bayite Survival Drilled Ferrocerium Ferro Rod Flint Fire Starter Rods with Keychain Ring 3.14 Inch Pack of 3

05-31-18 revision: We’ve purchased Bayite ferro rods three times now and used them frequently over the past year. This product in particular we’ve bought twice, most recently just to have some spares should they stop producing this size, since I’ve got several knives with kydex loops I made just for these rods – I like to add a stick of firesteel to all my knife sheaths. We also have one of their larger 1/2 diameter rods, which rarely gets used, as we simply don’t need anything that big, even though the larger size will put out even more sparks.Out of the 7 Bayite rods we’ve used now, all have sparked consistently, which is to say they’ve sparked great! The only negative reviews I’ve seen on these have clearly been from people who didn’t even know how to use a ferro rod or were used to softer ferrocerium, which sparks a bit better than the hard stuff that Bayite uses. Of course the softer stuff also wears down faster and costs considerably more, which seems disproportional to the performance difference to me, but I must confess not having actually used the softer ferrocerium enough to develop any kind of attachment to it. That said, having started many fires with these rods over the past year, I haven’t been compelled to pay 2 to 6 times the price (depending on manufacturer) just for one rod of the softer stuff, when every professional comparison video I’ve found by people who actually know how to use firesteel, also indicates the performance difference to be rather trivial, especially relative the price. Even my 13 year old nephew, who barely even knows what a Boyscout is, started a fire from wood he processed with a knife himself, the very first time, which was also the first time he’d ever even used firesteel. So, again, these things spark great!They don’t include a striker though, which seems a fairly significant oversight. But any sharp edge will do. We prefer to use the spine of whatever knife we’re carrying at the time, rather than keep up with a separate striker. I’ve included a few pictures to give a better idea in case attaching a ferro rod to a knife is as new to you as it was to me just a year ago. Before then, the last time I tried lighting a fire with anything short of a match was as a scout in the 80’s, when I could barely get a cotton ball to catch fire using the flint kits they provided us. Boy, would I have liked to have one of these back then. The first pic shows my initial use of the rod, before I found the correct diameter of shock cord on amazon to make sure the rod couldn’t fall out.Along with the three sticks of hard ferrocerium, Bayite includes three stainless steel keychains and a convenient tin. A lot of campers will relish the tin, as it makes a convenient container for tinder, should you get caught in the rain or for fishing supplies (hooks, line, weights) and other small emergency or preparedness items. The keychains are an innovative tweak I suppose. Those with arthritis in their hands might have a hard time compressing them enough to properly line the ends up for screwing/unscrewing the coupling. But otherwise they’re very easy to use and seem very sturdy. Having bought two sets though, we only wish Bayite would offer the pre-drilled rods by themselves at a lower price or higher quantity too, as we’re always adding new knives to our collection it seems.