Easy to use, camping and emergency fire starter

Gerber 31-000699 Bear Grylls Survival Series Fire Starter

I am a huge fan of this Gerber survival series fire starter. It is cheap, rugged and easy to use.

After nearly 30 years of camping use, a block of magnesium I used as a fire starter wore away to nothing. They still sell the same tiny blocks of alloy, but I wanted to try something new. Maybe I felt in a rut. This Gerber Bear Grylls tool is a welcome replacement. Well sized to fit both my hands, the striker is easy to scrape down the rod and throw off some good sized, hot and long burning sparks. Snapping the two together results in an o-ring sealed tube with space for tinder. Gerber recommends jamming some cotton balls in there, I can fit 5 or 6 but also carry a few sticks of fat wood with me on every camping trip. Fat wood always works.

This is a simple, well thought out tool that easily fits in my backpack or sidebags on the bike. I'm looking forwards to decades of easy use.

Gerber 31-000699 Bear Grylls Survival Series Fire Starter vis Amazon