Some customers asked if UST’s Wetfire can actually burn while floating in water. Yes, yes it can. I know I’m the guy shilling it, but that is pretty friggin’ cool.
I procured some WetFire from UST recently and was honestly not really expecting a whole lot. I mean, how much better could a fire starting tinder be than the five million other ones I have tried (slight exaggeration as I think I only have four million different tinders sitting in my house)? I have to say that the WetFire did impress, especially with its resistance to water. The stuff floats, lights very easily, and can even be lit while floating in a puddle of water. You can’t say all that about many tinders, if there are even any other ones out there like it.
Here is a video I made showing the WetFire in action:
I made a video for the UST Sparkie today:
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.
