ustSparkie Fire Starter

This is an excellent fire starter. Very easy to use, and produces sparks that easily ignite anything that is a viable fuel, such as cotton balls, tampons, or dry brush. It also very easily lit commercial fuel such as compressed Trioxane.I used it to light the various fuels listed above, and it lit all of them easily. It is super easy to use, anyone could use it. It has not malfunctioned once after over a hundred used.It is very compact, and small enough to fit in any survival or camping kit, yet has enough power to create a fire with ease. It is truly the best of both worlds.This is an amazing fire starter that you should just have to have. It is inexpensive, but for what it does it can be invaluable. I personally have one in my emergency supplies bag, and will be getting another one for my camping kit. It is so easy to use, you just push where it says push, and depress the rod and instant shower of sparks. I would get this if you are here for your first one.

I love these things. Easy, no other tools needed, always reliable, rod is thick and should last for a while

This item should come with better instructions. I bought this for our 11 year old daughter, as she was having trouble getting sparks from traditional magnesium or ferro rods, due to her small hands, as a lot of friction is usually necessary. I started to return this, as it wasn't working but about 1 out of 10 strikes. Then, we discovered what the directions don't tell you.... What they do tell you is to strike it a few times to remove the black coating. Easy. They tell you to hold at at 70-90 degree angle. Easy. They tell you to squeeze the pieces together. Pretty easy. But it still doesn't work but 1 out of 10 times. What they don't tell you is that you cannot get the proper leverage by testing it in the air at arm level, nor on a counter top nor even a chair type height from the ground. It has to be used at or very near the ground. Only then do you get the proper leverage by bending over it, holding it with a straight arm and "punching" onto the ground and your tinder, which creates a lot of sparks and starts most tinders. Our daughter loves it now and finds it easy to use. A little bit better directions would have been helpful. It also wear down faster than most ferro rods, IMO, so hence the 4 stars and not 5, but you'll still get over 100 uses.

smaller than expected. but works great.

Wanted to really like the UST Sparkie. We took the Sparkie camping with us to test it out. Yes it does spark, but the amount of sparks it produces is not that much. After a while the rod got stuck inside and now it takes more force to get it to pop out than when it was first taken out of the package. Its a little finicky now and has to be pressed just right to get the piece to pop out. Yes you can use it with one hand, but it awkward to use and the end result is hit or miss. Maybe others may have better luck with it, but we just didn't. I would not recommend this product and would probably go with another method. Out of four times it was used, only started fire once.

The idea being of this product being used as a fire starter, in emergency or field conditions, is really appealing. It's small, and very lightweight. Not intended to be long-lived, but that's OK. Not an everyday use product.Functional however, it isn't. Will it produce spark? Yes. Will you be able to start a fire with it - maybe. Maybe if you use it to ignite something that is highly volatile, in windless, dry conditions. You'll never get anything you find in the woods started with Sparkie. If there's anything less than ideal conditions (rain, snow, wind, cold, etc.), forget it. A 9-dollar trinket in your pack, that would have been better spent on sunscreen in terms of value. At least I tried it - in ideal conditions - before it consumed any precious space.You're better off with true storm matches, or other methods of friction starting.

Since the ferroceram rod in this device lasts for at least 5,000 strikes, it should last a camping lifetime. Just for fun I tried to use it in Vermont in a foggy misty rain. The tinder took only 2 or 3 strokes of the one-hand striker handle and it flared into fire. Less than 5 minutes later, I had a good sized blaze, drying out more fuel and making the campsite warm and almost comfortable for that afternoon. Ya gotta get one of these!! For camping, survival, even at home in an emergency, you can't go wrong!!

This fire starter works great! Highly recommend for the money. Light weight and big enough to hold on to.