Black Beard Fire Starter

What Black Beard Fire Starter makes

On this site, Black Beard Fire Starter covers three product types: tinder and matches, fire starters (a ferro rod and kits), and lighters. The maker's own shop sorts the same things into tinder, ignition sources and fire kits, plus merch.

Everything in the lineup is built around one idea. The maker's tinder is cotton soaked in wax, and the rest of the gear exists to put a spark or a flame on it. Its home page says the cotton is infused with odorless, non-toxic waxes and oils.

Here's the lineup in the grid, in plain words:

• Fire starter rope: a single rope or a 5-pack, per the listings
• Fire plugs: small tinder plugs, 50 to a bag
• Weatherproof matches: 20 to a kit
• Ferro rod, extra large: 5 inches long and half an inch thick
• Arc lighter: rechargeable, flameless
• Pirate's Plunder kit: rope, rod and lighter in one case

The grid above shows what's on Amazon right now, with filters by type. It changes as listings come and go, so I'll write about the products and what separates them, not about this week's count.

Walt asked if a company called Black Beard throws in an eye patch. It does not. He checked the kit list twice.

Lineup notes: the tinder

Black Beard fire starter rope

The rope is the brand's main product. The maker's instructions are short: cut off a small piece, fluff the fibers, and light it. You use only what the fire needs and save the rest. The maker says one rope makes up to 50 fires, and it calls the rope waterproof and windproof. The FAQ says it's 100 percent cotton mixed with a wax blend.

Jess's take: "Fifty fires a rope, two fires a weekend. That's a rope for every 25 weekends, and you'll lose it before then." She has a spreadsheet column for this. I have a rope in every coat, which is my version of a spreadsheet.

What the rope isn't: a log. A small fluffed piece burns long enough to catch kindling, not to dry out a wet log by itself. Match the piece to the kindling you have.

Fire plugs

The fire plugs are the same idea, pre-cut. The maker says each plug burns up to 8 minutes and calls them windproof, waterproof, non-toxic and odorless. They come 50 to a bag, per the listing, and the maker says the bag reseals.

The trade between rope and plugs is plain. The rope lets you cut a piece as big or small as you like. The plugs are already the right size, which is nice at 5 a.m. with cold fingers and Walt asking where the coffee is.

Fire starter sticks and cubes from other brands are on the fire starter sticks page.

Stormproof matches

The matches are the brand's flame source that needs no battery and no technique. The maker lists 20 matches per kit, each burning up to 25 seconds, packed in a carrying case. It calls them water and windproof and says to keep them in their original case to protect them from moisture.

Twenty-five seconds is a long time for a match. It's also exactly how long it takes me to remember which pocket the tinder is in.

Lineup notes: the spark and the flame

The extra-large ferro rod

A ferro rod (ferrocerium rod) is a sparking rod. You scrape it and it throws hot sparks onto tinder. The maker lists its rod at 5 inches long and half an inch in diameter, with 5 feet of paracord attached, and says it's good for up to 20,000 strikes. It claims sparks up to 5,000 degrees. The listing agrees on the size.

UCO's guide to ferro rods explains the technique. Set the rod firmly in the tinder. Hold the striker at about 45 degrees. Scrape down the rod's length with firm pressure, taking off as much material as you can. The rod only throws sparks, so the tinder has to be ready before you strike. A fluffed piece of rope is exactly that kind of tinder.

UCO also says a ferro rod works when wet, and that as long as there's rod left, there's a spark left. That's why I like a rod in the kit. It doesn't care about the weather and it doesn't need a charger.

More on rods across brands is on the ferro rod page.

The Black Beard arc lighter

The arc lighter is the rechargeable one. The maker describes a dual arc that makes a concentrated plasma beam, and claims 300-plus ignitions per charge. It calls the lighter windproof, waterproof and rechargeable. The maker's page doesn't name the charging port or the charge time, so I won't either.

An arc lighter has no flame to blow out, which is why the wind doesn't bother it. It does have a battery, which is why a forgotten charge does. Electric lighters across brands are on the electric lighter page, and flame lighters on the torch lighters page.

If you fly to camp: TSA allows arc and electronic lighters in carry-on bags, not in checked bags. You have to prevent accidental activation, for example with a cover or a safety lock, and you can't charge it on the plane. The officer at the checkpoint makes the final call.

The Pirate's Plunder kit

The kit is the whole system in one case. The maker lists an organizer case, 4 fire starter ropes, a ferrocerium rod and a plasma arc lighter. The grid carries two kit listings; both list tinder included.

The maker's site also sells other kits that aren't in the grid right now, from a fire plug kit to bigger bundles. If you already own a good lighter, the kit gives you a second and third way to make a spark. If you own nothing, it's the shortest path to a working fire kit. Fire starters and kits across brands are on the fire starters page.

How to choose within the Black Beard lineup

Decide what you're missing: tinder or spark

Every fire needs both. If you already carry a lighter, all you're missing is reliable tinder, so the rope or the plugs. If you carry tinder but no spark, it's the rod, the matches or the arc lighter. If you carry neither, the kit.

Rope or plugs

Rope if you like to cut the piece to fit the fire. Plugs if you want the same size every time and no cutting. Both are the same cotton and wax, per the maker.

Rod, matches or lighter

My one opinion on this page: carry two ways to light a fire, and make one of them battery-free. The reason is in the maker's own specs. The arc lighter is good for 300-plus ignitions per charge, and then it needs a charger. The ferro rod is rated for up to 20,000 strikes and never needs one. The matches need nothing but their case. Pair the lighter with the rod or the matches and you've covered the night the battery dies.

Renee says that's the most organized sentence I've written all year. She asked me to put it on the fridge.

Building the fire the rope is for

Tinder only works inside a fire that's built right. Smokey Bear's campfire guide lays out the basics:

1. Check fire restrictions and the weather; skip the fire in dry or windy conditions
2. Have water, a bucket and a shovel on hand before you light anything
3. Use an existing fire ring, or clear a 10-foot circle and dig a shallow pit
4. Keep the fire at least 15 feet from tents and brush
5. Build up from tinder to kindling to larger wood, and keep it small
6. Never use gasoline or other flammable liquids to start it

The National Park Service adds two habits worth keeping: buy firewood near where you'll burn it, because moving wood can spread pests, and don't burn trash. Fire rules vary by place and season, so check with the land manager or your state's rules before you light anything.

Putting it out, and storing the tinder

The maker's FAQ makes a point worth repeating: the tinder is waterproof and windproof, but the fire it starts is not. Put it out by smothering it or dousing it with water.

Smokey Bear's method: drown the fire with water until the hissing stops, stir the ashes and embers with a shovel, drown it again, then hold the back of your hand over the ashes. If it's too hot to touch, it's too hot to leave. The NPS notes that coals can stay hot for hours and flare up again in the wind. Never leave a fire unattended.

For storage, the maker says to keep the rope and plugs somewhere cool and dry. In a hot car, the wax can soften and leave a small oily mark, which is why mine live in a zip bag in the fire kit, not on the dashboard. Its FAQ also says the tinder won't self-ignite and needs a spark or flame to light.

Who's behind Black Beard Fire Starter

Black Beard Fire Starter was started in 2019 by two brothers, KJ and Kaimahi Thompson, according to the maker's about page. Both worked as carpenters before leaving their day jobs for the business. The page says they began in a small apartment, moved production to their grandmother's garage, and now run their own warehouse in Salt Lake City, Utah. The maker's FAQ says the products are made in Salt Lake City from American-made materials and ingredients.

On its own site, the maker offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. It doesn't state a separate product warranty, so none is listed here.

Tinder in the coat, a rod on the zipper, a lighter that's actually charged. Three ways to start a fire, one bucket of water to finish it.