Ferro Rod Fire Starter Kit | Ferro Rod w/Multi Tool Striker & Bonus Gift Paracord Bracelet w/Compass & Whistle for Camping Backpacking Hiking | Waterproof

Got the striker and bracelet. But for $16 all I care about is the striker and rod.I like how the striker has no plastic, and multipurposed. I know it won't break from too much pressure.Got this because I plan to get back into camping and also start hunting soon. Dad took me on boy scout weekend outings as a young kid. I want to challenge myself further and test myself in situations where I am less and less prepared, unlike the scouts. So no matches or fire starting kits to start.But I've never actually started a fire with my dads flint, and he rarely used it if ever. So upon opening this I decided to see if I needed to practice with it.Well the striker tools main selling point for me was the rounded and toothed tip to make kindling. I took a branch from a year old pile of dead branches. All I could do was scratch it. As I write this and think about it. It seems like a tool that would work on larger more fibrous pieces of a tree and I'll find something it'll work on if I need it. But given it's small branch shaped diameter, I expected a tapered/sharpened edge on one side so it would function better like a knife to shear off the wood in flakes... I'll prolly take a filing kit to this puppy now that I think about it and do just that!Still tho. Tool should be shaped a bit wider for the kindling maker portion, and be tapered on one side to improve its shearing ability. It's really just a ridged groove that scratches.It's use as a striker tho. HOLY COW! Took a few tries to figure out how much pressure to apply. The black coating kinda throws you off as it's just a slick barrier to initially scrape off and takes more applied pressure for the first strike or two. Then the sparks just FLARE everywhere downwards, and the sound is just so satisfying.Okay now I have to see how natural I am at starting a flame. We had rain within the last 2 days but things were mostly dry, definitely not prime for fire starting though. I took some dead weeds, some mostly dry leaves, and went to the uncomfortable fire pit.I won't lie and say it lit a blazing fire in one try. I did have to fiddle with my birds nest every few strikes. And there was moments of just rapidly striking the thing repeatedly trying to get a spark to catch in the nest long enough to start burning. There was so much smoke from the striker, it'd be hard to tell if the smoke was coming from the bird nest lol.But within 3-5 mins of effort, and 1 minute of gathering the kindling (after giving up on the kindling tool). I had that nest ON FIRE! 2 flames came out of it actually. Had to set it down. I did not have everything ready to make a full fledged fire, nor wanted to commit to having one. So I did not have a pile of small or large kindling to keep the fire going. If I did. I have no doubt I would have had a roaring fire in less than 10 minutes from prep to well established fire. It's also 54f degrees with a nice breeze I wasnt sheltered from. So I think that's a pretty effective Firestarter attempt. I went from "Wow I'm not as natural as I thought I would be at this perhaps.", to "Oh it's on fire!" in a matter of seconds. I didn't even cusp it and blow. No ember to get glowing. It was just ON FIRE. No cotton or anything fibrous. Just some cold mostly dry leaves and dead weed twigs rolled between my hands into a bowl/ball. So I was really caught off guard when I was just trying to get an ember going and got 2 flames instead.The reviews had me thinking the bracelet would be cheap. I didn't care if so. It had a fire striker rod on the clip atleast. I expected a cheap dollar store toy quality compass. It's actually a solid compass with liquid inside. Easy to read, turns to North reliably whenever I look at it. I have large size hands when it comes to gloves and such. My wrists aren't tiny and I wouldn't be surprised if it was too small... it fits just enough to easily snap on and not leave an impression on my skin.Idk why people complain about the whistle. It's very high pitch and doesn't sound like a cheap little plastic whistle. It comes across like a piercing beep. There is a hole at the bottom. Idk why it's there. The whistle works better if you cover it, but any solid blow and it'll still work without covering it. You can cover it with your lip easily too. So people saying it's broken makes no sense to me.The "cutter" is probably never going to cut a damn thing it's so small. But it's probably better at making kindling than the striker tool. But if you used it like that it'd break. The striker rod in the center of the clip is a nice idea. But it's so small. Idk how you could use it without breaking the buckle clips on each side of it. Also no tool to strike it with. Why not put a groove in the cutter that'll fit the rod and use it as a striker? Guess I'll be filing down that too lol.The paracord seems sturdy. It's thicker and heavier than I expect. Speaking of, the cord on the rod and striker seems very durable as well. I expect the rod to be worn down beyond use long before the cord does. The handle also feels very ergonomic if I am using that word correctly.I do wish the rod was a little bit longer in hindsight. I wouldn't be interested in this if it was the full price of over $20. I just see the bracelet as a little gimmick after all. But I'm surprised to find it is actually quite sturdy of a device and a nice bonus to make the price value spot on at $15.99. Perfect first starter tool for anyone. Again my biggest perk is the metal striker tool. Man that sucker kicks up sparks with ease. When this rod wears down. I'll keep the striker for the replacement. I can't comment on the life expectancy as I've never owned one before. But i am surprised how much wear and tear has already occurred. I'm starting to think my dad NEVER used that keychain rod to start a fire, because this thing looks way worse already. So idk if they are all this soft and easy to shave or if I'm using too much force, to really give an experienced opinion on that. I know the striker tool with last though, and I can 3D print another handle. I don't need to buy a compass either and got an emergency whistle that doesn't feel dorky, doesnt hang from my neck, isn't stuffed away in a bag, but right on my wrist. I'm sure I'll find some things to attach to it to make it more useful. The thing isn't going to break anytime soon, so I might as well include it in my survival arsenal.

The large rod works excellent! The tiny emergency rod in the wrist compass never would produce sparks for me. This is one of my favorite rods as it produces a large spray of sparks to light even damp starter!!

While he didn’t start the fire, this sure as heck will.

ferro rod is nice and large; easy to pack and locate in backpack side pouch. The striker is also well designed and good sized. Not sure about the wrist band. a bit too large for my wrist, so might attach to outside of day pack. Whistle works; compass is close enough for a backup, tho I carry a lensmatic compass as my primary. The interior ferro rod (part of the buckle) doesn't strike any sparks after numerous attempts, but it's really an afterthought in my mind. The paracord with compass and whistle is good enough.

I found it very easy too get a spark after just a few firm strikes on the ferruim oxide bar came with a very nice soft cloth bag . A very good value for the price and compass dial and watch brand was included also . Shipment was fast next day .