Speaking of keeping things that should be kept dry...

I went on a hike a week ago which involved bushwacking through wet brush and waking in outright rain. I was soaked over the course of the 8 hour trip. Despite being in the middle of my pack, my PSK got a little damp, but I didn't notice until yesterday. Nearly everything in the kit was in waterproof containers except the firesteel - it rusted like crazy. Lost quite a bit of material to the oxidation (turned to gray powder). Need to rethink how it's stored. It gets pretty wet around here and I don't want to have to take the kit apart every trip to dry it out. Be warned!

You can protect a firesteel by painting clear nail polish on it.

I use the Swedish "Light My Fire" brand steels....do they rust easily as well?

I have one of those too. I don't put anything on my firesteels, and I've never had a problem with them oxidizing too bad. It might depend on your environment.

The one that fared so poorly was a "Light My Fire". I should have snapped a picture. I ran the striker over it several times and had no problems getting sparking once solid metal was contacted. The only downside is that I think I've lost a several hundred 'strikes' of material. Live and learn. I'll do a coating test later to see how easy/hard it is to get back to sparking with the coating in place.

Yeah, i find that my striker oxidizes a bit but a few strikes will rub it off no problem. As for the wet fatwood, Sharp and I were unable to ignite the fatwood that we collected recently. After It had been setting in my pack for a week or so, I retested it and it worked like a charm. Thus, I suspect moisture must have been the issue. Still, this is far from conclusive. Sharp and I will be in the woods this Friday (celebrating the 4th in our special style: with lots of knives) and we'll be sure to test fatwood in various states of dampness.

Yea... 'bout 'em strikers. I broke mine.....

Then you probably need a bigger one. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> The good thing though, is they work even if broken.

True, I can still start a fire. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I'm so good... I mean bad... I mean... forget it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

one more thing: its obviously a good idea to keep firestarting things as dry as possible no matter how effective they are in foul weather.

Leighman: I would say that if your PSK is weatherproof, that you should def. keep all firestarting tinder within it as a general rule. I keep my petrol-coated cotton balls in a plastic film canister, and the entire PSK inside a water-tight sandwich-sized Tupperware.

I use those pill fobs with the water-proof O ring. They're water-proof and crush proof.