WILDAIR Ferro Rod Fire Starter Flint Fire Steel Striker Tool Ferrocerium Fire Starter Bushcraft Fire Flint Steel Emergency Survival Kits (Red)

I am a firesteel user and collector and have dozens of them running the gamut from cheap chinesium to $100 American made tools, all from various manufacturers. This WILDAIR Ferro rod is a great bargain firesteel that I liked so much I bought two. I paid $15.99 a piece for them and bought them both with the orange aluminum handle. The anodizing is flawless, the machining is all very well done, the threads are crisp and even, there are no sharp edges or flashing left behind, the compartment inside the handle is sealed with an O-ring and is waterproof, and the rod screws easily into the handle. This firesteel does fall a tad short in one aspect; as easily as the ferrocerium rod screws into the handle it will also come loose from the handle. The threads are of a standard pattern, not fine, so they are more durable but don't tighten down as much. The quickest, easiest fix is to wrap the threaded portion of the rod in a layer or two of Teflon plumber's tape and then screw it firmly into the handle. Just make sure you're wrapping the tape in the correct direction so that it stays put while being threaded into the handle. If you have one of those grippy pads in your coupon drawer that is used to open stubborn jar lids, then use that to assist in screwing the rod in tightly. The ferrocerium itself is of a softer variety and will throw a molten shower of fat, heavy sparks. It will rain globs of lava. That is great for beginners, for use with marginal tinder sources, and if you're working in a wet or humid environment. This ferrocerium really burns. The caveat to that is the rod won't last as long as a harder variety, so replacement rods being available for purchase would be great. Please bring back replacement ferro rods for these and also bring them back in orange!

Started a fire no problem

I’ve used this through a full year and some. My initial thought was, meh, ok, but, you know it’s been pretty good. It all comes down to experience and technique. The striker is not great, really. You’re going to do a lot better with a proper knife spine. Don’t forget to scrap off the paint down to the shiny metal. It’s long enough to get the end down into your starter twig bundle and still have room to strike without scattering everything all over the place. Having the proper ingredients is key. A little help wouldn’t be out of place, either. That’s where the capsule comes in. There’s room for a fair bit of whatever your favorite fire starter is in there. The capsule.. it needs some Loctite or plumbers tape to keep it on the rod. Easy fix. This thing comes with a pouch to store it in with a small carabiner. That’s handy. Look, is it an Auermetall rod? Heck if I know: it’s decent is what I’m saying. The price is very good for what you’re getting. Some of the rods out there are so small that it’s a challenge just to hang on to them when your coordination is compromised. This one doesn’t have that problem and between that and practice it’ll do more than okay. EDIT: I never bothered to look before, but having done so now; I think the paracord this comes with is fire cord!! Now that’s interesting.. One more reason to like this rod.

Throws sparks better than any ferro rod I've used. Fits super nicely into my sheath. Also super neat that it has a compartment that fits 4 cotton balls.

Works great, the storage compartment holds way more than it looks if you are resourceful.