New Light My Fire Firesteel 2.0

[maddave]

Got one of these myself... Here are my thoughts.

Comes in the usual tidy Light My Fire packaging.


The steel itself is well made and the components are high quality. They come in a multitude of colours, I chose the orange for better visibility should I drop it.


In my opinion the striker is better than on previous models being more secure to hold and it shaves big hot fat sparks off the steel.



And it has a bonus of having a whistle incorporated in it as well...


In conclusion I feel it is an improvement on the previous model for no extra cost to the consumer.
Mine cost £10

[rapidboy]

I just got one myself, the new style is fine but i never had a problem holding the old version, pity they hadn't put the whistle in the handle of the steel and then you would have the option of using without the striker.

[Köld]

There is a review over at amazon on the army 2.0 firesteel in which that buyer says the rod on the 2.0 is thinner than on the previous army version. From what I have read the 2.0 should be 3/8" thick just like the older one, but 2-1/4" long compared to 2 -2/4 (=2-1/2). So shorter but just as thick?

The only LMF firesteel I have got is the first version they sold, a scout with a red plastic handle and a oval-shaped striker metal which is very bad. The ferro rod itself is of good quality though and seems to hold up much better with regular use than other ebay and magnesium-block firesteels I have tried. The LMF scout might actually be good for 3000 uses as they promise. I wonder how it looks after the 3000th use, maybe it breaks in half due to being too thin. The two-part "strike force" is said to be half an inch thick, but it looks like it is very heavy for what it is.

I've seen the army size on ebay.co.uk for GBP 11,95 and the scout for 7,95, anyone knows where to get them cheaper yet? Here in Sweden where the firesteels supposedly are glued together the army version costs about GBP 17 while the scouts costs around half of that.

( review at http://www.amazon.com/review/R2OW4C1...R2OW4C1EBBCKEM )

[rapidboy]

The MkII version is very slightly thicker,(not much at all) and a little shorter.

[Köld]

Ah good to know rapidboy. I guess both versions are good then and unless you feel you need the whistle or somewhat improved striker whichever is cheaper is the one to go for. I think I will get a few more different ones from DX and try also, but those are not much cheaper than the LMF scout so the savings are probably not worth it if you actually want to use the firesteels.

[rapidboy]

I had some cheap unbranded from eBay a couple of years ago and they didn't work as well as the LMF so i just stuck with them.


There really isn't a lot of difference in the diameter,



They last a long time if you look after them, if you put them away damp they don't do so well

[Köld]

Do you know if it is true that ultimate survival changed the firesteel rod in their strike force (strikeforce?) to a thinner and shorter one like yet again a reviewer on amazon.com states?

[jrcash1234]

may have to get me one of these

[The Lord Poncho]

Combine that striker with the BCB steel with compass built in and thats three survival essentials in one item! Also fixes the probs with the above steel, expensive way round it though...

It would be interesting to know how accurate that compass is- seeing as it is attached to a lump of metal to one side! Have you tried it?

[Ruud]

Whenever I stroll in outdoor shops I can't keep myself from buying little must-haves, so I bought this LMF 2.0 also when I saw it.
The striker is excellent in my opinion, the firesteel is just like the old ones. I keep the striker separately with me, to use it as an emergency whistle