Don’t get burned: Carrying matches in the outdoors

The warmth of a campfire

In the outdoors, the more you need a fire the harder it is to make. We have little need of a campfire on a warm sunny day. It is when we are wet and cold and tired in the dark of night that a fire becomes our salvation. So it is very important that we protect from the elements our means to ignite a fire and the tinder we use to start the blaze.

Whenever I head outdoors, I always carry at least three means to start a fire. My favorites are storm-proof matches, a firesteel, and a disposable lighter. Protecting my matches from the elements is the subject of this post.

When I carry matches outdoors, first and foremost I want them protected from water. I also want them protected from jostling, which can wear them down mechanically. Also, jostling can ignite the older strike-anywhere matches. A fire in a closed container in your backpack is no fun. For this reason, I also want the matches isolated from striker material. But the striker material should be inseparable from the matches. Finally, I want the matches protected from oxygen. Prolonged exposure to air will eventually degrade the chemicals on the match head. It will not light as readily or burn as strong.

A match case is a watertight container designed to carry matches. I purchased an expensive machined aluminum match case a while back. Although I think it is a high quality product, I never use it. It is bulky for the number of storm-proof matches it carries. In addition, storm-proof matches require special striking material to ignite. For safekeeping, I want the striker material integrated with the container, but not exposed to the matches (for obvious reasons). This was not possible with the expensive match case.

I adopted another way to carry storm-proof matches that I like very much. It is lightweight, compact, inexpensive, and reliable. It also integrates the striker material with the case – a requirement for me.

I use a plastic lab specimen tube and stick adhesive striker material on the outside. The matches go into the plastic case and I stick some cotton in the top to keep them from jostling. It is lightweight and water tight. Since the case is translucent, I can easily inspect the contents without opening the case. Here are the links to the raw materials:

1.5 oz plastic storage vial
Adhesive Striker Material (I cannot find the product but it used to be listed here – contact website to see if they still offer it). A NatureOutside reader pointed out two sellers that have similar products here and here.

Below are some pictures. I have been carrying matches with this vial for more than five years.

Closed vial with matches visible

Closed vial with striker material visible.

Open vial with extra striker material wrapped in plastic.

I now see websites selling plastic match cases with a slot to hold the striker material on the outside of the case. This is essentially what I created. Those may be more cost effective than my DIY approach.