>>1193741Here is my whole take on it. Firesteel is very easy to use once you get the hang of it, and it really doesn't take long to get the hang of it...but there is still a little bit of a learning curve and you can always improve things even after you have the gist of it. So I don't really think having something that you are not proficient with as a back up is a very good idea. Personally I use the firesteel as my primary method because it really is easy to use, but the more you use it the even easier it gets. Giving myself so many opportunities to use it allows me to learn how I need to adjust my fire prep for different situations. I use it whether I am having a fire in the back yard, burning leaves, camping, etc. So I guess what I am getting at is that I would rather use the firesteel as much as possible and have the bics as a backup (because they are literally idiot proof). Personally have my firesteel that I always use and a bic, then in my tinder box I have another firesteel, another bic, and a box of matches...and honestly if you are ever in a outdoors situation where you think might need a fire immediately because your life depends on it, then I would have a road flare because that will start a fire no matter what. Also I would skip the small ferro rods with the magnesium block attached and just buy a larger ferro rod by itself off amazon or someplace similar.
I would recommend fatwood and jute twine for tinder. Fatwood is cheap, waterproof, easy to light, and it burns long and hot. They come in sticks and you can cut them down to whatever size you want to fit in your tinder box. Then just shave some off with your knife when you want to start a fire. The fatwood will usually catch the sparks from the firesteel very easily, but cutting a little bit of jute twine and fraying it into a birds nest will catch spark and start burning even easier. So you can combine them or use them separately.
