Reviews > Cook Gear > Fire Starters > Light My Fire Firesteel Scout > Chari Daignault > Initial Report

Initial Report: Light My Fire Swedish FireSteel Scout 

March 23, 2006

Tester Information

Name: Chari Daignault
Age: 43
Gender: Female
Height: 5’ 6" (1.68 m)
Weight: 135 Pounds (61 kg)
Email address: chari@cdaig.com
City, State, Country: Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.

Backpacking Background: I've been an ultra light hiker for 33 years -- I take the bare minimum with me and prefer a pack under or close to five pounds. I've hiked all the Florida State Forest trails in Central Florida and climbed Mt. Fuji in Japan when I was nine. I have hiked dry & sandy, rough & rocky and wet & boggy trails and as a result, have found what does and doesn't work for me in terms of equipment and clothing. Central Florida affords a lot of sun and rains, with high temperatures and massive humidity. It's a great testing area for clothing, footwear and headgear.

The product

Manufacturer: Light My Fire Sweden AB
Web site:  http://www.light-my-fire.se/
Product: Swedish FireSteel© Scout
Year manufactured: 2005
Verified weight: 1.8 oz (52 g)
Size [FireSteel Scout]: 3 in. (76 mm) long [without lanyard]; 9 in. (229 mm) long [including lanyard], .5 in. (12.70 mm) deep, .75 in. (19.05 mm) wide.
Size [Striker]: 2.5 in. (64 mm) long, .75 in. (19.05 mm) wide, and flat.
Color tested: Red
Colors available: Red, Yellow, Green, Blue or Oak

Product description

As shipped, the Swedish FireSteel© Scout came in a plastic retail package with a display card. The display card has instructions for use of the product in English, Dutch, German, French and Italian. Also included was a distributor information catalog on the products offered by Industrial Revolution.

The retail packaging included one FireSteel© Scout and one striker. The FireSteel© Scout has a black lanyard, approximately 6 inches (152 mm) in length, attached to the handle. The striker is also attached to the lanyard. It does not appear that you can separate the two. My FireSteel© Scout came with a red handle, which is shaped to allow comfortable placement of the pad of the thumb on one side and the side of the index finger on the other [much like you'd hold a keyfob]. The fire-starter end was coated with black/dark charcoal paint, which needs to be removed prior to first use, per the instructions.

Here is the entire text of the English instructions/marketing blurb in the package:

Durable: lasts 3000 strikes.
Water-resistant: works even when wet and cold.
Hot spark: 3,000 C / 5,500 F.
1. Remove paint on new fire-starter with striker or knife.
2. Pull knife blade or striker (text up) slowly and firmly down length of fire-starter.
3. Sparks easily ignite a stove or barbecue, paper, dry grass, bark or Light My Fire's MayaDust®.

The striker has text imprinted on it which says, "UP". Based on that and the instructions, that side needs to face up when using it against the fire-starter. What's odd to me is the instructions say to "[p]ull knife blade or striker slowly and firmly down" -- you'd be utilizing it away from yourself, so to me, that would mean "push". [Semantics]

The package opened very easily by pulling at the sides. Removing a small portion of the dark paint from the fire-starter with the striker took a bit more effort than I expected. Only small lines of paint would partially come off with each scrape. Silver shows through on the fire-starter with the paint removed. I tested the striker over a small portion of silver on the fire-starter, and it sparked quite grandly on the third push.

Ever curious, I used the blade on my Leatherman e307x and attempted to create a spark. It worked as well as the striker and did not damage the blade of the knife at all -- good to know in case the striker is lost.


Initial Impressions

The Swedish FireSteel© Scout is easy to handle and very simple to operate. It's small and can be hung from a backpack or stuffed into one. It's a bit too clunky to hang on a keychain, for my taste, although it could still be done. I can't comment on its fire-starting capabilities as of yet -- that will be addressed in the Field Report.

Testing Strategy

I will be utilizing this tool outdoors, both in the "wild" and in my backyard. Questions to answer:

Is the FireSteel© Scout really as easy to use as the manufacturer insists? [How hard will I have to work to get it to spark and take -- will my impatient nature cause me to give up?]
Will work in the wind? [understanding all attempts would be made to shield the fire pit]
Will it work in the rain? [again, understanding all attempts would be made to shield the fire pit]
Can my wide, stubby-fingered hands hold it well enough to use it comfortably?
Will I be able to actually light my gas grill without lighting my face? [I like my eyebrows]
What's the best way to light my gas grill with the FireSteel© Scout?
If while out on the trail, I'm not able to locate any MayaDust or paper -- what will work best as a starter material?
Will any dry material [pine needles, palm frond pieces] work?
How close do I have to hold the tool to the starter material for it to catch?
If I lost the striker piece, could I use the blade of my Leatherman e307x instead?
Can it really be used as an emergency signal?
How far away can the "signal" be seen?
Will I burn my fingers? [probably more of a question of coordination]
Does the product stand up to as much as 3,000 strikes? [I've already used at least 25]
How does it wear?
Is it safe to keep on a keychain -- or can it spark when struck by any metal item

The average temperature this time of year for Metro Orlando in the area I'll be testing in is 78 degrees Fahrenheit [25.56 Celsius], and the elevation is about 12 feet [3.6 Meters] above sea level. The terrain is mostly flat, with sand, scrub brush, local trees and the occasional creek or river to cross. There is also my backyard -- with a gas grill, which almost since the day it was purchased, has had a defective electronic starter.

Many thanks to Light My Fire USA and BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to test this product.

Reviews > Cook Gear > Fire Starters > Light My Fire Firesteel Scout > Chari Daignault > Initial Report