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$Lightnin\' Bug Fire Starters$

Lightnin' Bug Fire Starters

$2.95

(5)

Item # 407149

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Nontoxic, compact Lightnin' Bug fire starter nuggets are made from natural wood by-products and contain no chemical additives.

Nuggets are guaranteed to light easily and burn for 7 min.
Unlimited shelf life makes them ideal to keep on hand for campfires, barbeques, fireplaces or emergency use
Safe for use in any woodburning appliance
Includes 8 Lightnin' Bug fire starter nuggets

Made in USA.

Item 407149

with coupon code ANNV13
May 17-27 Details

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Lightnin' Bug Fire Starters Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

Lightnin' Bug Fire Starters

3.8

(based on 5 reviews)

80%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Easy to use (4)
Functional (4)
Lightweight (4)
Compact (3)

Cons

Best Uses

Backcountry camping (4)

- Reviewer Profile:
- Avid adventurer (4)
- What Is Your Gear Style:
- Survivalist / minimalist (4)
- Was this a gift?:
- No (3)

Reviewed by 5 customers

Sort by

Displaying reviews 1-5

Oct

2011

2.0

Wont light with quick strike method

By MercuryRising

from Portland, OR

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy To Set Up
Functional

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Lightnin' Bug Fire Starters:

By themselves, these lightnin bugs really require a lighter or heavy match to light. I tried relentlessly to start these with a LightMyFire firesteel. The most that ocured was darkening around the side of the lightnin bug where the sparks were hitting but no flame.

After about 20 minutes I gave into using a lighter/torch and it lit after about 8 seconds of exposure.

To it's credit it does put off a nice flame and burns hot but I prefer the Wet Tinder for a sure fire method of starting a fire when using a product to do so.

Comment on this review

Aug

2011

5.0

Dry, Light, Lasts Forever

By Sammy Sounder

from Seattle

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Compact
Dry
Easy to Use
Lightweight

Cons

Slow starting

Best Uses

Backcountry Camping
Survival
Winter Camping

Comments about Lightnin' Bug Fire Starters:

For you gram counters out there: these average 5 grams per nugget.

Coast rainforest campfires benefit from a little extra kick to get the semi-damp tinder going. I keep 2 of these in 1 wax-paper bag (a 14 gm kit) for summer trips, 4 in 2 bags for winter weekends. I've tried some pellet-based starters but when they dry out they're not so good. I pack some food items in wax-paper bags and will start most fires with 1 bag in the tinder; on wet days if that's not enough, I'll place one of these small nuggets on a 2nd bag in the tinder pile. On wet winter days I'll use 2 nuggets and another bag if needed.

The petroleum-jelly thing sounds nice but I don't have other uses for the jelly, and prefer not to carry the cotton ball or an extra jar. Since I do mostly beach hiking, anything that isn't dry gets fouled with sand pretty quick. These nuggets being dry is a big help; and since I can pack them in a wax-paper bag I've got another flammable item just in case.

Comment on this review

Jan

2011

5.0

These bugs work flawlessly for me

By sierrabob

from The Woodlands, TX

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Compact
Easy to Use
Functional
Lightweight

Cons

Best Uses

Backcountry Camping

Comments about Lightnin' Bug Fire Starters:

Discovered these 6 years ago as lightweight campfire insurance for backpacking in the High Sierras in the Fall. You never know what you're going to encounter as far as wind and dampness, so I like to carry lighting backup. For a 4 night loop, I can count on a little baggie of 8 of these to get us a campfire no matter the environment.

I have not experienced the lighting difficulty reported in other reviews. I find stormproof matches to be a better starting source that lighters because of their staying power. Trick is to light them alone, or on a small piece of paper, before laying on tinder.

What more can I say. 6 years with no problems, lightweight, compact, and functional.

Comment on this review

Jun

2010

(4 of 5 customers found this review helpful)

3.0

Does what it is supposed to.

By VadenM

from Bonneyt Lake, WA

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to Use
Functional
Lightweight

Cons

Bulky

Best Uses

Backcountry Camping

Comments about Lightnin' Bug Fire Starters:

I bought these and decided to give them a shot. Like the other reviewer, I also mainly use cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly kept in an old pill bottle.
The thing worked like it was supposed to I guess. Meaning, I did have a fire when all was said and done. However, I usually build a teepee with tinder and small sticks to start the fire and this sawdust ball thing was a little hard to light. It was slightly windy and the teepee kept falling over because of my hand flicking the lighter in the middle of it to light this thing. The second time, I just put a little bit of my trusty petroleum jelly cotton ball on the lightnin' bug and it lit right up.

So these work well enough, but I wouldn't bring ONLY these on a backpacking trip. I suggest having a backup. Also, they are kinda bulky.

Comment on this review

Dec

2009

(19 of 20 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

These are pretty good

By blackdog51

from Mpls, MN

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Compact
Easy to Use
Functional
Lightweight

Cons

Hard to light

Best Uses

Backcountry Camping
Survival
Winter Camping

Comments about Lightnin' Bug Fire Starters:

I just bought these and tried a little experiment. I made up some of the classic cotton ball/petroleum jelly fire starters. Then I went out on the wet, snowy, breezy driveway with one cotton ball and one Lightning Bug. Here's what I found out:

Lightning Bug
-- hard to start - it took about 30 seconds with a lighter
-- burns about five minutes
-- went out once before it was fully burning
-- worked pretty well in the wind - it kept burning even in a 10 mph breeze
-- burned down to ash
-- no messy goop
-- really takes two to keep both burning (the instructions tell you this)

Cotton ball/petroleum jelly
-- started first time
-- burned about four minutes
-- did not go out in the wind
-- burned down to pea-sized ash
-- messy (but you can use the p.j. as hand lotion or wipe on pants)
-- has other uses for insect bites, skin irritations, etc. (and can still be used as fire starter afterward)
-- practically zero cost (get generic petroleum jelly)

Bottom line:
-- I will always carry petroleum jelly-covered cotton balls in my survival kit
-- the Lightning Bugs work great when using two or three at a time
-- always carry more than one way to start a fire!