Zombie Research Society
It seems simple, but the ability to light a fire for cooking, warmth, light and protection is essential in any disaster scenario. More than all other human 
innovations, our mastery of fire is what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom, leading to advances in civilization throughout history.
Since the Iron Age, flint and steel have been used for fire lighting. Modern flints, or artificial flints, are small metal rods that generate a heat-intensive spark when scraped with either a supplied metal tool, a piece of hacksaw blade, or a knife.
Matches and butane lighters are unreliable in weather, and at best only provide a temporary solution. By contrast, artificial flints are inexpensive, long lasting, and much more effective than their historical equivalent. A single $5 rod can provide the lighting power of 12,000 matches, and works just as well when dry or wet.
Anyone serious about surviving future natural disasters, social unrest, or a full-scale zombie pandemic should own a reliable fire kit. Check out FireSteel.com for more information, and to purchase yours.
Hi everyone, thank you for following the link to my website 🙂
To help clarify, the beauty of firesteels is that they always work – you can drop them in water, handle them roughly, store them for years and still count on them to light a fire. And one firesteel can light thousands of fires (try carrying that many matches or that much lighter fuel).
Matches have a shelf life – many people do not know this. They are also problematic in that they can fail for a variety of reasons including becoming damp and it would be difficult to carry thousands of matches with you. Lighters break and run out of fuel rather easily.
Put one 3/8 x 4-inch firesteel in your cache and 10-yrs later you can pull it out and be able to light thousands of fires. Chances are a lighter or matches of that age will no longer work at all – not to mention you would need quite a pile of them to compare the shear number of fires one firesteel can make.
Thank you for the link Matt, I enjoy your website!
Ron
I’d still have a few bics and zippos around, but I would invest in a few of those artificial flints.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/travel-outdoors/
There are a couple of knife/firesteel combos and also, there is a solar panel charger for electronics, though I’m not entirely sure how well that work cuz I don’t own one.
This would also come in handy when my lighter gives out on me. heh
Once I was on campus and I had a whole pack of cigarettes and no lighter, talk about torture.
well you could always go out and get a jet lighter…its one of those lighters that has the flame that keeps shooting out that you can’t blow out…zippos are fine but jet lighters are much more reliable and usually easier to use than flint and steel stuff….
Only problem with jet lighters is that they run out of fuel FAST. You’d have to keep a large, constant supply on you at all times and a place even to replenish that. Yes they’re evfficient and light everything on fire, but you have to think about the gas.