# Survival > Survival Kits & Survival Products >  UST"Blast Match" a review

## hayshaker

reciently i bought a UST" blastmatch at walmart it was in the marked down isle 9,00.
so i thought i'd give it a try. the body is made of cheap plastic and the piece
you push down with your thumb is mojo at best.
the thick short ferro rod come out too easy as well. imho i woud not recomend this
piece of crap to anyone.ultimate survival tecnologies' is new on the block in the survival
bussiness. buyer beware.
sadly far too many people have jumped into this whole suvival movement for not much
more than a fast buck with little or no concern for the people who use thier poducts.

then you have the newly awaken sheeple many of which have no real survival experience
buying dubious made equipment that thier banking thier lives on. over time i have purchessed
many firesteels and the one i found worked the best and gladly bought six of them,
was one made by coglans they were 6-7 dollars each, now the don't carry them any more.
mabey cause they really worked.

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## finallyME

I bought one a while ago for my wife's kit.  I bought it from a pretty cool online store.  Anyways, the product I got was great.  Throws big chunky hot sparks very easily.
I saw a lot of reviews that were all very positive before I bought it.  And, I have used it a bunch with no problems.

So far I have been impressed with UST.  Most of their stuff is pretty decent.  I was happy when Walmart finally started carrying it.

I never really liked the colgans firesteels.  They always broke on me.  I could get them to work... but not as easily as others.

Rick is going to come on to say that all firesteels are made from the same factory.  However, there are definitely two different types, at least from my experience.

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## crashdive123

My experience with the Blast Match has also been a great one.  I did not find the plastic to be cheap.  The rod has never come loose.  UST *is not* the new kid on the block.  They have been around since 1936.  Not sure where you got your info from.  Have you contacted them to tell them about a defective item?  They are here, in Jacksonville, Florida.  Here's a vid I did several years ago reviewing various fire starters.  The Blast Match is the first one up.

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## madmax

I like the road flare you carry in the truck kit, Crash.  LOL...  That'll gitter dun.

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## hayshaker

the only thing i can think of is ,in order to reach walmarts pricepoint they had to cut corners on MFG,
in order to still make a profit. how long ago did you buy yours crash?

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## finallyME

I bought mine from the same place that Crash bought his.  :Wink:

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## kyratshooter

I can not understand how some of you guys BREAK a fire-steel?

What are you guys doing to those poor, helpless metal rods.

I often break long ferro rods in half for projects and I have to put them in the vise and smack them with a hammer to snap them!

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## WalkingTree

> I can not understand how some of you guys BREAK a fire-steel?


It was a bear grylls fire rod.

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## finallyME

> I can not understand how some of you guys BREAK a fire-steel?
> 
> What are you guys doing to those poor, helpless metal rods.
> 
> I often break long ferro rods in half for projects and I have to put them in the vise and smack them with a hammer to snap them!


I have only separated it from the handle.

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## hunter63

> the only thing i can think of is ,in order to reach walmarts pricepoint they had to cut corners on MFG,
> in order to still make a profit. how long ago did you buy yours crash?


Most likely a urban myth.......it take the same amount of time to manufacture a crappy, cheap unit as a good unit...keeping two sets of materials becomes an expensive logistic nightmare.

I haven't plaed with this type of fire starter....mine a mostly just the rod.........or  BIC

OR

When something really has to burn.....
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## pete lynch

> I bought mine from the same place that Crash bought his.


 As did I.  :Laugh:

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## crashdive123

> I like the road flare you carry in the truck kit, Crash.  LOL...  That'll gitter dun.


Don't forget....I keep two of the smaller "marine" flares in my pack.

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## crashdive123

> the only thing i can think of is ,in order to reach walmarts pricepoint they had to cut corners on MFG,
> in order to still make a profit. how long ago did you buy yours crash?


The one in the video was purchased several years ago.  I have purchased another since then.  It's seen quite a bit of use and has not experienced any problems.

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## pgvoutdoors

I've used all of the UST fire starting products and they work really well.  I've used the same Blast Match for years and found it very dependable.  In my wilderness survival classes I recommend the UST "Sparkie" fire starter for personal survival kits.  It's compact and does what a Ferro Rod is expected to do, and it can be used one handed.

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## Rick

The one handed part is really the selling point for these guys. You can't use a striker and firesteel one handed but you can use a Blast Match or Sparkie that way. UST has been around quite a while and has come out with some innovative and quality products. They get a thumbs up from me. 

By the way, Phil. I've heard that signature line in a few bars in my time, by one or two girls and once in a police station but that's a whole 'nuther story.

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## pgvoutdoors

Rick - The last person to say it to me was my ex-wife!

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## Seniorman

Well, when it comes to "one handed" fire lighting, this one works every time for me.   :Thumbup1: 

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S.M.

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## Rick

Nothing like a freshly filled Zippo laying against your thigh in your blue jeans pocket. Man, could that stuff smarts. Those were to good old days.

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## crashdive123

Better yet..............a friend with a freshly filled Zippo where you could see that some of the fluid had leaked out and was wetting his pocket, then taking your Zippo to burn off the excess fluid.  The friend was usually surprised when this happened.  Alcohol may have been involved.........on multiple occasions.

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## Seniorman

> Nothing like a freshly filled Zippo laying against your thigh in your blue jeans pocket. Man, could that stuff smarts. Those were to good old days.


Yeah, you're right.  I learned my lesson when I first started smoking when I was 18 years old.  Thereafter, I always filled my Zippo and left it open for about five minutes so any excess fluid dried out.  Never had that "raw thigh" problem again.    :Thumbup1: 

S.M.

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## hunter63

So why is there such a vast difference in price of a blast match.....?
https://www.cheaperthandirt.com/prod...ortby=ourPicks

or 
https://www.amazon.com/Blastmatch-st...h+fire+starter

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