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Genuine Issue Magnesium Survival Fire Starter | 
 enlarge | Brand: 4 Star Military Surplus
Category: Sports
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $7.00
You Save: $12.99 (65%)
New (3) from $7.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 385
Media: Misc.
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
ASIN: B0002X1IOM
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Issued To US Military Pilots. Not A Copy | | • | Works When Wet. Even Lights Wet Kindling | | • | Genuine US Government Issue | | • | Use Over & Over. Last For Years | | • | Includes Instructions |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Government Issue Aviation Magnesium Fire Starter. Made of solid magnesium with striker. Creates hottest natural fire on the planet. Even lights wet materials. Will start 1000's of fires and only measures 1/4" x 1/4" x 3". Includes key chain.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 21 more reviews...
Very reliable if used properly May 17, 2008
This and a Swedish Firesteel are my primary fire tools and have been for the last several years. As long as you patiently create a nice pile of magnesium shavings and strike the flint properly, it is very reliable and you can ignite just about any type of tinder. If you are in a wet climate, I'd recommend this over the Firesteel. Unless you are constantly dealing with wet tinder, you'll find the Swedish Firesteel quicker/easier to use (hotter sparks, as well as greater volume of sparks on the Swedish). I recommend carrying both, as well as a cheap BIC lighter.
 TERRIBLE!! DO NOT GET THIS IT WILL NOT WORK!! April 5, 2008
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
It is impossible to get a pile of shavings from the magnesium with you knife and even if you do get a pile it will not light with the flint. The flint sparks great but the magnesium does not light I put a match to it and it burned for a mili second it is useless!!!!
 This was the hands down best in the Boy Scouts March 20, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
A decade or so ago when I was in the Boy Scouts this was, in the opinion of my troop, so good it was like cheating. It was more difficult to start a fire with a single match (which is how the scouts roll; one scout one match) than this. Also it put my little firesteel flint to shame.
I cannot for life of me figure out how people can think this is not the greatest fire starter. We used the backs of the blades our 3" folding knives to scrape off a decent pile of magnesium and then scrape the flint for sparks. The result was always white hot sparks and fire. It never failed. YMMV
Beats using a bow and spindle - I guess January 29, 2008
26 out of 26 found this review helpful
I wonder if the folks who gave this a positive review have tried using it in real life extreme conditions. I have done winter-time camping in the rugged Adirondak wilderness not far from the Canadian border and would NOT want this as my only fire-starting resource. The mag-block style starters do have a piece of "flint" attached to them (a thin, frail one). So you CAN start fires with them. But there are better and easier ways, believe me.
Why don't I like these?
First, the magnesium shavings tend to blow away, making that "dime sized pile" hard to come by if it is windy (which it usually is at the times you need fire most). Also, in a real survival situation, you may have cold, numb fingers and don't want to be playing time-consuming (and potentially dangerous) games with your sharp knife. Speaking of knives, few things will dull a them faster than shaving soft metal. If you do happen to get that "dime sized" pile of magnesium to stay in one place, it will burn up in about the same length of time as a good match head. Good luck.
The bottom line is if you have good tinder you don't need the magnesium. The sparks from a GOOD flint will do (though a wimpy little flint like this may not give ENOUGH sparks). And if your tinder is WET, the magnesium probably isn't going to light it anyway. If I ever feel that I need some magnesium to start a fire (unlikely) I can shave a gram or two off of my pack frame.
My advice:
If you are really going to be OUT THERE be prepared to start a fire in two or three ways . I carry waterproofed wooden matches (OK), a Brunton Helios windproof lighter (better, so long as the fuel lasts) and an Aviation Survival Spark-Lite kit (best - pilots get better stuff issued than the poor grunts do). The Sweedish Firesteels (with a heftier chunk of "flint") seem to be quite good also and I plan to get one.
But MOST IMPORTANT is real TINDER, stuff that lights easily and burns a while (not in a hot flash like magnesium). I always carry some cotton balls, which compact easily, and a dab of Neosporin ointment from the 1st Aid kit makes a good accelerant IF NEEDED. A small wad of steel wool will also take a spark and once it lights the blowing wind just makes it hotter. Pine needles & shredded birchbark are hard to beat as natural tinders. They can usually be ignited even if a little damp. Even in a 35 degree driving rainstorm (been there, done that) you can carve into the leeward side of standing deadwood and crumble up the dry-rotted wood, which will also light easily.
Doesn't work easily December 8, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Try another firestarter as this one doesn't do the job. Wears out quickly and ineffective.
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