coghlan's fire starter sticks - anyone use?

Good question. I've never tried to light one with a fire steel.

I have gone the cheaper route and bought the Pine Mountain fireplace logs when I can find them on sale at the grocery store. You can get a 5 Lb log for $3 or $4 and cut it yourself.

To the best of my knowledge, its the same stuff. Wax and saw dust/wood chips.

Chris
 
I don't go anywhere without Coghlan's firestarters. I love 'em! Been using them for years. They're made of compressed sawdust and paraffin so if you can light that with a spark you're good to go – I've never tried. I carry the whole box with the striker on the side and light them that way. And just touching a Bic flame to the head will instantly light it up with a huge flame. It's like a match, times ten. They last many minutes. I keep 3 of them in my emergency Altoids tin along with a mini-Bic. Tip: each stick is joined to the next and is perforated so you can break it off and use it. At times it takes some effort to break them off cleanly so I pre-cut them all and put them back in the box.
 
You can light them with firesteel, just crumble a little bit and put it on top and strike. I got a couple of packs on sale and use them as my back-up's back-up.
 
They work great. They are easier to scrape into powder than fatwood is, so you can produce a pile of powder from scraping the sides very quickly and it will readily take a spark. I find it easier to get the powdered coglan sticks to take a spark than I do fatwood. Another thing I did was broke up one of the sticks and ground it up in an old coffee grinder. Then I put the powder in a tin for quick, ready access. This of course takes up more volume, but is pretty handy for those times that you just want to get a fire going with your firesteel.
 
I also favor the pre-cut pieces (about 1") and some of the ground up stuff. It doesn't take much to get a nice fire going.

Jeff
 
I've used them for years and always kept a couple sticks with my fire makings in each kit. I never tried sparking them but they are easily lit with a flame, maybe even more so than fatwood sticks of similar size.

Makes sense to buy a Duraflame or Pine Mountain log and cut them to size though. That's a good idea.
 
I haven't used those, but I have some of the little emergency tinders they make. they are basically a less messy version of pj soaked cotton balls. I picked them up cheap and they work great.
 
Diamond matches makes somthing like those, with a big matchead on it. You just strike it like a big match. I like to use these when its damp outside.
 
tknife said:
I haven't used those, but I have some of the little emergency tinders they make. they are basically a less messy version of pj soaked cotton balls. I picked them up cheap and they work great.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the recommendation - I'm going to pick up the tenders and sticks for my pack.
 
I use them and they are my favorite tinder. Easy to use, easy to prepare, and they work great. You can light the rough ends of them with a firesteel if you break one in half. Even better, scrape off some shavings and light those, then use that to light a larger piece. They will burn for several minutes, giving you plenty of time to get a larger fire going.

I use the Diamond ones in this video, but they are exactly the same as the Coghlan's material, just a different shape:

Using a firesteel with various tinders
 
Great thread,I don't know how many times I have picked 'em up and though better not waste my $$ on them..OK now I gotta go buy some
 
Awts, I was going to buy some the other day and thought they would be a waste of money. Looks like I should have gotten them. (Got a machete I don't need instead)

I will get some when I go to Walmart again.

EDIT - No, I didn't get the Machete at walmart, I ordered it off the internet.
 
I chuckle a little when you guys talk about how much they cost. Maybe starting fires is cheaper here in the south, but they are under $2 at the Walmarts around here. How much have we all spent on other gear in the past few months, especially knives? Fire is just as fun as knives! :D

Another note is that all of the WalMarts I have been in actually stock very few Coghlans branded products anymore. They all have the same stuff, but it is under the WalMart brand, Outdoor whatever. I do not know if Coghlans still makes them, but the ones I have bought have performed exactly the same.
 
I love them, shaved and firesteel as mentioned or just light. They are the only way I have seen my banker baby brother get a fire going camping. (I used to wait to give him one to watch him fail but he asks now!)
 
Normally, the cost wouldn't have mattered much. But with our economy, if I am not 100% sure I will like the item, I will not buy it.
 
Wow, the "economy" must really suck if you can't swing less that $3 to try something that a number of us strongly recommended. But you were 100% sure you'd like a machete you didn't need and "ordered off the internet"?
 
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