Coghlan's Fire Starters, Matches and Lighters

What Coghlan's makes for campers and hunters

Coghlan's sells a wide spread of small camp gear: cookware, tent pegs, candles, first-aid kits, insect netting, rope. On this site it shows up in three fire types:

• Fire starters and ignition: ferro rod strikers, magnesium blocks, a flint wheel and a tinder kit
• Tinder and matches: fire sticks, strike-tip fire lighters, cotton tinder and waterproof matches
• Lighters: windproof butane lighters with a jet flame

The grid above shows what's on Amazon right now, with filters by type. Listings come and go, and the fire sticks alone turn up under several pack listings, so I'll write about the lines and what separates them rather than how many of each are up this week.

Coghlan's also lists rechargeable plasma arc lighters, match cases and a match box on its own site. This site doesn't list those, so they aren't in the grid. Electric lighters from other brands are on the electric lighter page.

How a Coghlan's fire kit fits together

Here's how I think about any fire kit, and it maps neatly onto the Coghlan's shelf. Smokey Bear's campfire guide splits a fire into three parts: tinder (small dry stuff that catches first), kindling (sticks under an inch around) and logs. Something has to light the tinder.

Coghlan's sells all the small parts of that chain:

• Something to make a flame or spark: lighters, matches, ferro rods, magnesium
• Something to catch it: tinder pieces, fire sticks, fire lighters
• Something to keep it dry: the cases and kits they come in

What it doesn't sell is the kindling. That part is still on you and whatever fell off the hemlocks this week. Walt says that's the only fire-starting product he's ever trusted, and he says it every November like it's new.

Coghlan's fire starters: sparks and strikers

This is the "Coghlan's fire starter" most people are looking for: the tools that throw sparks. Sparks don't run out of fuel and don't mind cold the way butane does. They also don't light anything by themselves. You need tinder under them.

Flint Striker: the ferro rod

The maker's Flint Striker is a ferrocerium rod with an attached metal striker and a large handle. A ferro rod (a sparking rod for fire) throws hot sparks when you scrape it. Coghlan's says it gives thousands of strikes, works in all weather and at all altitudes, and still sparks when wet.

The rod comes with its striker on a cord, so the two stay together. That's not a small thing. A ferro rod without its striker is a nice-looking stick. More on technique and rod sizes across brands is on the ferro rod page.

Magnesium Fire Starter: shavings first, then sparks

The Magnesium Fire Starter is a different tool. Per the maker, it's a magnesium bar with a sparking insert and a serrated blade. You scrape shavings off the bar into a small pile, then throw sparks into the pile. Coghlan's says the magnesium burns hot enough to help light kindling and tinder even when they're damp, and that one bar makes enough shavings for hundreds of fires.

One listing in the grid adds a spark temperature, and that number comes from Amazon, not the maker. A second listing, the "Flint and Steel" version, is also a magnesium block with a sparking rod per its listing.

Real talk: magnesium is slower than a ferro rod. You have to make the shavings first, and you have to keep them from blowing away while you do it. Do it with your back to the wind and a flat piece of bark under the pile.

Flint Wheel: one-handed sparks

The Flint Wheel, per Coghlan's, is an all-in-one kit in an aluminum capsule: a flint wheel for sparks plus paraffin-and-cotton tinder inside. The maker says it works one-handed. If you've ever tried to hold a ferro rod, a striker and a headlamp beam at the same time, you know why that matters.

Tinder Kit: striker and tinder in one box

The Tinder Kit is the "grab one thing" option. Coghlan's describes a waterproof plastic case with 8 pieces of waterproof tinder and a flint striker inside, at 2 oz. It's the one that fits in a day pack lid and gets forgotten there until you need it, which is the correct place for it.

Tinder, fire sticks and matches

Fire Sticks: the camp fire's training wheels

The Fire Sticks are the 7940 line, sold in 12-count packs. The maker says they're non-toxic, odorless, burn completely, and light after being submerged in water once dried. Coghlan's doesn't print a burn time for them on its page, so I won't make one up.

Several listings in the grid sell what looks like the same 12-count pack. Read the listing for the pack count and the count of packs before you buy. A separate 5-inch fire starter stick pack is listed as natural on Amazon; the maker's page for it isn't one I could find, so its details come from the listing.

Walt calls fire sticks "kindling that went to finishing school." He also keeps a box of fire-starter sticks next to the cabin stove and claims it's mine.

Fire Lighters: strike-tip sticks

The Fire Lighters are a box of 20 wood-fiber sticks with a strike pad on the box. You strike the tip like a big match. The maker lists a 7-minute burn per stick; the Amazon listing in the grid says 5 minutes. Either way, that's a long time for a match, and it's what gives damp kindling a fair chance.

Tinder 10-pack: cotton and wax

Coghlan's Tinder is 10 pieces of cotton and paraffin wax in a water-resistant bag. The maker says each piece burns 4 to 5 minutes and lights even when wet. This is the stuff to put under a ferro rod. A piece pulled apart a bit catches sparks better than a tight one, which is true of cotton-and-wax tinder in general. (Exhibit A: every cotton ball I've fluffed at a picnic table while Renee asked if we could please just use the grill.)

Waterproof Matches

The 940BP Waterproof Matches come four boxes to a pack. Per Coghlan's, they light after getting wet, the box's striker works after being wet, and they can't light by accident, which the maker says makes them safe to store with other camp gear. Coghlan's also sells a gasketed aluminum match case on its site that holds up to 30 of these matches; this site doesn't list the case.

Other brands' fire sticks and tinder are on the fire starter sticks page, and the wider type is on the fire starters page.

Coghlan's lighters

The lighters in the grid are windproof butane lighters with a jet (torch) flame, and their listings mark them as not refillable. Coghlan's own site describes its Wind Resistant Lighter as a jet-flame lighter for barbecues, grills and gas stoves, with a child-resistant switch.

The maker says its jet flame stands up to the windiest conditions, and wind is the whole reason a jet flame exists. The trade-off is that a non-refillable lighter is done when the butane is done. Keep that in mind if you're building a fire kit for the truck that sits all summer. Refillable options across brands are on the refillable butane lighter page, and jet lighters on the torch lighters page.

A safety note, plain: keep lighters and matches away from kids. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission requires child-resistant mechanisms on disposable lighters, and a child-resistant switch still isn't a reason to leave one in reach.

How to choose within the Coghlan's lineup

Decide how you'll make the flame

Three ways in, each with a trade:

• Lighter: fastest, but runs on fuel and these ones don't refill
• Matches: no fuel to run out, a set number per box
• Ferro rod or magnesium: thousands of strikes for the rod, hundreds of fires per magnesium bar (the maker's numbers), but needs tinder and a bit of practice

If you only ever light the camp stove and the grill, a lighter covers it. If you're putting together a kit that has to work after a season in a truck box, add sparks.

Then pick what catches it

For a ferro rod, cotton-and-wax tinder or a fire stick under the sparks. For matches or a lighter, a fire stick or a strike-tip fire lighter gives you minutes of flame instead of seconds. The maker's burn times are the deciding spec here: 4 to 5 minutes for the Tinder, 7 minutes for the Fire Lighters by the maker's count.

Then decide where the kit lives

My one opinion on this page: a fire kit belongs in a sealed box with a lid, not loose in a coat pocket. The reason is right on Coghlan's own shelf. The maker sells its Tinder in a water-resistant bag, its Tinder Kit in a waterproof plastic case, and its match case with a rubber O-ring. A company that makes waterproof matches still puts them in a gasketed case. That tells you how much damp gets into a pocket over a November weekend.

Count what's in the box when you pack it. Coghlan's lists exact counts (8 tinder pieces in the kit, 10 in the bag, 12 fire sticks, 20 fire lighters), so you'll know when you're running low before you're out.

Using Coghlan's fire gear safely

Fire gets plain instructions. Smokey Bear's campfire guide says to use an existing fire ring or a pit, clear a 10-foot circle around it, keep water and a shovel nearby, and avoid flammable liquids to start it. Put the fire out with "drown, stir, drown and feel": water until the hissing stops, stir the ashes, more water, then hold the back of your hand over them to check they're cool. Don't leave until the fire is fully out. Fire restrictions vary by state and by season, so check your state's rules and any local burn bans before you strike anything.

Light a fire stick or tinder piece in the fire ring, not in your hand. Strike ferro rods and magnesium away from your body and close to the tinder, with your fingers clear.

Care and warranty basics

The maker's Flint Striker page calls the rod fireproof in solid form, so its main enemies are getting lost and getting separated from the striker. Keep the cord on. Tinder, fire sticks and matches want to stay dry and sealed; the maker's water claims are about surviving water, not about living in it.

Coghlan's warranty page, in short:

• Length: one year from the date of purchase
• Covers: defects in workmanship and materials
• Only for: products bought from authorized retailers, used per the instructions
• Doesn't cover: normal wear, weather wear, misuse, modifications, second-hand purchases
• How to claim: the original retailer first, then Coghlan's support with a photo of your proof of purchase

Keep the receipt with the kit. I tape mine inside the lid, which Renee says is the first time I've filed anything.

Who's behind Coghlan's

Coghlan's Ltd. lists its address in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The company's story page says Norm Coghlan started it there in 1959 out of a gas appliance store where he repaired camp stoves and lanterns, after a camp stove toaster he sold took off. The company says it now carries more than 400 camping products sold through outdoor stores across North America. Its site doesn't say where the current products are made, so I've left that out.

A company that started by fixing camp stoves ended up selling the things that light them. As an electrician, I respect a guy who works his way back to the source.