I always have a little fine steel wool in the pack with this, scrape off a little magnesium into the steel wool and spark it.starts fastLearned that trick in boy scouts back when I was a pup and wasn't allowed to play with matches,Burnt down the garage and was the only kid in the neighborhood that wasn't allowed to play with steel wool.Trust me, works great, same as they have for decades.the price is a little highLike anything you should try it before you need it (just don't do it in the garage)