Being Montana, it’s very easy to sweat your bollocks off during the day and, once the sun goes down, freeze them off at night. Even in the middle of July you can get snow up here in the mountains and if you’re stuck somewhere there’s a much-better-than-zero chance that you could be in a good bit of trouble in regards to staying warm and, y’know, not dying. Or worse, you live but without your toes/feet/hands/fingers/ears/nose.
Because that risk is pretty much always present here in the great state of Montana, I go a tiny bit overboard/OCD when it comes to having in my gear a way to napalm the scenery.
Usually, a Bic lighter is the go-to. But it isn’t 100% reliable. Nothing is. That’s why I go for the suspenders-and-a-belt approach. I carry matches in my pants pocket, in my gear bag, and in my outerwear. Why? Because life has a weird habit of creating situations that separate you from your gear.
Matches are usually stored in a match safe. It’s a waterproof container to hold matches and some striking surface. Thats it. Nothing more complex than that. Old pill bottles work perfect for this task, old-school film canisters were ideal, and there are plenty of plastic made-in-China match safes for sale at the local WalMart camping section.
And although it’s doesnt have to be more complex than that, you can make it a bit more complex. I enjoy nice things, I can afford them, and I like giving myself every margin of advantage I can, so I spent the money and went for the rather lovely Exotec Matchcap XL..
Fairly spendy at about forty bucks. But, this is a case of something that will, literally, last the rest of your life and it does have some nice features. I’m a big fan of lanyard attachment points because any piece of gear critical enough to affect your ability to stay alive is critical enough that you want a way to make dang sure it doesn’t go anywhere if you take a tumble or have to run for your life. Subdued green, waterproof, crushproof, has striking surfaces, and, most importantly, holds the large lifeboat matches as well as regular kitchen matches.
If you’re a little more budget-minded, the UCO Stormproof Match Kit is what I used to carry before I started making grownup money. They are simple plastic screw-top match safes with a striker pad on the side. I very much like them and use them as secondary or tertiary level gear. They’re inexpensive enough to be able to buy a bunch to spread across you and your buddies’ gear, but still a good quality product. The UCO comes with the lifeboat matches that are a big upgrade from your standard wooden kitchen match. More about those later.
The UCO product is everything you need, and nothing you don’t. The striker is mounted externally on the safe, which means it can be damaged or get wet. However, anyone with half a brain will always carry an extra strike inside the match case making sure the striker is protected against rubbing up against the enclosed matches. (That why the extra strikers are in itty bitty plastic bags.)
Not to be outdone..the Zippo people, of cigarette lighter fame, have their own version as well. Their Typhoon Match Kit probably takes the prize for best thought out design, but it’s a brick…about the size of a flash bang grenade. What I really like about this thing is that they put a very generously sized striker pad on the bottom of the case and then its covered with a watertight flip-off cap. Lanyard attachment point? Yup. Capacity? I can get 19 of the supersized matches in there along with an extra striker pad. Its worth pointing out that Zippo also makes a similar product that features a sparker and a storage space for a bunch of tinder blocks.
Or, you can channel your inner Dakin and rail about expensive yuppie survivalist toys and re-use the pill bottles you got with your VA meds. Those will work just as well.
As for matches, that’s gotten a bit interesting as of late. Normally, I’d load up on strike-anywhere wooden matches and stuff a couple strike pads in there as well…just in case. Good to go, and never had a problem. But, just because you haven’t had a problem doesn’t mean you won’t. Wooden kitchen matches work great but theyre still just matches…susceptible to wind and rain as you’re trying to light that fire so you don’t wind up a human popsicle. Enter the lifeboat matches – these things are longer than the wooden kitchen match, thereby necessitating a larger match safe. The claim to fame for the lifeboat match is that once it is ignited, you pretty much can’t put it out until it stops flaring. Think of it as a tiny road flare that burns for about 5-7 seconds. I usually do a mix of lifeboat matches and kitchen matches because 90% of the time the cheap kitchen match works just fine. But when its a dark and stormy night, well, the more expensive lifeboat matches come in handy when all thats standing between you and a Jack London story is your ability to build a fire. And, as I recently discovered, they now make a magnum version of the lifeboat match. These things are huge, and you’ll need a matchsafe that was designed to accommodate them, but theyre definitely the first choice for lighting something up in truly bad weather.
L to R: wooden kitchen match, lifeboat match, magnum lifeboat match, Sharpie for scale.
Now, look, I’m the first to admit that 90% of this is gilding the lily…you can stuff 50 strike anywhere kitchen matches and theire striker into a pill bottle and be squared away for less than a dollar. I did that for years and was never ‘undergunned’ when it came time to turn wood into smoke. But, as I said, I appreciate nice things, I can afford them now, and I like taking advantage of some features that were not previously available in this marketspace.
As I said, I like to carry more than one match safe because I like to have backups for critical stuff. And I like to carry one in my bag, in my outerwear, and, finally, in my pants pocket. For that sort of redundancy, the UCO three-pack of match safes is an easy one-shot purchase. But, whatever you decide to do…go the bargain route of an old pill bottle and some kitchen matches, or the evil yuppie survivalist route of something that actually costs money…do something. Portable fire is always a handy trick to have up your sleeve.
Fire pistons are also useful if you can make char cloth or access to cattail fuzz.
But then again, I enjoy doing the mountain man rendezvous thing.
The problem is always that the lazy bastards designing these things don’t go the full way, and have the wit to place the striker (or a pair of them) in a separate O-ring sealed screw-on compartment at the other end that’s NOT where the matches reside, but bean counters are invariably penny-wise and pound-foolish @$$holes when it comes to making gear properly.
Public domain, bitchez:
First guy to take that idea and run with it gets my cash for the product.
BONUS: stick a mirror on the inside of the match end, and mount a decent button compass on the outside of either end, and a built-in shrill whistle at the other one, and go for the grand slam of survival implements. Lanyard loop with a woven paracord necklace of bracelet. What should be mounted on the outside long axis is a small bar of magnesium stock on one side, and another striker for metal edges. Both user-replaceable, just like Swiss Army knife toothpicks and tweezers. Make the safes out of both anodized aluminum in a rainbow of colors, and alternatively a solid brass version, for maritime environments, and those things will be passed down for generations, fly off the shelves, and get bought by the metric shit-ton by Uncle Sam’s survival gear whores and Top Tier operators.
Once REI and Bass Pro find out about them, you could retire just on the royalties quite comfortably.
Make a matching single CR123 light with a pill safe at the end for water purification tabs (perhaps a stackable pair of compartnments for a second pill item (anti-malarials/Immodium/whatever*), and a built-in nylon-lined spool for 50′ of snare wire as a matching companion.
Victorinox, Gerber, and Cold Steel would be writing this down verbatim if they had a small clue.
*(Make compartment #2 deep enough to alternatively hold a couple of silver dimes, or 1/10th oz. gold coins. Not included as OEM, obviously, but user-selectable.)
Chances anyone with the means will actually do this are about 1%, but I’ll happily be proven wrong by buying them if anyone ever finds a clue and does it.
I think they did a pretty good job, actually. The striker is at the end of the case, and is protected by a tight waterproof snapcap. And theres an extra striker pad in the case wrapped in a plastic bag.
Zippo does that part right.
Exotec XL, not so much.
I just figure if you’re going to go anodized aluminum, go the whole way, and really do it right.
Aesop, while you were going through your list I was checking boxes for the match safe,whistle,compass,mirror in my bug out bag. Was cheap,plastic (floats),o-ring sealed w/storm matches(I upgraded) and a better lanyard,may have been at Wallly world(I don’t remember), they’re out there alteady.
@VT,
I turned my reply into a post at my spot.
As I noted there, the $6 chinesium plastic Stansport version is how not to do it.
Don’t forget a fire starter like cotton balls wiped with petroleum jelly in case dry tinder isn’t available.
+ 1 – Fire tinder is just as important as fire starter. Wax impregnated curtain sash – pj cotten – military fire material. Whichever it is should be present to begin burning tinder quicker.
CZ, thanks for the reminder to have fire-making redundancy… just picked up a couple of the containers and heavy duty matches to stick in the glove box of my vehicles… Bic lighters really aren’t enough.
Just when I think I’m good, I realize I’m not.
When I was a mere yout, and that was many years ago, our boy Scout troop made up some waterproof match thingies. We took some pillow casing, cut it into strips and soaked it with parafin. We then laid out beau coup kitchen matches on the strips and then re-coated the whole thing with parafin. Then folded it up into about 4″ lengths. Still have a small amount left.. and that was over 60 years ago.
Haha, as a kid, almost blew my hand off with one of these things. I packed it full of “strike anywheres” and then screwed the cap on…too tightly?. Ka-Boom!
I bought the UCO three-pack of match safes about two years ago. I’m very happy with them. I also keep a butane lighter on me at all times and a couple in my pack in addition to the matches. The butane lighter is still a form of flint and steel when out of butane.
Jack London’s short story ‘To Build a Fire’ is a great read and shows how important it is to be able to fire up some brush. Factor in 75 degrees below zero and hope your hands still work enough to strike a match.
Just ordered some marine grade signal flares, because when you absolutely have to set something on fire with powdered magnesium, they are at the top of the top of the list for last ditch effort.
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1031610868
Thats a good price for those. I usually pay around $4 from John Trochmann.
Where can you buy strike anywhere matches these days? A few years ago I bought several dozen boxes and put them into waterproof storage, but for the last 2-3 years I have been unable to buy any that work well. Does anyone have a source?
Ohio Blue Tips were the last of the good matches. Even those, when stored in airtight containers don’t last very long.
I’ve those UCO lifeboat matches at Wal-Mart. I don’t recall theprice though.
CZ, Another informative thought provoking article. Never saw these versions before, will try the UCO out.
I have a off topic request. You had mentioned in a previous post you recommended specifically Leather belts for EDC. Maybe you could do a post on your preferences on EDC belts and battle belts. I like the way you present equipment choices and why you chose them, it refreshing to not have the usual former alleged high tier guy pushing whatever overpriced gear his sponsors say to push.
I have viewed the Leatherman story video and listened to a very long interview with the founder of Clif bars, Gary Erickson some years ago. The two, seemingly unrelated stories, stuck with me. I have looked at common place things differently ever since. I see a backpack and wonder how could I incorporate a tent into it so that you save weight and bulk by using some of the same materials and frame to serve multiple purposes. Or a parka that can be made into a sleeping bag or bivy. My latest fascination is a parka/jacket that would incorporate enough storage space to carry a full load of hiking gear so no backpack is necessary. My interest also goes to food, what can I carry that is light, complete nutrition, easy to prepare, as in no heating required or add hot water and let it hydrate. Similar to MREs and freeze dried meals but can be purchased at Walmart of any grocery. Hand in hand with the meals would require ultra-light ultra simple cooking gear. I know that some of these ideas have been out there and tried but still need work. The “Swiss Army Knife” mindset could and should be applied to everything.
Quick oats & peanut butter also add dry berries. And nuts to it. Life boat rations
Well, waited too long as I went to Wal-Mart last night and discovered out of stock. So I went on-line and picked up two packages of typhoon matches, the match safe and paracord, all Zippo brand. That is a good reinforcement to the UCOs and standard lifeboat matches I’ve had for years.
You can also wax coat your regular kitchen matches and get something roughly between a storm match and candle. You do carry a candle stub to light first in case the match/bic lighter/tinder go out right? That’s a trick FAR older than matches themselves.