I think well-written and interesting posts such as this are always welcome, regardless of forum or elapsed time. Please feel free to do more.
I think this was a reference to the meetings SoaT found themselves in, not a dig at your rope skills.
I’m a Swiss-army-knife kind of guy, but it defeats the purpose of a multi-use tool if you have to destroy one of the uses to use another one. If I can envision a situation where I need paracord, and I can also envision a situation where I’ll need a firestarter, then I can also envision a situation where I’ll need both. What do I do then? Or, if I can’t envision a situation where I’ll need both, then that means I can skip one or the other.
Flint by itself does bupkis for starting fires. You need flint and steel. The sparks (you know, the whole thing you want it for) is actually little flecks of steel. Which also means that it’s not the most wise choice to use your knife as your steel, because you’ll wear it down, and you need that knife for other purposes.
If you want a firestarter that’ll never run out, though (but which won’t always work), you could put in one of those Fresnel full-page magnifiers. They don’t weigh too much, and with even a partially-sunny day, it’s not too hard to get a sustained heat source. Much easier than any of the methods that just make sparks.
The inner strands pull out as needed. Using the firestarter does not render the paracord useless. And you only need an inch or two of firestarter.
You’re absolutely right. A sprained ankle is much more likely to put someone out of commission. I also put Ace bandages in the kit but forgot to mention them. What is an REI?
Outdoor outfitter.
But why bother? Just bring some regular firestarter and some regular paracord? Combining the two is great for packaging, but lousy for use and keeping stocked.
How did that gas station thing work out for you?
If the cord is still functional as a cord after the inner strands are pulled out, then it started off thicker than it needed to be. It’s a lousy way to package the materials.
Well, it meets MIL-SPEC MIL-C-5040 Type III although the spec does not specify thickness.
Hmm, I can imagine Micheal Caine saying, “The spec does not specify.”
It’s not even good for packaging. All it’s good for is to show your friends how cool it is in your suburban backyard.
It’s.
A.
Stupid.
Idea.