On this page you'll find some survival essentials that I consider to be basic pieces of survival equipment .
Being able to build a fire in a survival situation is very important and everybody knows that matches can get wet and gas lighters can leak and empty themselves at the worst moments. Firesteels are unaffected by water and a good Firesteel will start a fire under even the worst weather conditions when one has good tinder.
The following Firesteels are made by the Swedish company called Light-My_Fire and have an outstanding reputation.
Left the smaller Scout model Firesteel, middle a piece of Maya-wood, right the Large Military Firesteel
Their Large Military Firesteel with attached lanyard and metal striker is standard equipment for many special military forces teams around the world. The Ferrocium stick is about 3" long with an 3/8" diameter and weighs about 40 grams (1.7 ounces). It will allow you to start thousands of fires.
Their smaller Scout model Firesteel has been developed to be easier to carry and or put in a small survival kit. It makes use of exactly the same plastic thumb piece and also comes with an attached lanyard and metal striker. The size of the Ferrocium stick is about 2.3" with an 1/8" diameter and weighs about 0.7 ounces.
When I have extra Firesteels available, I sell both models, the smaller Scout model Firesteels for US $ 11 a piece and the Large Military Firesteels for US $ 13 a piece BOTH including Priority Airmail (normally takes between 8-14 days to arrive).
The second item that I've grown fond of and consider a good investment besides being a functional piece of equipment is the Glowring sold by Traser-UK it's an approx. 1 5/8" long by 3/8" square clear Lexan key chain with inside an approx. 1" long by 1/16" diameter glass tube coated on the inside with phosphor and filled with Tritium gas (H3) an Beta emitter under a pressure of maximum 2.5 bars.
the right the Old model Glowring
and on far right the New model Glowring