF ARMY but it is something like an inch longer (easily a half inch longer and probably more).I *LIKE* IT !! ... At this price, snag two or three ... What's not to love ?

Coghlans is a well known name to me. I've bought a number of their products in the past and will by more in the future. I would have bought the striker locally but it seems Wal-Mart and Academy Sports don't carry it. Wish they did - I trust the Coghlan name more than the stores brand.**The seller quickly fulfilled my order and it arrived via the Post Office 2 days ahead of the first target date - in excellent condition. I am well pleased with the service.The ferrocerium rod is a little over 1/4 inch in diameter with 3 inches of a 3 1/4 inch rod exposed. The rod was epoxied to a black thumb grip handle. There is a 7/8 X 2 3/4 inch, what appears to be aluminum alloy, striker. They are attached with a cord approximately 10 inches in overall length.- The cord came looped through the hole at one end of the striker and a hole in the handle. I changed it to a single length of cord between the two parts. As with other rods, this normally gives enough length to use the striker without removing them from the cord.- While the handle shows epoxy or other adhesive where the rod is joined - it was already loose when I received it. This is fairly common and not a big deal. The important take-away is to not rely on a lanyard attache to a ferro rod handle as the primary means of securing it. For these small rods they are best kept in a pocket or pouch. For me a ferro rod is a back up to my lighter and matches anyway.**This ferrocerium rod is what is commonly called a hard rod. It's composition doesn't include as much secondary materials such as magnesium which helps extend the heat and burn time of the sparks generated. Rods with those type materials are softer, don't last as long and typically cost more. As a comparison, a Uberleben rod recently purchased gives off better sparks than the Coghlan's but is already starting to wear down from using it to practice on different tinder. It cost twice as much as the Coghlan's. I expect the Coghlan's to last 4 times longer than the Uberleben.There are varying degrees of rod make-up - it depends on what you want.This rod works well with the striker provided or the back of a knife with a good 90 degree spine. The Coghlan's how-to video shows the use of what appears to be a cotton ball as the initial form of tinder. As you know, it doesn't take much to lite a dry cotton-ball. The point here is to practice with differing tinder. You might not have a dry cotton-ball with you when your matches get wet and the bic runs out of fuel.** The Striker works just fine. It has good edges on the back side from the process of stamping it out from a larger piece of metal. It was effective in both generating sparks from the ferro rod and making scrapings from a piece of fatwood. After several strikes, the fatwood scrapings lit using this striker.For $5.50, I consider this to be a good buy from a company I've always been happy with. Hope this helps.