Blast Match and Wetfire fuel demonstration.

Well, we all love new shiny toys, I am no exception! However, i decided to do a little piece about them because they are totally amazing.

First toy is called a blast match. Its a tungsten carbide scraper inside a impact resistant housing, and a spring loaded fire steel inside it.

The second bit of Gucci kit is called Wetfire. It is stunningly simple to use, lights easier than a pyros wet dream, and has just made me sit back and go 'folks on ATS need to see this first hand'. So here are a few pics and a small youtube video to show that it really is the most stunningly simple and effective fire starting kit I have ever tried out.



Each piece of wetfire comes in its own sealed packet, and it about the same size as a large sugar cube.



Here I cut off a tiny sliver of the wetfire fuel. 2 mm thick at most. Its easy to cut, and has the constituency of a candle.

Then I took the blast match to it so I could find out how easy it would be to light if I needed to make fire in a hurry. Here is a pic of the blast match and the wetfire fuel.



Result? I am stunned. It is A) Doable with one hand if need be - the blastmatch is one handed operation, and B) doesn't require such a precise aim as the black fire steel and striker I used in my other video. This really is fool proof.

Here is the video proof of just how simple and quick this stuff lights.



The flame is strong and steady and gives off a suprising amount of heat for a fuel that burns for so long.

I am and it gets my

Haha Dan, you and your toys .......

I love it, nice video btw.

PS: Where did you obtain both of those from?

Nifty stuff Dan.

I wonder how the Wetfire fuel would compare to my poor man's version (cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly).

I need to get me one of those blast matches.

Wotan: if you Google search Blast Match you come up with a lot of places selling them. Thier right around $20

Originally posted by Wotan
Haha Dan, you and your toys .......

I love it, nice video btw.

PS: Where did you obtain both of those from?

BDU kit

I put up the short text so theres no 'advertising' here on ATS. I am in no way affiliated with the store, just a buyer of their goods!

(SHINY! MUST...... HAVE........ SHINY!)

reply to post by DropInABucket


Wetfire burns in a dish of water whilst soaking wet. Its awesome. The blast match ...


Just let me say the sparks are very hot and light stuff very quickly. I tried a cotton ball demo and it was like a nuclear mushroom miniture.

Originally posted by Dan Tanna
(SHINY! MUST...... HAVE........ SHINY!)

That's why my Bride calls me the raccoon. Well, er........ except for when I favor matte black.

Cool toys! I cannot recall all the times in my life where the ability to make fire either saved my life, or made me think it did.

Of course, I also cannot recall those wavy-lined years between 1976 and 1983. I'm pretty sure something important happened.

looks like part of a firelighter to me, I'm sure their probably cheaper than wetfire aswell and you get loads.
Close but no cigar for you Dan, LOL






[edit on 16-7-2008 by Dar Kuma]

The blast match is the s**t. We carry them in our survival vests and they work great.

Another vid. To keep this up on the top because I feel that the more people get exposure to various fire starting methods the better.


Plus I like playing with fire.

Dan, this isn't a blastmatch, but I thought you'd get a kick out of this.
It turns your minimag into something that could start fires (I think).

A 16X DVD burning laser pen conversion..........

Thats sexy.

I'm off to maplins to see if i can pick up the bits tomorrow.

Great post, like it.

Here's a little bump for your thread Dan.

This is how you can use an Almond for a small source of heat.

reply to post by ThreeDeuce


He Deuce, thats a great vid there mate.
I once tried the same with a small handful of peanuts, and the out come was the same.
I also hear peanut butter is good too as a source of heat and fire lighting.
But great vid and im sure Dan will also like it.

Colec156

Wow, peanut butter. I wouldn't have thought.
Is it difficult to get lit?

I think that Dan has pointed out the best fire-making tool available. Those blast matches look dependable and with a great number of sparks.

I also think people should be prepared to make fire with as little as possible.
I personally can't wait to order my 2 Blast Match units. One for my BoB, and the other for my camping gear.

The almond is a good source of food. Wood is a great source of fire.

I like the ide, but as a source of heat it looks of very small useability say to boil drinking water, but if almonds are all you have, almonds is what you use.

I for one would eat the almonds and burn some books / trees or grasses and eat the almonds.

As for the blast match? they are so bloody awesome I am in awe of them. Wetfire fuel too..... together they are freaking unbelievable.

I'd rather make one of those survival stoves made out of tin cans, Atleast with a bit fuel you could boil a bit more water....

Seriously, If the SHTF and all you have is an almond to heat water forget it, It could be windy and those flimsy materials aint gonna help ya none....

As Dan said, Eat the bloody almonds, They'll do you more good than burning them as a fuel source.

[edit on 17-8-2008 by Dar Kuma]

The point with the almond.... is not that it is the most efficient fuel source available, but that it was a possible fuel source.

What if a few almonds are all that you have standing between you and hypothermia. What if all of your other flammable materials are wet?

The purpose of alternatives is not to only rely on one solution, but a myriad of choices and options.

Personally, since the Almond burned for a few minutes, it seems as if it could be a good firestarter. It seemed to take a bit long to get lit. But, I think that is because it was just a whole almond. I would cut a few slivers into it with my knife, and that should give some surfaces that should catch quicker.

I would probably use the almond to start a fire,
Or......
On a date, I would light an almond melt some chocolate and dip some almonds into the melted chocolate. I think it would be some nice flair on a date....

Originally posted by ThreeDeuce
The point with the almond.... is not that it is the most efficient fuel source available, but that it was a possible fuel source.

Yes, Only a possible fuel source, Good luck starting it in the wind and rain though....

Originally posted by ThreeDeuce
What if a few almonds are all that you have standing between you and hypothermia. What if all of your other flammable materials are wet?

Thats why its called wetfire, Or firelighters I like to call them, Cause you can start them when its wet....

Originally posted by ThreeDeuce
The purpose of alternatives is not to only rely on one solution, but a myriad of choices and options.

No, You are being delusional and I'm being realistic.

Originally posted by ThreeDeuce
I would probably use the almond to start a fire,

OK, Goodluck

If you have a fire built and a match... why bother burning the almond to start the fire?

Use the match and eat the blooming almond.

I am however going to purchase some almonds to see how good they are as fire starting tinder...

Watch this space.

Almonds and allsorts eh?

Almonds are a novel thing but I'd leave that to the Youtube sheepies and party tricks mate.

Dan Tannas in the groove though, with a good firelighter you are on the way to happyness and a warm stomach