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Light My Fire FireSteel Scout
Field Report June 5, 2006
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FireSteel
after two months of use
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Close-up of
fire-starter after two months of use
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Tester's Information
Name: Liz Neely
Age: 38
Gender: Female
Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight: 145 lb (65.8 kg)
Email address: liz at armory dot com
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Tester's Background:
I've been day hiking for many years, and started backpacking in 2005.
My hiking and backpacking has been primarily in the San Francisco Bay
Area of California, on well-marked trails, with occasional stream
crossings. I've been on seven weekend backpacking trips, all in state
and national parks in the San Francisco Bay area. The temperatures I
encounter range from 25 F (4 C) to 75 F (24 C), the elevations are
between sea level and 3500 ft (1067 m), and my pack weight is between
30 to 35 lbs (13.6 to 15.9 kg).
Product Information:
Manufacturer: Light My Fire
Year of Manufacture: 2006
URL: http://www.light-my-fire.se/
Listed Weight: 1.8 oz (52 g) in packaging
Measured Weight: 1.9 oz (54 g) in packaging, 1 oz (28 g) without
packaging
Listed Size: 4.2 x 6.8 x .9 in (107 x 173 x 23 mm) in packaging
Measured Size: 4.2 x 6.8 x .9 in (107 x 173 x 23 mm) in
packaging; .9 x 3.1 x .8 in (23 x 79 x 20 mm) without packaging
Available Colors: Yellow, Green, Blue, Red, Oak
MSRP: Unknown
Product Description:
The FireSteel Scout is a fire starting device that allows the user to
start a fire without a match or lighter. According to the manufacturer,
it produces a 5500 F (3000 C) spark, will last for at least 3000
strikes, and will work in any weather and at any altitude.
The FireSteel consists of two parts: a stick of a metallic substance,
about 1.75 in (4.4 cm) in length, and slightly narrower than the
diameter of a pencil, topped by a plastic handle (the
manufacturer refers to this part as the "fire-starter"); and a flat
piece of metal about 2.75 in (7.0 cm) long and 1 in (2.5 cm) wide with
notches in one end of it (the manufacturer refers to this part as the
"striker"). These two parts are held together by a cord. The FireSteel
is used by pulling the notched end of the striker down the side of the
fire-starter,
creating a large spark.
Field Information
I've used the FireSteel on two backpacking trips as well as in my
kitchen many times. I've also experimented with it in my backyard,
since
the places I went backpacking did not permit any fires of any type
other
than backpacking stoves.
The first backpacking trip was a four day trip in Henry Coe State Park.
The elevations were between 1150 to 2600 ft (351 to 792 m) and the
temperatures were between 45 to 68 F (7 to 20 C). The weather was
overcast to partly sunny. Ground fires were not
permitted at this state park, so the FireSteel uses were limited to
lighting my
backpacking stove, which is a Snow Peak Giga Power Titanium stove that
uses isobutane/propane mixture canister fuel. I had tried out
the FireSteel at home prior to this trip, so I knew how to use it,
however I had never tried using it to light a backpacking stove, and I
had a near disaster the first time I used it on this trip.
I set up the backpacking stove on a flat rock, turned on the gas, and
sparked the FireSteel at it. On my first attempt, the FireSteel make
plenty of sparks, however, none of them ignited the gas, so the stove
didn't light. I tried again, and disaster struck. The stove lit,
however, my hand that was rubbing the striker of the FireSteel
against the fire-starter of the FireSteel continued its motion
slightly too far, hitting the stove and knocking it off the rock. Being
a gas stove, it remained lit and I then had a well lit stove laying on
it's side in a field of leaves and grass at my feet. I was very
fortunate that it
was still a wet time of year, and the leaves and grass did not ignite
very much. Had this
been summer time, I could have ended up with a large ground fire.
Fortunately, when I turned off the gas to the stove, there was only a
tiny fire on the ground which I was able to easily blow out. After my
hands stopped shaking
enough to try again, I successfully got the stove lit and cooked
dinner. The remainder of the trip went much better and I was extremely
careful not to knock the stove over again. I found that on average
it took me
two strikes to get the stove lit, and it was easier to light
after the fuel had been on for a few seconds. I believe this is because
it's difficult to know exactly where the sparks from the FireSteel will
go, so I can't really "aim" them towards the center of the stove. But,
after the fuel is on for a few seconds, there's more fuel in the air
surrounding the stove, thus more chance of a spark hitting fuel.
The second backpacking trip was a two day trip in Butano State Park.
The elevations were between 400 to 1600 ft (122 to 488 m) and the
temperatures were between 60 to 70 F (16 to 21 C). The weather was
mostly sunny. Ground fires were
also not permitted here, so again the uses were limited to lighting my
backpacking stove described above. I guess I forget too quickly, as I
had a similar incident the first time using the FireSteel on this trip
as I had on the previous trip. I set up my stove on a table at the
campsite, turned the fuel on, waited a few seconds, and struck the
FireSteel towards the stove. My hand holding the striking plate
extended too far and hit the stove, lighting it and knocking it over at
the same time. Since the lit stove remained on the table, I was able to
quickly
turn it upright and it remained lit. The only damage done this time was
the baggie containing the food I was going to cook got a bit melted,
but the food was salvageable. I had no additional incidents on this
trip
and the FireSteel lit my stove with no major problems for the remainder
of my meals. I still found that it took an average of two strikes each
time to
get the stove lit.
The uses of the FireSteel in my kitchen were in lighting my gas range
and gas oven. My house is approximately at sea level and the
temperature inside my house is between 65 to 75 F (18 to 24 C). My
range and oven run on natural gas and do not have pilot lights, so they
must be lit each time they are used by turning on the gas, then
lighting it. Similarly to lighting my backpacking stove, I found that
I was more likely to get the stove/oven lit if I let the gas go a few
seconds before trying to light it. Also similarly, I found it
typically took me an average of two strikes with the FireSteel to get
the
stove or oven lit.
My experimentation with the FireSteel in my backyard was so I could
attempt to ignite various dried materials that I thought one might have
access to on a camping or backpacking trip. My first attempt was to
pile up some
dried weeds and try to light those. I found that I could create a red
ember in the weeds after about 15 strikes, but it did not turn into a
flame. I tried this with a lighter for comparison purposes and
similarly, I could create the red ember, but no flame. I then tried
dried flowers and was not able to ignite those at all with the
FireSteel after many strikes. With a lighter, I could light those by
holding the lighter on for a few seconds, but the flame on the dried
flowers quickly went out when I turned off the lighter. Then I tried a
pile of very small bits of dried wood (matchstick sized). I was not
able to do anything to the wood bits with the FireSteel. The lighter
was able to create char marks on the wood, but no flame. I then tried
shredded newspaper. I was able to ignite these with the FireSteel after
about five strikes, although the flame went out pretty quickly. With a
lighter, I was able to light the newspaper in several places, creating
a large enough fire that the newspaper remained on fire until it was
gone. My
conclusion thus far is that with better fire-building skills, and
sufficient
dry materials, a person could probably get a fire going with the
FireSteel, but it would not be as easy as it would be with a lighter. I
will continue to experiment with this during the long term test phase
and report my findings.
Since none of my uses of the FireSteel were at a very high elevation, I
also took it on a ski trip with me and struck it a few times to observe
the sparks
at elevation. I saw no difference in the sparks produced at a high
elevation than I saw using it at sea level.
Summary
Ease of Use/Convenience
I do not find the FireSteel particularly easy to use or convenient. I
takes a couple tries to get my stove lit using it, and has the danger
of knocking my stove over, whereas when I use a lighter to light my
stove, it lights on the first try and there is no danger of knocking
the stove over. While I do not have much in the way of fire building
skills, I found it easier to ignite dry materials with a lighter, since
I can hold the flame on the materials until they light, even if
it takes several seconds. Whereas with the FireSteel, I have to keep
striking it to continue to get sparks to try to ignite dry materials.
Durability
Thus far, the FireSteel appears very durable. While there are some char
marks on the striker, and the fire-starter shows wear where it has been
struck, they are both in fine usable condition and show no signs of
deterioration of usability. I have gotten the FireSteel wet many times
and it has no rust or corrosion on it anywhere. The FireSteel has not
become any more difficult to use than it was when it was in brand new
condition.
Safety
Prior to using the FireSteel, my safety concern was whether it
would produce sparks while being transported. I did not have any
problems with this. Prior to carrying it around, I stuck the
FireSteel in a clear plastic bag with part of a paper
towel and shook it vigorously for several minutes. There were no
accidental sparks, and no charred spots on the paper towel, so I
decided it was safe to carry around loose in my purse and backpack. I
have not had any incidents with it accidentally sparking while being
carried loose in either my purse or my backpack.
My other initial safety concern was whether I would burn my fingers
either from the sparks or from the flames after I have ignited
something with the FireSteel. The sparks are not an issue, as they do
not occur close enough to my fingers to touch my skin while I'm using
the FireSteel. After I've ignited something with the FireSteel,
sometimes the flames seem very close to my striking hand, however, I
have never gotten any burns from this so I don't believe it's a problem.
Likes and Dislikes
Three things I like about the Light My
Fire FireSteel Scout
- It does not appear that it will break or stop working in the
field.
- It appears that it will last a very long time.
- It's a neat thing to show people.
Three things I don't like about the
Light My Fire FireSteel Scout
- I find it more difficult to light things with than a lighter.
- I seem to be more likely to knock over my backpacking stove while
using it then while using a lighter.
- It takes two hands to use it.
Additional Testing
Things I did not get to test yet, that I will attempt to test during
the
long term test phase are using the FireSteel in windy conditions and
trying to ignite a ground fire using a fire starter stick (the type
that
typically comes with a box of firewood.) I will also continue testing
it to light my backpacking stove, my kitchen stove and oven, and dry
materials in my backyard.
Thanks to BackpackGearTest.org
and Light My Fire for giving me the
opportunity
to test the FireSteel Scout.
Read more reviews of Light My Fire gear
Read more gear reviews by Liz Neely
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