>>636652>fill two roles, easy fire and for rescueExactly why I carry them.
>they burn fuckhot for about 15 minuteswhich means they'll light up FLIR real well, in addition to red in the visible spectrum.
Sure, they're kind of big, expensive compared to other firestarting methods, but ... the weight/size/cost is worth it should I ever need to use them.
Rubbing sticks together to start a fire is fine, but if your buddy's hypothermic 20 miles from the nearest access road and the sun's disappearing over the horizon, your buddy's not going to wait for you to play boy-scout.
Have one flare in my garage that's kinda old ('09-ish) that needs to be torched off. Next week or two I need to look at the dates on everything I have, buy another 3pk, move older ones from my sled/pack into the truck and the oldest ones in the truck into the garage/trailer to light off campfires at the trailhead.
