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$Coghlan\'s Plastic Matchbox$

ORANGE

Coghlan's Plastic Matchbox

$1.75

(22)

Item # 678278

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This plastic matchbox has a watertight seal to prevent moisture from ruining your matches.

Holds enough wooden matches for a weekend of camping
Includes emergency firestarter flint on bottom
High-visibility orange container ensures it won't get left behind

Imported.

Item 678278

View all Coghlan's products

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Coghlan's Plastic Matchbox Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

Coghlan's Plastic Matchbox

4.0

(based on 22 reviews)

86%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Compact (21)
Lightweight (19)
Functional (15)
Easy to use (13)

Cons

Doesn't work (4)

Best Uses

Backcountry camping (17)
Survival (17)
Day trip (13)
River (13)
Winter (13)

- Reviewer Profile:
- Avid adventurer (10), Casual/ recreational (6), Casual adventurer (4)
- What Is Your Gear Style:
- Survivalist / minimalist (15), Comfort driven (4)
- Was this a gift?:
- No (3)

Reviewed by 22 customers

Sort by

Displaying reviews 1-10

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Aug

2008

(9 of 10 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Forget carrying matches...

By CMLESQ

from Hanson, MA

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Compact
Easy to Use
Functional
Lightweight

Cons

Best Uses

Backcountry Camping
Campgrounds
Day Trips
River
Survival
Trips
Winter Camping

Comments about Coghlan's Plastic Matchbox:

use this container to hold 5 or 6 vaseline coated cotton balls as tinder for the the "FireSteel" firestarter and you'll never be left without a flame.

Feb

2009

(8 of 8 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Ignore 2nd bullet point in description

By JD_NCarolina

from Charlotte, NC

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Compact
Easy to Use
Functional
Lightweight
Watertight

Cons

Best Uses

Backcountry Camping
Minimalist
Survival
Winter Camping

Comments about Coghlan's Plastic Matchbox:

Perhaps the less-than-5-star ratings are related to the expectations built around the second bullet point on the Description tab (emergency firestarter flint). To be honest, I haven't even tried that feature nor do I care about an emergency starter.

This is an excellent little water-tight case that practically glows. No worries about leaving it behind. It weighs nothing (less than 1/64lb; minimalists unite!), so here's an idea - buy two. I filled one full of matches and the second with lint and two strikers from matchboxes. Now falling in at the river crossing doesn't mean you cannot warm up when you get out.

Jun

2008

(8 of 11 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

great for use as a geocache

By scoots in hawaii

from kailua, hi

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Cheap
Compact
Waterproof

Cons

Too bright

Best Uses

Geocache

Comments about Coghlan's Plastic Matchbox:

i use this as a micro geocache container. a little spray paint and it blends in very well. it is waterproof, big enough for a small pencil and cheap to replace when needed

Oct

2009

(6 of 6 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Flint not for lighting matches

By Mr. Blister

from Denver, CO

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Compact
Easy to Use
Functional
Lightweight

Cons

Best Uses

Backcountry Camping
Day Trips
River
Survival
Winter Camping

Comments about Coghlan's Plastic Matchbox:

Folks, the flint on the bottom is not designed to be a striker for matches! It is a (spark type) flint fire starter. It does not provide a very hot spark. So if you are trying to light up anything other than a very flamable fire starter, you'll be SOL (that's why I gave it the 4 star rating).

But when I ran out of matches, I found it provides a strong enough spark to easily light iso-butane and most other stoves.

I use the flint for lighting stoves and save the "life-boat" matches and striker I store inside the container for more difficult fire starting tasks.

Mar

2009

(6 of 6 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Very Useful

By Off The Path

from Tennessee

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Compact
Easy to Use
Functional
Lightweight
Right Color

Cons

Best Uses

Backcountry Camping
Campgrounds
Day Trips
River
Survival
Trips
Winter Camping

Comments about Coghlan's Plastic Matchbox:

I carry two of these: one with tinder, either vaseline-soaked cotton balls or Coghlan's Emergency Tinder, the other with large kitchen matches, each broken in half to save room. I also glue a piece of striker strip (cut into a circle and sized to fit) on the inside of the lid, if I cannot find "strike anywhere" matches.

For a long time, before this product came along, people continually searched for something to serve its purpose. Just less than 20 years ago, people were using bamboo and corks or fitting two spent shotgun shells together. Now this product is taken for granted.

I never have seen the flint as very useful.

Never tighten the lid too tight as to damage the O-ring: your container may no longer be fully waterproof.

Oct

2008

(6 of 6 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Use in conjunction with magnesium bar

By GregGates

from Boise, ID

About Me Casual Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Blaze orange
Compact
Functional
Inexpensive
Lightweight

Cons

Small flint

Best Uses

Backcountry Camping
Campgrounds
Day Trips
Fire starting
Survival
Winter Camping

Comments about Coghlan's Plastic Matchbox:

I have seen some reviews bagging on this because the flint on the bottom won't ignite matches. Are those users trying to drag a match on it like a rough striking pad?

If you're holding matches in this, I suggest including a piece of cut striker from the match box, or some sand paper and use strike anywhere matches. The bottom is actually a mini "flint" rod that creates sparks when you scrape it with metal. I would also include some cotton balls and carry a tube of vaseline instead of chapstick.

My personal method of using this container is to hold magnesium shavings and tinder. At home I scrape off a ton of magnesium shavings, compacting them along the way with my finger as if the vial was a trash can. In the top I include 4 tinder quick tabs.

In the cold or damp, I can open this up, sprinkle out a bit of the magnesium, then use the striker on bottom to spark the shavings, lighting tinder or if it's an emergency, one of the included tinder tabs.

This requires a knife and separate kindling wood. I may add some stuff to this kit in the future, such as a rubber bike tire tube pieces, a trick birthday candle and perhaps a thin flint rod (the one on the bottom isn't very big and can wear out).

Apr

2009

(4 of 6 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Thank you!

By epistolarian

from Philadelphia, PA

About Me Casual Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Compact
Functional
Lightweight

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Coghlan's Plastic Matchbox:

Thank you for explaining what the flint was for. I'm a newbie to camping, but I'm intent on figuring all of this stuff out. I bought the case because common sense told me the cardboard box my matches came in wouldn't hold up even under normal wear and tear. And, I have to admit, I did try striking my matches on the flint. :o) I'm glad to know it wasn't my own incompetance to blame for the matches not lighting!

Mar

2011

(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

[*]

By Tedzo

from Boulder, CO

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Compact
Easy to Use
Functional
Lightweight

Cons

Best Uses

Backcountry Camping
Winter Camping

Comments about Coghlan's Plastic Matchbox:

Makes a great odorless container as well.Great for travelling.[*]

Jan

2010

(3 of 10 customers found this review helpful)

2.0

plastic matchbox

By eat sleep hike

from Malibu CA

About Me Outdoor Professional

See all my reviews

Pros

Compact

Cons

Ineffective

Best Uses

River
Survival

Comments about Coghlan's Plastic Matchbox:

i bought this to use with the rei stormproof matches . first off it was to small, i had to trim about 2 milimeters off the match handles for them to fit in the container. and the firestarting flint did not work. it only made a tiny spark that could not ignite anything. small and waterproof but inaffective.

May

2009

(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Nice simple canister

By GregGates

from Boise, ID

About Me Casual Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Compact
Lightweight

Cons

Don't depend on the flint

Best Uses

Backcountry Camping
Winter Camping

Comments about Coghlan's Plastic Matchbox:

Nice little canister. I use mine to hold magnesium shavings, with a few tinder tabs. The whole package is very light, and good in cold/wet weather in case starting a fire gets tricky.