Gear Review: InstaFire Fire Starter (Video)

By -

Testing out InstaFire’s Best Fire Starter

Being able to start a fire is an import skill an outdoorsy person should know.  This is because starting fires are very important when in a survival situation or just an enjoyable commodity where you can sit back and relax with friends and family. Yet there is always a danger starting a forest fire, burning yourself, or not being able to start a fire fast enough. In a survival situation starting a fire quickly can be life or death even in a non-survival situation weak fire skills can lead to a bad time.

 

Today I will be reviewing a new fire starter.  I was able to get a few samples of a product called InstaFire from my current boss.  He was able to score the sweet swag from a TrueValue market. InstaFire is a granule like fire starter most commonly in a two oz bag. So we were very excited to try this product out to share with you fine readers.


About the company 

The idea for InstaFire came in 2007 by the founder Konel Banner during a mountain man rendezvous in Ogden, Utah. At the meetup someone lit a volcanic rock on fire and that sparked his amazing idea. Having seen a few natural disasters first hand, Konel knew there was a need for a sweet new fire starter. Soon after he met his co-developer Frank Weston and they worked on the idea that was to become InstaFire for about nine months. Once InstaFire was complete, the team was featured on the TV show Shark Tank.  So go ahead and check out their website: https://www.InstaFire.com

Pros

One of the best things about InstaFire is its ability to burn anywhere.  It will burn when wet, float on top of water while burning, or burn on snow. A 2 oz pouch will get you through multiple fires too!  Each pack has enough for about four fires when used properly.  Furthermore, it lights very quickly and easily. We were able to light it with a lighter, matches, and flint and steel with no issues.  Moreover, InstaFire burned for a surprisingly long time.  Finally, this product is very inexpensive coming in at less than two dollars per 2 oz bag.

Cons

As great as the product was. There were a few issues.  First, InstaFire is bulky compared to other fire starters.  It comes in a huge bag similar to freeze dried meals.  Second the packaging wasn’t designed environmentally friendly.  The bag is not biodegradable, recyclable, or burnable.  One of the issues with granules, it's very easy to spill or have a strong wind make a mess of you work.  Finally, be prepared to stir because you won’t get maximum burn life if you don’t.

Final thoughts

This would be a great product for a doomsday or an emergency prepper because of size not being the biggest problem. But one bag can be used for four different fires if used properly. They also have InstaFire in larger containers for emergency fuel. They have also created a charcoal starter for easy bbq. The charcoal starter has a burnable package which I hope they implement with InstaFire to make the already great product better.

We really like this product. It lights very easy and burns. But for hiking, backpacking, or bug out bag there are a few better options where size is a priority. Although for a natural disaster kit for your home where space isn't as much of an issue this would be an amazing product to have around.

So what are you using to make your fires? Make sure to keep up to date on all our adventures by following us on Facebook.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trip Report: Trip to London Part 2

By -
Image
London: Part Deux This is part 2 of our holiday trip to the UK and London in December 2016 and January 2017. Make sure to check out our London trip part 1 and here is a little background info as a reminder: Travel Agency: Go-Today Flight: Delta Airlines Destination Route: Austin to Atlanta to London Return Route: London to New York to Austin Hotel: London House Hotel Day 3 (Continued) So last I wrote, Jarrett and I had returned from Bath and Stonehenge.  It had been a long day, and we were EXHAUSTED. Yeah, that’s right.  I’m a millennial and I capitalized a word, because I cannot put enough emphasis into how exhausted we were, particularly me. After a nice dinner at a tiny Moroccan place near the hotel, Jarrett and I headed back to the hotel for a “nap.” It was too late for us to try to get any tickets to view the celebrations by the Thames; the city limits the amount of people that can attend those celebrations with the fancy fireworks, and you ha...
Read more

Tubing Down the San Marcos River

By -
Image
Tubing Down the San Marcos River Linda here for Adventures with BeeGee. We’ve been adventuring more aggressively since Salkantay. My goal this August is to continue the adventuring while catching up on blog entries to ensure we preserve these great memories. On Saturday, July 20th, Jarrett, a friend of ours, and I went tubing down the San Marcos River. I realized I had been living in Austin for almost four years now and had not done this iconic Hill Country tourist activity. To be honest, we probably had not done it before because I only learned how to swim last year and am not the most comfortable with water. The San Marcos River is relatively shallow and the heat in Texas is unbearable, so if you want to enjoy the outdoors but are uncomfortable with water, this is a great option. The water is initially cold, but once the sun comes out, it starts feeling like a great relief from just laying on your tube. If you’re comfortable with water and swimming, I suggest taking a...
Read more

Trip Report: Sherwood Forest Faire

By -
Image
First Time at Sherwood Forest I have recently been introduced to the fun world of renaissance festivals, so Jack and I took a trip to the Ren Faire in McDade, Texas. Upon arrival, a group of characters were handing out flyers to gain attention for their show, which happened to be called Blunt Force Drama. Once we Jack and I finally made it through the festival gates, Blunt Force was of the first shows running. So of course, we stopped there. The show is a melee fighting tournament mixed with adult humor. The show starts by picking judges from the crowd and then the fighting begins. They even have adult humor commercials while you wait for the next round. I thoroughly enjoyed the fighting and the humor, but some might find it offensive (it was pretty racy). Also, I wouldn't take kids. Once the show finished, we followed Jack's policy of taking a lap around the grounds to see what shops and shows are available. This led me to find some awesome leather armor...
Read more