FireAnt 3 Pack - Fire Starter and Fire Starter System for Swiss Army Victorinox Knife (Green Glow)

I’m one of those “outdoorsy” type of people and often find myself in situations brought on by my spontaneity. After fishing along the Texas coast late into the night, I wanted a small fire to warm me up a bit and to create smoke to help keep the mosquitos away. I had some waterproof matches and I collected the driest drift wood and stuff to use as tinder to start my fire. My boys and I always have fire starting competitions when camping, ultimately leading to the “one match challenge.” Much to my boys’ chagrin, I typically was the first, and often the only one, to use one sole match. I figured the 10 matches I had with me would do the trick. WRONG! I never got a fire started. Vowing to never be in that situation again, I looked for simple options for fire starting that would A) work with slightly damp wood, B) be a reusable, reliable source of starting a fire, and C) be something that I would always have with me without having to worry about making sure I packed it. In my quest, I stumbled across these little for starters that seemed to fit the bill. The Swiss Army Knife I use has a corkscrew on it, which I find useless in most cases, so this would not only give my corkscrew an actual purpose, but it provided the perfect spot to add something that wouldn’t actually take up any extra space, plus I always keep my knife on me unless I’m in my classroom where I don’t think it would be the greatest idea to have a knife in my pocket, but even then, it goes straight into my purse. This product almost seemed too good to be true. I’ve tried other fire starters that have only lead to frustration and disappointment, not to mention leaving me without the desired fire. As soon as they arrived, I decided to test them out. To my amazement, it only took a few strikes to get a fire going! Of course that was under ideal conditions. I really wanted to try it out in an actual challenging situation. That opportunity wouldn’t take long to appear. As always, my boys and I ended our summer with a camping/hiking/fishing/backpacking trip. After fishing into the night, I decided to test my skills, or rather the FireAnt skills. I collected some driftwood of varying sizes, along with a bit of dried grass I’d found near some sand dunes (please note I didn’t pull them up by their roots, I only cut a bit off the tops so as not to contribute to erosion). I trimmed off a bit of the tinder, and following the instructions EXACTLY as recommended, within two strikes and a couple of minutes to let the fire gain in intensity, I had the perfect beach fire! My boys were blown away as I’d never started a fire without matches or lighter before. They kept insisting I was lying to them since they hadn’t actually seen me light the fire. It was only after I’d shown them my technique that they believed. Now they’re getting them for their knives! This is a genius of an invention! You don’t even feel like you’re carrying all you need to quickly start a fire. Both tinder and striker are truly waterproof. I’d made sure to test that factor, as well. As long as you trim and “fluff” the tinder and use the striker where it’s actually either touching the tinder or super close to pick up the spark, even a novice should be able to start a fire, assuming you have your kindling and varying sizes of wood prepared properly. It’s doubtful you could light the tinder and throw it onto a pile of wood with success, but who knows? I definitely recommend this product to anyone who might find themselves needed an impromptu fire!

I carry a Swiss Army Knife in my vacation hiking gear, car and camera bag. But I always like to squeeze a little extra utility out of stuff, so the FireAnt Fire Starter seemed like a fun addition. The FireAnt does exactly what they say. A sharp edge produces a useful shower of sparks, and shredding the orange tinder will give you a nice starter fire. Even cooler, the little green sparker glows in the dark! The sparker and tinder fit snugly onto the knife's spiral corkscrew. DOWNSIDE: This little fire starter is fiendishly clever, but the sparking rod is extremely fragile. Even with care, there is a real chance the rod will snap before you even use it. I read the warning instructions about this, but still broke one before I could even use it! Take extreme care to gently thread on the sparker and use a fingertip to support the entire rod when you produce sparks. Four stars.

Cool product. Just too pricey for what it is.

Sooooo- never heard of this til I saw it on here. Love it! Use the little rod right and it sparks so easily it's funny. (Don't scrape anything over the rod. Pull the rod quickly back over an edge.) The little tinder and rod fit on any SAK with a corkscrew. Finally a use for the corkscrew! They hold in there well too. Pull tinder apart properly and it catches easily. Now ur pocket lint, dirt, grime and everything else that get on ur knife in ur pocket will get on ur rod and tinder. BUT IT STILL LIGHTS IF U FLUFF TINDER PROPERLY! TRIED IT! TESTED IT! BUY IT!

If you know how to use your SAK to strike a ferro rod then these work great and the added tinder is a good bonus as well. They are a bit pricey, but dang they are cool.