Over the last few months, I’ve seen several ads for Black Beard fire starters. I hadn’t used this type of fire starter before so I jumped at the opportunity to try some for myself.
Black Beard offers two different types of fire starters. The first, and what I believe to be their original fire starter, resembles a piece of heavy jute rope that has been soaked in some blend of waxes and oils. Slices of the fire starter break up into numerous wax-soaked threads. These threads take a flame easily and will burn for about three minutes. The downside is that they are a bit hard to ignite with a spark. I sliced off about half an inch at a time. One stick should last for about twelve fires. Selling for $12, one dollar per fire is a bit pricy.
Their other fire-starting aid is the Fire Plug. They are similar in size to a stubby Cheeto. Out of the package they are fairly dense, but hundreds of fine fibers are exposed when you tear them in half. They are completely waterproof until torn open and have a thirty-year shelf life. They come in a pack of 50 for $15 so the price per fire is much more reasonable at only 30 cents each. These plugs take a spark very well and burn for about five minutes.
I also tried their Arc Lighter and Ferro Rod. The Arc Lighter is pretty cool. It forms two arcs of plasma that quickly ignite most materials. The lighter is USB rechargeable and is marketed as being able to make four hundred ignitions on a single charge. The lighter is waterproof if the cap is kept closed and the plasma arcs are windproof. My main issue with this style lighter is that while the plasma arcs are extremely hot, they are also very small. This makes it more difficult to ignite natural materials like grass or pine needles. While the flame from a traditional lighter can penetrate a ball of tinder, the Arc Lighter can only ignite material on the surface. This didn’t keep me from getting a fire started but it is something to be aware of. For $30 it’s hit or miss for me.
The Black Beard Ferro Rod is HEFTY. Five inches long and half an inch wide, this rod will last a very long time. It creates a shower of strong sparks that easily ignite properly prepared tinder. The rod comes with a hardened steel striker that’s attached by seven feet of braided paracord. I really like this product but the $20 price is on the high side.
Of these four products, the one that really stands out is the Fire Plug. The rope-type fire starter is alright but it requires you to carry this big stick of rope around, and while I do always have a knife, I don’t want that to be a requirement to prepare my fire starter.
The Fire plugs are small, lightweight, and most importantly, very effective. These things are really cool and definitely worth the price. I plan to repackage bundles of five or so to keep in all my packs and vehicles.
If you are interested in Black Beard’s Fire Plugs or any of the other products I tried, they can all be found at BlackBeardFire.com.
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I have always considered these types of fire starters for emergency use, not for everyday fire building. I carry a magnesium (ferro) rod that can be struck with my knife to produce sparks. I’ve had it for about 30 years. I also carry a small waterproof baggie that contains waterproof matches and my own “homemade” fire starters. These are the same thing you learn to make in scouts: an empty egg carton broken down into the individual egg holders. Then you take a cotton ball, place it in one of the holders, and poor melted wax over it. Some recipes call for adding a very small amount of a flammable liquid like ether, but when teaching a bunch of Boy Scouts this method the last thing you do is play with ether. Anyway, I carry 2 or 3 of these when in a possible survival situation. The balls will burn for about 1 minute depending on whether you use Styrofoam or cardboard cartons, and will produce enough heat to light just about any dry tinder you add. Cost: a couple pennies per ball. Time invested: about the same or less than the time it takes to go to a store and buy a prepackaged product.