Experienced outdoor personnel know how critical it is to have reliable fire making skills and capabilities. They are also probably aware of how poorly so many of the fire 'gadgets' in today's marketplace perform under real world conditions. The goal of making fire gadgets smaller, lighter, and cheaper than ever before often leads to failures in the field. Experience has shown that depending on lighters and matches can be problematic.

The primary goal of the DLS inc professional grade fire starter is to reliably and simply start fires in nearly all conditions when used by informed operators. After years of field testing, this goal has been achieved, and fires are often lit with a single strike. Extensive testing was performed with numerous ferrocerium rods to find the best and most reliable spark generating rods. The top performing rods were then soaked in water for months at a time, wiped off, then tested for spark capability again until the final and best rod was selected. The best sparking rod was then subject to more soaking, corrosion, scraping and soaking until it was proven to perform under extreme conditions. Only then was it selected as the best rod to use in DLS fire starters.

Selecting the best ferro rod is only part of the equation. Even the best rod does not perform that well when used with poor techniques. The idea of holding your ferro rod with your fingers over your tinder and scraping the rod with the hope that a spark will land in, and ignite your tinder bundle is wishful thinking. Putting the rod in the tinder and scraping down the rod often results in your hard earned tinder bundle being brushed off your work surface. The technique of pulling the rod away from the tinder bundle as you hold the scraper in place in order not to brush away your bundle often does not result in satisfactory sparks in your tinder. The smaller the ferro rod, the more difficult the process is. Some rods are so small that by the time you hold onto the rod, there is less than one inch left to scrape for sparks.

The DLS inc solution is to use the best performing, sufficiently sized ferro rod : 5" long x 1/2" in diameter, and design a rod support device to work with the rod. The support device firmly secures the ferro rod in place and provides a handle for the operator to grip. This allows the scraper access to more than 4" of scraping surface on the ferro rod. The handle has an O ring sealed, hollow compartment and knurled cap to allow for onboard fire starting substances. (Cotton Balls soaked in petroleum jelly are a good choice). The knurled cap is cross drilled to allow for a scraper to always be lanyard attached to the handle. However, the sharp 90 degree corners of a knife spine work great too, and allows for a full handle hold on both the knife and the fire starter. This allows for safe and aggressive scraping. (For an excellent companion knife, check out Mora knives.)

The design of the front section of the DLS fire starter solves multiple problems. The front section features a spark trough, a barrel band / scraper stop, and a serrated pin-down nose. For best results, (Wear safety gloves and glasses) Select a flat surface to work on, such as a sawn off wood stump. Place your fire starting substance and tinder bundle on the flat of the stump, near the edge. Use the serrated pin-down nose of the fire starter to pin the bundle in place. Hold the fire starter near vertical. Use the sharp corner of your knife spine, or scraper, to scrape downward on the entire length of the exposed ferro rod. The nose of the fire starter will hold the tinder bundle in place, the spark trough will direct the sparks directly into the bundle, and the barrel band / scraper stop will stop the forward movement of your scraping action so your tinder bundle is not brushed away. ( Make sure your bundle is near the edge of the work surface so your hand operating the scraping device does not impact your work surface). This system works so well, that if you are not getting single strike fires, you need to evaluate your tinder and technique.

The ferro rod used in this fire starter is good for thousands of strikes. The rod is easily rotatable to use both sides of the rod. The rod has supports inside the spark tough for additional support and allows for aggressive scraping.

Important: When the ferro rod is brand new, it will have a black protective coating on it. This black coating needs to be scraped off before the rod will spark to its full potential.

Caution: This device is designed to start fires by knowledgeable operators. Keep out of reach of unauthorized personnel and children. Be sure to follow all fire safety regulations and guidelines. Do not leave any fire unattended.

Specs: This fire starter body is manufactured from aluminum, and finished in matte black. It is approximately 8.5" long and only weighs approximately 7.5 ozs so it makes for a great wilderness companion. Great for hunters, hikers, campers, mountaineers, military, off-roaders, etc. This fire starting device comes equipped with a lanyard attached scraper.

People who operate in truly cold environments know the value of professional grade fire starting equipment. This fire starter is an excellent addition to anyone's fire making kit.

Wilderness adventures should be preceded by preparation. Be sure to practice with your fire starter, supplemental fire starting equipment and other gear before your trip.

POR