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Unknown - Thursday, November 15, 2012
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Folks who are interested in bushcraft and survival generally love to be prepared when they are going out into the wild world. Building up a small emergency kit is a technique of improving readiness. A typical question when putting together a survival kit, is if there are any blessings of a magnesium bar or related sparking device vs using either a lighter or matches?
There are disadvantages and benefits to every one of magnesium blocks/sparking devices (that often come with them), lighters and matches. Having more than one (preferably all three) is the best strategy for coping with unanticipated circumstances.
But let's take a look at the advantages and drawbacks of each:
Matches - particularly strike-anywhere matches compared to safety matches - are easy to strike and have a burn time with a useable but modest flame which permits you to light fine kindling. Apropos lighting naturally occurring materials, you can light tiny sticks that are around matchstick thickness. Also there aren't any moving parts to break (unlike a lighter). The disadvantage of matches is they are extraordinarily subject to moisture, which prevents them from striking properly, so you've got to keep them in a waterproof container. They are also blown out by the wind pretty easily so you have to ensure you protect them when taking the match to the kindling Also , you can only carry a small number (in a tiny essentials kit), which limits the number of fires you can light. If you don't light your fires first time with one match, then you limit the quantity of fires you can light even further.
Lighters - the upside of a lighter is they are simple to use and a lot of them are pretty reliable, even the inexpensive ones. While matches burn out pretty swiftly a lighter will keep burning so long as it has fuel. This brings us to one of the disadvantages - they only have a small amount of fuel and once that is gone, it is much harder to light a fire with just the spark from the flint in the lighter (though it is still possible with a little practise and good understanding of appropriate natural tinder materials). Another potential downside with lighters is that the striking mechanism can break or jam and some can lose the flint out of them, which makes it almost impossible to set fire to the fuel. Another drawback with a lighter (over matches) is that while matches work fine in low temperatures (think 30 below), a lighter will not as the fuel in a typical cheap lighter will freeze.
Magnesium blocks and spark strikers - many magnesium blocks come with sparking device/fire steel of some description. This emergency built into the block (generally down the side) or come separately. They typically have a metal scraper with them also , regularly a piece of hacksaw blade. This enables you to scrape off the magnesium into a little pile then scrape the flint/fire steel to strike sparks which drop onto the magnesium and set if off burning brightly. You have to then use this to ignite other materials. Some natural tinders will take from a spark, but other natural materials such as the little sticks discussed above won't light right from sparks (even with magnesium). You need an intermediate stage that creates a steady flame. By contrast, a match can be taken direct to small sticks (provided they are reasonably dry).
Always carry more than one means of lighting a fire if you can. It's best practise if you are at risk of having to depend on a fire. Practise with all strategies before you want them. Get to know natural tinders and kindling which light well with the varied strategies possible with lighters, matches and firesteels. And if you utilize your kit for practise, ensure you replace/refresh it before you need to use it in an emergency or survival situation.
There are disadvantages and benefits to every one of magnesium blocks/sparking devices (that often come with them), lighters and matches. Having more than one (preferably all three) is the best strategy for coping with unanticipated circumstances.
But let's take a look at the advantages and drawbacks of each:
Matches - particularly strike-anywhere matches compared to safety matches - are easy to strike and have a burn time with a useable but modest flame which permits you to light fine kindling. Apropos lighting naturally occurring materials, you can light tiny sticks that are around matchstick thickness. Also there aren't any moving parts to break (unlike a lighter). The disadvantage of matches is they are extraordinarily subject to moisture, which prevents them from striking properly, so you've got to keep them in a waterproof container. They are also blown out by the wind pretty easily so you have to ensure you protect them when taking the match to the kindling Also , you can only carry a small number (in a tiny essentials kit), which limits the number of fires you can light. If you don't light your fires first time with one match, then you limit the quantity of fires you can light even further.
Lighters - the upside of a lighter is they are simple to use and a lot of them are pretty reliable, even the inexpensive ones. While matches burn out pretty swiftly a lighter will keep burning so long as it has fuel. This brings us to one of the disadvantages - they only have a small amount of fuel and once that is gone, it is much harder to light a fire with just the spark from the flint in the lighter (though it is still possible with a little practise and good understanding of appropriate natural tinder materials). Another potential downside with lighters is that the striking mechanism can break or jam and some can lose the flint out of them, which makes it almost impossible to set fire to the fuel. Another drawback with a lighter (over matches) is that while matches work fine in low temperatures (think 30 below), a lighter will not as the fuel in a typical cheap lighter will freeze.
Magnesium blocks and spark strikers - many magnesium blocks come with sparking device/fire steel of some description. This emergency built into the block (generally down the side) or come separately. They typically have a metal scraper with them also , regularly a piece of hacksaw blade. This enables you to scrape off the magnesium into a little pile then scrape the flint/fire steel to strike sparks which drop onto the magnesium and set if off burning brightly. You have to then use this to ignite other materials. Some natural tinders will take from a spark, but other natural materials such as the little sticks discussed above won't light right from sparks (even with magnesium). You need an intermediate stage that creates a steady flame. By contrast, a match can be taken direct to small sticks (provided they are reasonably dry).
Always carry more than one means of lighting a fire if you can. It's best practise if you are at risk of having to depend on a fire. Practise with all strategies before you want them. Get to know natural tinders and kindling which light well with the varied strategies possible with lighters, matches and firesteels. And if you utilize your kit for practise, ensure you replace/refresh it before you need to use it in an emergency or survival situation.
About the Author:
Paul Kirtley is owner and chief instructor of Frontier Bushcraft, a leading bushcraft skills school. He also writes a highly-regarded bushcraft blog.
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