I don't rely on matches. Though I carry a few sealed up. Along with a couple of lighters bought new each season.

I carry a firestarting kit, in ziplocs, soon to be vaccum sealed. Contains wood wool, cedar bark, small squaw wood, and a block of gunpowder for a long burn. Powder melted with acetone and formed into blocks in an ice cube tray. This way I'm not scratching for dry tinder, I can actually rip the package open and hit my striker. I have an instant fire. All I have to chase is more squaw wood and larger stuff for the fuel. I've seen videos of guys that jump in water below freezing and show you how quickly you cannot find wood, manage to strike a match etc..... yet all I'd have to do is grab the package from the top of my pack, yank it out, pull out striker, rip package open and strike one time. Instant fire starting flames. Its a bit bulky, but I carry 2 packs like this at all times. I never knew till a couple of survival courses, how quick a sparker can start a fire, vs a match.

Jeff

We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....