Fire steel - which one?

[RobD]

Looking at getting a good fire steel but not sure which one is good- heard that some are pretty naff.

Any help from the forum would be great.

[JEEP]

You will never go wrong with an original LMF one.

Many of the cheaper no-name steels are very hit-or-miss in quality and performance. Though you can find decent ones very cheaply.

[RobD]

Which one do you mean cause there seem to be several swedish fire steels about. I'm confused.
:confused:

[AdrianRose]

LMF "Army" model is what I use. Great bit of kit, use it down to -19 C and it has never failed me yet.

There are slimmer/smaller typed out there but they can snap in the centre due to common user error.

Ade

[Bernie]

I have a "Light My Fire Firesteel - Scout" that I'm perfectly happy with. £8.90 from Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Light-My-Fire-Firesteel-Scout/dp/B0013L4CH2/ref=sr_1_17?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1348091789&sr=1-17).

[jus_young]

http://www.lightmyfire.com/products/sparking-fire-collection/swedish-firesteel-20.aspx

I have the Army which is the larger version but just bought my son the Scout which is smaller. When it comes to replacing mine I will be buying the Scout as its plenty big enough really. If the kids can light a fire with it then its got to be good and I certainly won't bother looking at any other brand.

[CanadianMike]

I have a "Light My Fire Firesteel - Scout" that I'm perfectly happy with. £8.90 from Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Light-My-Fire-Firesteel-Scout/dp/B0013L4CH2/ref=sr_1_17?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1348091789&sr=1-17).

Same as I have, have two useable ones after my first one, work great! My first one I left used in the outer pocket of my backpack, didn't pull it out for about 6 months, then when grabbing stuff from in the pocket, pulled it out, only to find that it was seriously pitted from rain soaking my bag (has a water resistant lining) and getting onto the rod itself. Corrosion set in and it caused pits to occur almost halfway through the rod, enough that with medium finger pressure, I was able to snap it.

Nutshell, buy one, and a small bottle of clear nail polish. When you use the rod and scrape off the protective coating, when planning to store it wherever (except inside or in a water proof container), use the nail polish and put a coat on the rod. Will make it waterproof again, and just need to scrape off the coating next time you use it.

[jbrown14]

Several of the guys I hike with carry the LMF steels, you really can't go wrong with one of them, they're well established and have quality controls in place.

I was given an ESEE Knives "Fire Kit" (http://www.eseeknives.com/fire_kit.htm) steel as a gift and carry that as my main fire lighter. I added a short section of hacksaw blade on a lanyard as a striker, and my friend included a couple of fish hooks inside. It even has a small functional compass in the butt cap.

[Proventurer]

Looking at getting a good fire steel but not sure which one is good- heard that some are pretty naff.

Any help from the forum would be great.

I'd say

1) What ever fits your budget!
2) It's been tried & tested (by you)
3) It's hanging around your neck or in your pocket when you need it!

Different things are different to different people!

[Tigger004]

Maybe I was lucky, I bought a cheap as chips version off ebay from China £3 incl P&P, Works great but haven't owned a LMF version so can't compare them, Best wishes Jeff

[barnes3126]

I have a LMF Army, LMF Scout and at least 10 off eBay China. They are all the same. They all work very well with good tender. None work well with poor tender.