The Greatest Firestarters of 2023

Start a fire in the rain. Start a fire in the snow. Start a fire after your gear gets dunked in the river. And start the fire with a firestarter that is capable of working through the most difficult scenarios.

There are various firestarters to choose from, and part of getting the best one is getting the right one. We’ve poured over the research and testing that’s been done to create a buying guide that will steer you to the best firestarter for you.

Outdoor survival is just as much about outsmarting the elements as it is using them to your advantage. Packing the right firestarter is one of the best ways to outsmart any of the difficulties the outside world tries to throw at you, whether you’re camping, hunting, backcountry skiing, or stranded on the side of the road.

Author and Senior Editor Chris Carter has thrown together his fair share of fires during casual camping trips and survival situations alike all over the world. He put over 10 of the best firestarters on the market to the test this past year, and mined the collective knowledge of GearJunkie’s team of bushcraft enthusiasts, to create the streamlined selection you see below. He spewed sparks over countless tinder bundles in all sorts of conditions and climates while testing these models, and left no stone unturned in researching the best of the best.

As a note of caution: Know your local fire restrictions and think carefully about whether you actually need a fire. Never leave your fire unattended and be prepared to completely saturate your fire until the ground beneath it is wet and cold. Unattended campfires are the cause of some of the largest, most costly natural disasters in the U.S., consuming millions of acres of forest and destroying entire communities. A fire can save your life in cold, wet conditions, but we must be responsible outdoors people.

Check out our handy comparison chart at the bottom of the list for a quick comparison, or follow our buyer’s guide to figure out the best firestarter for your kit. Then, get your burning questions extinguished in our FAQ.

Editor’s Note: We refreshed this article on XXXX, 2023, adding one new product, additional details about our testing practices, and more information in the “Types of Firestarters” & “Firemaking Tips” sections of the buyer’s guide. We also made sure our product list is up-to-date with current models and designs.

The Best Firestarters of 2023

Firestarter Comparison Chart

How We Tested Firestarters

From experienced survivalists to weekend warriors stoked on bushcraft, the GearJunkie team is made up of outdoor enthusiasts who know the importance of getting a fire started in any condition. We’ve spent endless hours gathering tinder bundles, snapping sticks, and getting light-headed as we blow flames into life. Whether it’s a campfire to cook dinner over, or an emergency heat source, fire-making skills are key for anyone going camping or backpacking in the backcountry.

Author and Senior Editor Chris Carter understands the importance of not only having the means to make a fire in any situation but also having the skills to whip one up in unfavorable conditions. When matches and lighters fail, firestarters rise to the challenge — but only if you know how to use them. Carter has started hundreds of fires with traditional firestarters in all sorts of environments, at casual campfires with friends, and in downright survival situations.

Carter grew up in the bush of Kenya, East Africa, where he learned a whole slew of primitive survival skills, including how to light a fire with a hand or bow drill, fire plow, and traditional flint and steel. In many scenarios, fires are not just for a cozy camp atmosphere but are essential tools for staying warm, cooking a kill, or keeping wild animals at a distance.

While matches are an easy solution, Carter wouldn’t be caught dead in the wilderness without a secondary, more reliable way of securing a flame. For this guide, he accrued a number of his favorite firestarters he’s used over the years, and tested new selections from top brands on the market. He partnered with his other bushcraft friends and threw spark after spark over countless tinder bundles to bring you the streamlined selection of 15 starters you see today.

We know the competition for the firestarter podium is constantly evolving, which is why we’ve slotted this guide into a regular update schedule. We are perpetually talking with experts, bugging brands at gear shows, and scouring the internet to make sure we cover the most relevant and deserving selection possible.

Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose a Firestarter

While matches or lighters may be some of the faster ways of starting fires, they aren’t always the most reliable. It’s important to have, and know how to use, a solid firestarter for when the unexpected happens. You accidentally fall into a river and soak all your gear. You break all your matches or your lighter runs out of fluid.

Being able to start a fire in any situation is one of the best steps you can take to improve your chances in a survival situation. We found the top tried and true firestarters out there and put them to the test for this guide, offering a selection for every type of adventure.

Type of Activity

Different activities require different firestarters. For example, carrying the heavy Bernzomatic Torch on a long-haul backpacking trip could make for a good laugh, but you’ll regret it pretty quickly.

If you’re going car camping, something bigger and heavier like that will be a much better fit. Backpacking demands lightweight gear that’s easy to bring along, so you’d be much better off with a simple ferro rod and flint firestarter.

Every ounce counts when backpacking, and every inch of your backpack is valuable space. The little things like firestarters are where the ounces can quickly add up. An extra inch of material means less space for food and more weight to carry.

Finding the middle ground with size and weight is key to getting the right tool. Too small and it’s impossible to handle; too big, and you’re lugging extra weight you don’t need.

Ease of Use

At the end of a long day of hiking, the last thing you want is to fight with your firestarter to get warm. The easier the firestarter is to use, the better.

There are certain ways to make life easier in the backcountry, especially when you’re just starting to learn how to use a firestarter. If you’re new to the skill, pack extra firestarter sticks. They don’t weigh much or take up much space, and they’ll be more than worth it in the long haul.

Types of Firestarters

The three primary types of firestarters — flint & steel, ferrocerium rods, and magnesium bars — can be used in a variety of different scenarios, and each has its place in a firestarting kit. This guide covers other unique firestarters that use electrical sparks, a blowtorch, and even a hot beam of light, but these are the more common starters you’ll see in survival kits.

Flint & Steel

Flint & steel is one of the oldest tried-and-true methods of starting a fire. The flint can be a variety of different hard rocks, such as quartzite or chert. The steel striker component is constructed with a high carbon content and is usually heat-treated. When the steel strikes the rock it breaks off tiny particles of the metal, which oxidize and ignite when exposed to oxygen.

One of the negatives of flint & steel is how dull the sparks are, and charred cloth or naturally charred materials are usually required to effectively hold the spark and turn it into a flame. The value of flint and steel lies in their ability to be easily reproduced with readily available materials.

Ferrocerium Rods (Ferro Rod)

The sparks created by a ferro rod are extremely hot compared to those of flint & steel, which makes it easier to light a dry tinder bundle. Some of the starters in this guide, such as the Wolf and Grizzly, and the Zippo Fire Starter Kit, use a ferro rod as part of their set.

It’s a good idea to carry some highly flammable tinder in your survival kit, such as cotton balls coated with wax or Vaseline, or dryer lint, to make this process easier, but there are plenty of natural resources that can be used in a pinch.

The Exotac Firerod is slim enough to slide into the ferro loops often featured on bushcraft knives, but the rod’s handle still leaves room for a waterproof tinder capsule to store flammable tinder in case of an emergency. If your ferro rod doesn’t come with its own striker, you need to ensure you have a sturdy knife or spare striker on hand if you plan on bringing it along. Ferro loops on the sheathes of bushcraft knives are helpful additions to ensure the whole family stays together.

Ferro rods are constructed with different metals, which make it easier or more difficult to scrape depending on the composition. Softer rods don’t have as long of a lifespan but generally provide more sparks with each strike. Most ferro rods are made with about 50% cerium, with various ratios of lanthanum and iron making up the rest of the mixture.

A ferro rod doesn’t create a flame when struck, so it’s important that the tinder bundle you use is as dry and flammable as possible. Many ferrocerium rods will have a black protective coating on them when they come out of the box, which will need to be scraped off before use.

Magnesium Bars

Often referred to as “mag bars,” this is a bar or block that usually has a ferro rod attached to the top of it. Instead of having to gather a tinder bundle that will catch a spark, or bringing cotton balls, you can use magnesium shavings from the bar as much of your tinder bundle, which will ignite with a spark from the ferro rod.

Some mag bars come with their own striker, but you can use the back side of your bushcraft knife to shave off magnesium, and strike the ferro rod. Avoid using the sharp end of your knife for this, as it could dull or damage it significantly.

This is usually a pretty time-consuming way to start a fire as it takes a large pile of magnesium shavings to make a flame that lasts long enough to light your tinder or kindling, and the shavings can blow away easily in any amount of wind. You will want to use additional dry tinder with the shavings, as the shaving bundle itself may not be enough to catch the larger fuel on fire.

Firemaking Tips

Whether using flint & steel, a ferro rod, or a mag bar, you will need a bone-dry bundle of tinder to catch your spark and transfer a flame to larger kindling. Fatwood shavings, birch bark, cattails, dry fluff from plants, or dried animal dung often work well as tinder bundles. Many firestarters, such as Exotac’s Firerod and Prepared4X’s Survival Torch, come with dry, often water-resistant tinder that makes this important step much easier. You can also premake tinder bundles to store in your kit by soaking cotton balls in wax, or gathering dryer lint from home in a waterproof container.

Consolidate plenty of medium-sized dry kindling (preferably from conifers) and have it on hand to build up your fire once you establish a flame in your tinder bundle. Make something of a “bird’s nest” with your pile of tinder, using fluffed-up dry materials. Place fatwood shavings or a feather stick (a stick that has been shaved to produce clusters of thin curls protruding from the wood — see illustration above) on top of the bird’s nest.

Once you have a tinder bundle you like, hold the scraper at a 45-degree angle to your rod, with the end of your rod almost touching your tinder. Pull the rod — not the scraper — back sharply. This allows you to get sparks closer to the tinder, and makes it easier to control where the sparks are spraying.

When a spark takes in your tinder bundle it should produce a strong but short-lived flame. Resist the temptation to immediately blow on a spark or small flame, as you could easily extinguish it before it has a chance to catch any bigger fuel. Build a teepee of small match-sized twigs and pencil-sized kindling over the growing flame, which encourages the flame to go upward. Gradually add bigger and bigger sticks and logs until you’ve established a solid base of embers and heat.

Blowing slightly on your fire near the beginning can help, but only after the flame has caught and the tinder is smoldering. Be sure not to blow out a new small flame in an effort to give it more oxygen. If there is adequate airflow, the flame will do its job and move onto bigger dry fuel.

Reliability

The problem with matches and lighters is their reliability. Once they get wet, too cold, or too high in altitude, they don’t work well.

Getting a firestarter that’s reliable in all conditions and environments helps ensure that you won’t be left shivering on the ground with an empty stomach after a long day of trekking. We would feel comfortable relying on all of the firestarters on this list in the backcountry (though some are better suited for a backup lightweight “survival kit” than others).

Price

Just as with every piece of gear, price matters. Determining a budget before even browsing your options is important to help you get the best firestarter for your particular use.

Don’t buy something just because of a high price tag. It doesn’t always mean it’s the better piece of gear. Price can be a reflection of quality, but it can also lead to unnecessary and over-the-top products.

It’s also worth noting that this guide covers a broad range of firestarter types. Our “Best Budget” option doesn’t offer the same level of versatility as some of the traditional ferro rods we cover. Think about the type of trips you plan on using your starter on, and use this to help formulate a budget, and narrow in on the best firestarter for your needs.

FAQ