Prudent Prepping: A Sparkie Conversation

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Follow along as I build a long term plan via Prudent Prepping.

I didn't get out camping earlier this year, due to California having too much rain (which is a nice problem to have, given our drought) and not being senior enough to get any time off around the holidays. Nowadays, I am fairly high on the chart due to attrition, but because people are not being replaced when they leave, it's still hard for me to get any time off because now there aren't any extra employees to cover my stores.

What this has done, though, is give me time to go over my camping gear. One item that I did not have in my GHB and buckets was a reliable backup fire starter. Fortunately for me, my local Gear Nut came to my rescue. What he doesn't give to his kid  in Boy Scouts, or the troop, he gives to me and I'm never disappointed. What was I gifted this time?

UST Sparkie Fire Starter

http://amzn.to/2ePxW3E

Two of them, as a matter of fact! I have one already in my backpack, along with regular wooden matches in a waterproof container, so this gives me one for my GHB and one to go somewhere else.

The Ultimate Survival Technologies website says this about the Sparkie:

• Designed for precision – sparks can be directionally targeted
• Ultra-lightweight, durable plastic stands up to rugged use
• Flint rod collapses into the Sparkie plastic case for compact storage
• Generates sparks three times hotter than a normal match

While I really like their larger Blast Match, the Sparkie fits perfectly into my budget and planned uses. I am now looking to add Sparkies to my buckets as the backup to the waterproof matches already in them.

The Takeaway

• A reliable fire starter is a necessary Plan B.
• "Two is one and one is none" can't be said often enough, and I'm embarrassed that there weren't backups in my gear already.

The Recap

• Two UST Sparkies: free from a friend, but $6.77 from Amazon as an Add-on to a Prime order. 

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If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!

NOTE: All items tested were purchased by me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.