überleben Zünden Fire Starter | 5/16”, 3/8” or 1/2” Thick Bushcraft Fire Steel with Handcrafted Wood Handle | 12,000-20,000 Strikes | Traditional Survival Ferro Rod | Neck Lanyard

With fire being the 2nd most important need to maintain life, right behind shelter which is the most important need to maintain life, being able to start a fire is of primary importance. Almost every method typically used to ignite tinder to start and slowly build to a campfire, to warm a person, cook a meal, provide signaling smoke during the day or signaling light in the dark, provide some light and create a deterrent to keep wild animals a safe distance away, has an inherently fatal flaw that must be recognized. Wood or Paper Stick Matches can be lost, get wet or be completely used (leaving an empty storage container), the special striker strips needed to ignite Waterproof Matches can be lost or completely scratched out, fluid or gas-fueled Lighters can blow out in gusty or high winds, run out of lighter or butane fuel, flints and piezo-electric igniters can break, wear down, or wear out, 9-volt Batteries (used to ignite 0000 steel wool) can become completely discharged or corroded over time, and a Bow Drill requires skill, patience, practice, two hands (more than two hands it seems, sometimes!), and a good bit of time, dry weather and not too much wind.The one fire-starting tool that won't fall victim to these previously noted failures (it has a 550-paracord neck lanyard you can slip over your head to avoid losing it!) is the best Ferrocerium Rod and Steel Striker Fire Steel I've ever used. That fire steel is the Uberleben Zunden Bushcraft Fire Steel with Wood Handle and Neck Lanyard, which is sold in three different sizes. with ferrocerium rod diameters of 5/16" (The Traditional), 3/8" (The Pro), and 1/2" (The Fatty). At a length of nearly 5" (including the ferrocerium rod and tapered wooden handle flattened on two opposing sides to make it easy to hold), the Uberleben Zunden Bushcraft Fire Steel and it's 6-in-1 mult-tool (map scale, concave-serrated tinder scraper, straight-edge spine, hex wrench, ruler & bottle opener) steel scraper will provide an impressive shower of sparks that ignited every type of tinder material or fire starter tab I tested with it. The seller/manufacturer says each Uberleben Zunden Fire Steel will provide 12,000 - 20,000 strikes. ( I will take their word for that performance number. I doubt that my old wrists, forearms and shoulders still have 12,000 - 20,000 strikes left in them in this lifetime. I'll leave that testing to you younger, lower mileage guys!)The tapered wooden handle, with a 550-paracord neck lanyard keeping the 6-in-1 steel striker attached to it, permits the user to have a comfortable, stable and secure grip on the fire steel, allowing the user to hold the steel striker steady and control its position, just above the tinder nest / bundle, and quickly pull the fire steel upward to put the highest number of sparks directly onto the tinder nest / bundle, getting the tinder nest / bundle to catch fire and start burning well, ready to accept small kindling materials, which when that begins to burn well and build some heat, allow slightly larger kindling to be slowly added, followed by small firewood after it is burning well, and finally, adding large firewood over a good base of hot, red coals and a good, warming campfire. You now have the 2nd most important need to maintaining life in the wilderness taken care of quite nicely!I own five Uberleben Zunden Bushcraft Fire Steels with Wooden Handles, keeping one on the leather sheath of each of my small, large, and Mongo-size bushcraft / survival knives because one or two of them will ALWAYS be hung on the back and side of my belt before I head out into the wilderness (or just go to my campsite). Each of them are made from top quality materials, assembled with excellent craftsmanship, and provide me with a survival tool I can depend on to preserve my life, and the lives of the people accompanying me. As I mentioned previously, the wooden handle is very comfortable for me to hold, gives me a secure hold on the ferrocerium rod, and, being sanded smoothly, but not finished, its handle permits me to apply a wipe-on wood stain to it in a shade that nicely complements the color of the leather knife sheath and the handle scales of the knife in the sheath. (Nothing says you can't look good while using your bushcraft skills, according to my wife. And we all know a happy wife makes for a happy life!))It is important to note that the black coating material found on ALL ferrocerium rods MUST be scraped off COMPLETELY to obtain the maximum spark-generating performance of ALL these rods. (Otherwise, you'll have as much luck getting the rod to spark as you would have trying to start a lawnmower engine with an empty, dry, gas tank.)

I've been through three other fire starters and the Überleben Zünden is by far the most efficient and easy to use. Sure, my other emergency strikers can produce sparks but with lots and lots of effort. Not something that's good when you really need a fire and you're really tired.This fire starter is miles above my current stock. It takes very little effort and produces large and vast amounts of spark. The whole reason for my search for the perfect striker was so my young daughter could start a fire when we go camping. Even with hours of practice, she couldn't get a good spark on any of my other strikers. Within seconds of putting this in her hand she was able to immediate produce a large enough spark to light a cotton ball.The wooden handle feels nice in my large hand as well as my daughter's smaller hand. I have every amount of confidence either one of us would be able to light a fire in any condition with this exceptional striker.Update: on my most recent camping trip, as a goof, I lit a fire with this striker while standing over my kindling. I didn't expect to light it, but it did. If I could give this striker more stars, I would.

Just got it. I decided to give it a few strikes with the back of a Morakniv and it worked it’s way out of the wooden handle.5 stars for the size and spark production... minus two for the adhesive used to hold it together.I sanded mine down a little and used some construction grade adhesive to hold it together. Hopefully it will stay together now.

Bought this as a gift for my son as he is getting into backpacking. I originally bought a different one from another source and it took forever for it to be delivered. Not only that but it was a complete piece of junk. I threw it into the trash because it cost almost as much to return as it cost . This one was a little more expensive but well worth the money. Throws sparks like crazy. After all if you really need to start a fire you need something dependable because your life may depend on it. I know because i lost a friend to hypothermia from a freak storm that surprised him and his buddy on a winters camping trip. The river came up really fast while they were sleeping , they got wet and couldn't get a fire started with what they had that wasn't swept away from the flash flood. These guys had plenty of experience winter camping to.

The tip of the rod is bent. Not worth returning as it will still work, but for the price how about a straight rod? Glad I also ordered a Light My Fire army model, its the gold standard...... Changing my review to 5 stars, the vendor contacted me and replaced the bent rod. First rate vendor with an excellent product, will order again.

I found this ferro rod on an Amazon search and I must say it is my favorite among a large field of generic and brand name competitors alike. The wood handle looks handsome with a good grip and the slightly larger rod make it easier to throw big sparks. The larger diameter rod fits perfectly in the Benchmade 162 sheath, and I was able to put the small measuring piece on a shock cord so I can keep them together.I am going to buy the XL rod for my emergency kit. Well worth the money.

Great product! Gives off a mighty spark that is super hot! I was able to ignite wood chips with it this afternoon. The wood handle on it is great. Feels really good in the hand allows a great grip for getting a ton of friction across the rod.

I've purchased numerous fire steels over the years, but not until this one did I have one that worked very well. With the others I could only throw sparks, but with this one I can place the rod directly on the tinder and scratch back and forth a couple of times and generate a nice shower of sparks directly on the tinder for a quick light. I am very pleased and recommend this fire steel! The wooden handle and neck cord are a nice plus!

This thing is a good hefty size for a fire starter and produces a no-nonsense shower of big beautiful sparks (unlike the typical puny little fire starters). One thing I will mention is that the shaft has a coating on it which takes a bit of repetition to get through. Once you're through that outer coating the performance really shines.**edit** Got this wet on a canoe trip, and the rod fell right out of the handle. It's just luck that I noticed it, and didn't lose the rod. This is an outdoor product, and they should really make sure the glue that holds the rod in is waterproof, or hold it in mechanically somehow. The wood of the handle could (but doesn't) have any finish on it to prevent the wood from becoming saturated and swelling up when it get's wet. I'm reducing the rating from a 5 to a 3 star since these problems should really be resolved.

Great spark, quick fires, with the right materials, obviously. Would buy again.

Brilliant product, easy to use

not only a great product but the perfect size for the pack.

Lovely design, perfect size, definitely recommend!