UST Fire Starters
UST (Ultimate Survival Technologies) has been around for around 80 years in one form or another. A lot of their products can be found in large box stores like Wal-Mart and most outdoor sporting goods store, online eBay and Amazon. I personally have been using some of their fire starting products for many years, I still have the original Gerber brand strike force which sold the manufacturing rights to UST years ago. I have one of the UST Strike force fire steels and its quality is spot on with the old Gerber brand.
I’ve used the little sparkie (not pictured) and currently use and carry the spark force mini (just like the larger strike force only small enough to fit into a pocket survival kit, on a key chain in a altoids tin..etc.
I’ve used them to light fires, camp stoves, even candles. They are reliable and shower a long lasting hot as Hades sparks that have no trouble lighting up natural tenders in the wild. UST also makes some prepackaged tinder’s to carry in your kits. The light-me-tinder is basically their own version of the Vaseline (petroleum jelly) saturated cotton balls made famous by survivalist and back packers for many years.
It comes packaged in a little zip lock baggy with reusable tape closure. The directions say to tear them in half to get the fibers exposed for easy lighting. And I have never had to strike them more than twice to get flame, even with the chincy little spark rod found on the bottom of a cheap waterproof match case.
I timed the burn time twice. Both times it lasted (even in the wind) over 3-1/2 minutes. If you can’t get a fire going with that much time then you’re probably doing something wrong :P Next up I’ve used the UST Wet fire tinder’s for many years. They come sealed in a little foil pack that preserves them for 5 years (by the web site) but I have used one that was almost 10 years old and it lit no problem.
They work even if wet and can literally be lit while floating in water. They work best if you flake off a little of the block with a stick, your knife or the ferro rod striker. (its soft and flakes easily) before lighting.
I tested two of them and got over 9 minutes burn time with a huge flame that was very wind resistant. It even lit the feather stick behind it that was at least 3 inches away!
I Know UST is well known for their “bargain” prices but when it comes to the quality and the reliability of their line of fire starters and the fact that they are affordable makes it easy for me to recommend them to anyone that wants a cost effective reliable means to start a fire in an emergency, camping or a natural disaster scenario. I’ve been using them for more years than I can remember
and they have never let me down. The price alone of the smaller spark force and sparki make it easy to stash them in all your kits, vehicles and even your keychain. Get some, you won’t be disappointed. (And make sure to practice, fire making is more than just the tools to light the fire, but these tools can give you a significant advantage when you need them most. ~ Razor
