I’ve been hanging around the Wazoo crew for over a dozen years now. They’re always at the forefront of innovation when it comes to outdoor gear. From hats and belts with hidden pockets to fashionable necklaces that double as fire starters or sharpening tools, they’ve come up with some pretty cool stuff. And you can add these Wazoo FireCards to that list of nifty goodies.
I’ve had a set of these for a bit now and just finally got an opportunity to give them a whirl. While I don’t know that I’d rely on this as my primary fire starter for every campfire, it’s a great choice as a backup or emergency option.
What Is It?
The FireCard is the same size as a credit card, roughly three inches by two inches. I’m not going to bust out the micrometer, but it feels just a hair thicker than my MasterCard. It says on their site that the material is “Modified biopolymer engineered for reliable ignition.” The card is waterproof, which is a nice bonus.
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How Does It Work?
Using a sharp edge, you scrape material from the side of the card into a pile. These shavings can then be ignited with a lighter, ferrocerium rod, or flint and steel. Basically, anything that gives you a hot spark or a quick flame will work.
Alternatively, you can light the entire FireCard with a lighter or match and let it burn.
Evaluation
Earlier today, I headed out to the backyard to see how well the FireCard works. I started by removing material from the long side of the card. For this, I used my Multicard Scraper from Bushcraft Kelso.
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It didn’t take long for me to generate a decent little collection of material. However, as it was rather breezy, I had to keep shifting my body around to block the wind so the scrapings wouldn’t blow away. The FireCard itself worked great for scraping the little bits into a neat pile. If I’d had duct tape with me, I’d have put a small bit of it down with the sticky side up to keep the scrapings from blowing around.
One spark from my ferro rod was all it took for the shavings to light up. I found that this material burns pretty fast, so you want a pretty good pile of shavings before you break out the lighter or ferro rod. The first time around, I only had enough to barely cover a dime, and it went up like flash tinder.
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Repeating the process, I created a much larger pile, a bit bigger than a quarter, and that burned for several seconds.
I then lit the entire card with my Exotac titanLIGHT. It burned hot and brisk for about 30 seconds before I put it out.
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There wasn’t much left of the FireCard at that point.
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Recommendation
I like the FireCard concept for sure. It’s a great backup tinder option that you can squirrel away just about anywhere. It’s easy to use, requiring nothing more than a sharp edge and an ignition source, both of which the prudent prepper should have in their pocket.
The FireCard comes in a pack of three for $10 at Wazoo.