Anyone who has dropped their Mini-Bic lighter into a puddle or wet vegetation is all too aware on how difficult it can be to light afterward. A handful of old-school matches in reserve might mean that you still enjoy a hot meal or brew.
Three Points of the Compass is a solo backpacker and very much of the opinion that three ways of lighting a fire should be carried on trail. Two could be the same, perhaps a spare Bic lighter, carried elsewhere in the kit, but an alternative form of fire-lighting should be included. This could possibly be a ferrocerium rod, or that old standby- the humble match.
A decent wind will snuff out most gas lighters with ease and some types of stove and cold alcohol/meths can prove stubborn to light with a ferro rod, though this remains my favoured and primary method of lighting a stove. Old-school matches can make a lightweight and fairly cheap back-up, though are vulnerable to the elements. They don’t like getting wet and can be problematic in wind. Specialised matches that handle these issues better can be a good deal more expensive but almost needless to say, whatever type of match is chosen, it pays to give it a bit of decent protection until used, and as much protection as possible when actually being used.
Aspen is the wood used for almost all match production today and it then comes down to the ignitable/flammable material, and the additions made to this compound, with which the little sliver of wood has applied during production. The EU introduced legislation in May 2018 that effectively removed most ‘strike-anywhere’ matches from general sale and ‘safety-matches’ largely replaced these. This was due to a ban on the chemicals used to produce the strike-anywhere products. Strike-anywhere matches were largely banned on aircraft too, under dangerous-goods classification, while safety-matches are not necessarily banned on aircraft by default. While the UK is now technically outside much of the newer EU legislation, such laws still prevail and sales of match types is pretty much universal across the continent. The availability of specialised (and expensive) match types for those lighting stoves and fires in the outdoors, camping and backpacking largely continues however and it isn’t too difficult to purchase matches that are a good deal more robust and effective than anything readily available from a tobacconist. But at the very least, it can potentially be helpful to carry just about any sort of match as a cheap alternative back-up to the ubiquitous Bic.
Lifesystems sell a plastic match holder that is a sturdy little affair with 25 wind and rainproof matches, that can be stuffed full of new-type Swan matches once empty or, more usefully, replacement storm matches. As purchased, with contents, it weighs 32g. It can be purchased for less than a tenner, which isn’t too bad for a little peace of mind. There is a replacement pack of a new strike panel and 15 matches also available,, however, for what these little cases hold and the amount of actual use that they normally get, there are lighter options. Simply encapsulating a few matches, a little tinder and a striker in a small baggie is probably the lightest option.
If using a decent match case as added protection to the contents, beside the popular plastic Lifesystems case, there are eye-wateringly expensive but beautifully made metal cases (Exotac, I’m looking at you). However a lighter option is the UCO case shown here. As purchased, with fifteen storm matches and a little cotton wool for use as a tinder, together with two strikers, costs less than five pounds and weighs a reasonable 16g. I can (usually) accept that. A few other suppliers such as BCB have their own versions of these but I have no first hand experience of them.
Storm matches, or ‘Survival’ matches, will light when wet, ignite even in the wind, burn longer and are difficult to extinguish. That said, they are a pricey option when compared to the standard smoker’s fare generally available from shops and tobacconists.
In the shoulder months and winter Three Points of the Compass often takes a very small emergency fire kit on trail. This contains just a small selection of items that may get me out of a sticky situation. I used to also carry this in summer months when carrying an alcohol/meths set-up as I would then also have the ability to set up for wood burning for cooking. However the past few years have seen some extraordinarily dry periods with bans on both open and meths cooking in many places. The requirement is often for a cooking set-up that allows for it to be instantly extinguished, which usually means gas. So I find that I am now using a gas set-up for the majority of my three season backpacking excursions these days.
The simple and minimal contents of my emergency fire kit include three Tinder-Quik fire starters, a little tinder, Lifeboat or stormproof matches, with sealed match strike card, and a minute ferrocerium rod. This is not intended as a primary fire-starter, just back-up.
Note that it is also possible to provide a little more protection to standard matches by dipping their heads in melted wax and scratching a little off the head before use. Beyond this home solution, there are a great many more options than the few looked at above. Different suppliers will have their own containers and contents. Quality no doubt differs. While it is possible to purchase stand alone replacement strike papers and matches from these suppliers, again, quality differs. My suspicion is that some match products are getting ever more difficult to find. Certainly I have found some that I had no difficulty in sourcing in the past, seem to be almost unobtainable now. Whether this is due to changes in legislation or changes in user preference driving changes in supply I am unsure. If you do have a favourite match product, it may be wise to check you can still find replacements.
Three Points of the Compass continues to rely mostly on a small ferro rod for lighting stoves on trail. I talk a little more on this particular preference in another blog. I have also looked at a few other fire-starting options, links below.
Three Points of the Compass 
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