>>166937It's just a slightly more convenient ferrocerium rod, but hardly better at anything.
What you should be using most of the time are lighters and matches. Being able to produce a flame beats any spark-based lighting technique.
$0.50 Bics are enough, they're cheap, light, sturdy, and more reliable than they seem, though they may have problems with wind and cold temperatures, not to mention being wet. Keep them in a ziploc bag next to your body, and they will always work. If you want something fancier like a Zippo, read more about them before buying one, they're not realy what you think they are; they aren't bad, they're great when you use them properly, but it's not as simple as it seems.
As for matches, just pick some cheap $2 stormproof matches. Getting more expensive ones doesn't guarantee better performance.
Considering the prices, you can easily afford to carry a ferrocerium rod, stormproof matchs AND bic lighters; all of that shouldn't cost more than $10.
Less common techniques include using a convex piece of glass or metal to focus sunlight, which you may be able to perform with your current gear, like the bottom of a soda can, your glasses if you're wearing any, or a water-filled condom. The way I do it myself is that I have a small magnifying mirror, which serves as, well, a mirror, but that also works wonders to light a fire.
Then some also use a battery with some carbon material or steel wool, if that's your thing. Never tried it, but it should be quite reliable and effective actually.
But what's the most important is proper tinder, that is, something that will easily catch fire. All these things will fail to light a fire if you have no tinder. Alcohol, lighter fluid, char cloth, sawdust... or learn how to find some innawoods.
