My thoughts on the Sparkie:

I have been very impressed with the little guy so far and it is definitely the easiest and most well thought out firesteel based tool that I have ever used. The initial reports had it rated for something like 100 strikes, but it has a 1/4″ firesteel in there that should be good for at least several hundred strikes. The version I stock is the brand new version with the rotating firesteel that lets you rotate the rod to a spot that has not been scraped yet if you want/need to do that for any reason.

Surprisingly, even my wife wanted one. She normally rolls her eyes at any light producing, fire starting, or sharp cutting implements, so having her want one was a bit of a shock to me. She gets all enthusiastic at gun shows when customers ask what it is and launches into a demonstration of fire on one of our tables that will surely get me in trouble with the show owners one day.

They are still plastic like the Blastmatch and Strikeforce, but the small size, light weight, and ease of use with the Sparkie are steps in the right direction for UST.