Review by B. Beach:

I bought both this and the Swedish Firesteel (Army model) because I like to compare inexpensive tools I will depend on to save my life. I prefer this tool to the Firesteel because it will ignite tinder easier due to the magnesium shavings (but the Firesteel would be a rugged alternative in areas where you could easily get tinder – see my review on that tool). Regardless, I had immediate success with both tools.

I believe other reviewers that gave this less than five stars were using this tool incorrectly. These are points of use I believe important:

1. You do not need (or want to use) a sharp knife. I use a basic metal jigsaw blade attached to a cord I put on this starter instead of the little chain. A short or broken hacksaw blade may be even better because it has a hole you can thread a cord through.

2. SCRAPE the magnesium into a pile, don’t CARVE it. I bet the people who try to carve the magnesium (to make the pile of shavings) were butchering their knives.

3. You do NOT need to scrape it for ten minutes to make a pile (unless you are using a wet sponge for tinder ). With good tinder and a piece of paper I made a pile smaller than a dime and got a fire going in under a minute. In fact, I bet with really good tinder you could just use the flint and start a fire. Experiment at home to see how little a pile you can make of magnesium and still start a fire. The key is to keep the pile together so you must obviously have some shelter from the wind. I do not reccomend making a fire in very high wind unless you have the means to put out a forest fire (dig a pit or camp dark or FIND SHELTER!!!). It really helps to have something to collect the shavings on like a piece of plastic or paper, then you can funnel them into a little pile on a piece of bark or rock. If you keep scattering the shavings try not to rest the end of the magnesium bar on the paper/plastic/coat/whatever or get a bigger piece and let them scatter then funnel them into a pile. EXPERIMENT!

4. SCRAPE the flint rod, don’t WHACK it like they do in the movies with older means (like in Jeremiah Johnson). It’s a little rod and if you give it to kids without instruction they will probably whack it and break the rod.

5. As per the instructions given with the tool hold it steady and scrape shavings of magnesium or sparks from flint. You could probably hold the scraper still and move the magnesium, but this seems silly (although I will try it). Slow steady pressure scraping the flint seems to work well. Note that when you are trying to ignite the magnesium shavings you shouldn’t place the end of magnesium bar on the surface holding the shavings as the vibrations will scatter them. You must hold it firm and steady and near the shavings. Practice a little, it shouldn’t be too tough.

I wrote this long thing because I was confused by all the negative reviews before I bought and tried this. It seems for evey product there is at least one bad review. Remember there are also bad reviewers. This is a very good basic tool that is easy to use if you take the short time to learn how to use it correctly. It is meant as a backup survival option to matches/lighter (which are your normal means for firestarting). Also carry good tinder (I like cotton mushed with vaseline – cheap and effective).

Review by John P. Thiel:

Even mountain biking, where you plan to be in the woods for only a few hours, things happen. You break a leg or taco a wheel and you’re stranded miles and miles from the closest food and shelter. Sometimes you just get spun around or bonk and the best thing to do is lay down, call for help if you can and weren’t so dumb as to not bring a cell phone, and do your best to keep comfortable until help arrives. And of course, this is all more so the truth when you’re hiking, camping, or even taking a little day trip in an national forest area.

If you have a knife, some kind of water container, and this fire starter, you’re set to make it through all but an absolute catastrophe–and even then you’re better off than you would be without it. Fire is the first and foremost feature of civilization, which is where you ultimately want to be.

Magnesium lights up at roughly 1000 F, so this will start a fire on the first attempt if you’ve got the shavings in a nice little pile amongst some kindling. If you mess it up, no problem; you’ve still got a few hundred chances worth more of magnesium to fumble with. This is also a product that’s been on the market likely longer than you’ve been alive, so don’t think you got the last one they’ll ever make.

With this, you just take your knife (the back works as well as the blade really) scrap off some magnesium in a little pile, put your little wads of bark or other hairy kindling (or pine cones, bits of cloth, or whatever you can scrap up as you can anywhere) along with your regular kindling, strike the flint side of the fire starter with the back of your blade or anything made of steel, and make sure to look away when it starts because the light is bright white like a halogen lamp on full.

If I had to compare it to anything, it’s like setting off a flare.

The sparks from the magenesium catching fire don’t go flying, so no worries about one shooting up into your face, but also don’t be under the impression that you or your friend can hold the magesium and kindling while shooting sparks at it so that you can immediately blow on it. When it lights, it lights instantly, and it’s so hot that it will burn right through to the bone if you light it on skin. If you’ve ever seen sugar on fire, this is far more serious, but it’s safe so long as you don’t do anything stupid.

Bottom Line: It’s so small it can go on your keychain or be thrown in your backpack as one of those things you always have just in case, but forget about until you really need it. Its of negligible weight for you weight weenies out there. And it’s so just plain cool that you’ll find yourself using it not just for that moment when you’re in trouble and panicking about the fact that everything they taught you in Boy Scouts was entirely wrong, but when you’re ‘out there’ and there’s absolutely nothing wrong.

If nothing else, it’s a neat bit of science (kids go crazy for this stuff) that just might end up saving your caboose some day. It’s small, cheap, light, and effective–which is something we can rarely say about anything truly useful these days.

Review by Mark S. Williams:

took two towel pack up in the mountains for a week. One lasted the entire week. Much stronger than I expected. dried quickly. Will buy more in the future.

Review by Tactical Tradecraft:

The Lightload Towels are an excellent addition to your backpack or survival kit. They are extremely compact and do not take up any room in your gear. I found it to be very durable despite some of the other reviews who state that they are not much better than a regular paper towel. It is much more durable than a paper towel and it is very absorbent. I do not recommend putting them in a washing machine considering they are so inexpensive there is no reason to have to wash them.

Besides being a towel they have other useful purposes as well such as fire tinder, water filter, bandage, and good to clean eating utensils and pans.

The only potential drawback to using the Lightload Towels is that it takes water to activate the towel so that it will expand. If you are low on water then consider another option such as a bandana.

Overall, a great product that should be a part of your gear.

Review by Todd K. Hattabaugh:

I ordered 2 of these for tent camping. They are much brighter than I expected and produce a nice pattern of light. They are lighter (3.5 oz) than the specs say they are – I weighed using a digital postal scale. If you want a nice, compact light that provides excellent tent light, this is it.

Review by G. Peterson:

Great little light with terrific brightness. Easy to position, so it’s incredibly versatile. Highly recommended!

Review by HR Guy:

It just arrived and while other reviewers complain it’s too small, I have to ask, too small for what? You’re not going to dig a drainage ditch with this shovel, that’s true, but it’s the right size for a backpacking shovel, which is its main purpose. It folds up nicely and is very compact in the carrying case. Slightly weighty due to the steel, but I expect it will be rather durable as well. It does claim it can be used as a saw, but I don’t think the teeth are sharp enough for that.

Review by James B. Cottman:

It is much smaller than I expected, but it is of very good quality. I have actually found the the belt size package is quite useful. If you want a small camp/hiking shovel this is a great package. If you are looking for something to do a larger job, look elsewhere.

Review by Jorge M. Santos:

This coffee maker will make you feel you are home. I use it with a two burner propane stove and after finding the spot where the carafe should sit (the handle must align with two dots market in the surface) is like brewing with a regular coffee maker. Furthermore I did buy it on sale 50% off regular price, at .00, I couldn’t get a percolator that good. This coffee maker will be perfect for a family camping, not so for backwood camping when you don’t need bulky stuff, and won’t have to worry of breaking the carafe.

Review by KingV911:

I recently purchased this coffee maker for car camping/mountain biking trips around Wisconsin. I always wished I could have coffee on the mornings that I woke up at the campsite. Percolators do not work well (in my experience) so I had basically given up until I saw one of these at a sporting goods store. I did some review checking online and all I read was good reviews on this particular model (apparently some of the earlier models had some minor issues). It really does work great! I have been using it on my old 2-burner coleman camp stove (coleman fuel) that my dad gave me (it’s probably 30 years old). Contrary to what some people have said about it taking a long time to brew, some saying as much as 45 minutes, it took me about 10 minutes to brew a pot of coffee with cold water. I just cranked up the flame to high and it only took a couple mintutes for the water to heat up enough to start making it’s way up to the basket and start dripping into the pot. Makes coffee as good as your standard countertop-style coffee maker (slightly larger, maybe, because of the larger base) and practically works the same way. If you want coffee at the campsite I cannot imagine anything better than this.

Review by Gary:

After researching many of the other more expensive, self-inflating air beds, I decided to purchase the Coleman 4-in-1 Quickbed for overnight guests. It’s less than half the price of an average twin size Aero Bed and much more versatile as it can be configured as two twins, one king, or one double-height twin. You do need to buy a separate pump, but the Coleman pump is inexpensive and can be used for other inflating/deflating purposes (e.g., pool toys, vaccuum storage bags, etc.). Each mattress inflates and deflates in just a couple minutes, and it’s quite easy to roll it up for storage. It’s comfortable both as a single matress or double height. I ended up buying a second 4-in-1 Quickbed, so now I can accommodate up to 4 overnight guests for less than 0. I can’t vouch for how long it will last, but even if it sprung a leak after a couple years of periodic use, it would still be worth it at this low price.

Review by K V:

I don’t normally review things, but this was such a good purchase that I can’t resist…

I recently moved about 400 miles and into a big city apartment. I didn’t have a lot of furniture, so it seemed kind of silly to rent a moving van just for a bed. Finally, after looking at a million different styles, I decided I’d try this inflatable bed. It’s compact, so I could just squeeze it into the car with the rest of the luggage. I wouldn’t have to fight to get a bed frame and mattress up the apartment stairs. Plus, I figured if I hated it, I could find a ‘real’ bed at some point.

I LOVE this bed. I’ve been sleeping on it every night for over 6 weeks and have never (yet) had to refill the air in it. Separating the twin beds is easy, and comes in handy when guests come visit.

One tiny tiny con… The very first time you lay on this bed, it is awkward and uncomfortable. I’m not gonna lie. However, after about 30 minutes, you get used to the ‘water bed’ feeling, and the whole bed feels insanely comfortable. It’s like it takes the bed (or the PVC material) 30 minutes or so to ‘relax’… Also, it did not come with a pump, so I had to buy one for 15.99. *shrugs*

I would never go back to a ‘regular’ bed. This bed can be an elevated twin bed, a king size, two twins, compacts down to about a 10 pound parcel with a carrying strap, is as comfortable as a spring mattress and cost me forty bucks.

Highly recommended.

*EDIT*– June 11th 2008. Still sleeping on the bed nightly, *still* working wonderfully! The ‘top’ mattress (when stacked) does need an occasional bit of air every few weeks, but no big deal.

Review by Dustin Schoenbrun:

I bought a pair of these to hang over my desk where I work as it is a little darker than I was used to. One of them came to me with the leads connecting the power switch to the batteries that I had to solder back together. The mechanism to lock the bottom and top was flaky at best. One fell onto my desk when I shut it off, sending batteries and battery holders flying, rendering that lamp useless. The other one followed suit about 4 days later.

Pros:

- Cheap and bright

Cons:

- Not so good construction, locking mechanism was hit or miss

Other Thoughts:

- I got 24 super bright LEDs for my project…

Review by R. Harshbarger:

I bought one of the Ozark Trail ones of these (about 97% the same as this one) at walmart for about and was so happy with it that I tried to find it online and couldn’t. I just bought 4 of these and plan to put them through some punishment. If they are anywhere near as good as the Ozark Trail branded ones I may buy even more.

My original tent light no longer goes in my tent. I hang it in the back of my SUV because the dome light back there is inadequate. It puts out enough light for just about anything – even in the pitchest darkness.

I will amend or add a new review when I put these new ones through their workouts.

Review by Jackie:

Very nice, complete camping dining set. Good quality. Will make your outdoor dining experience by the camp fire a lot classier than just using paper plates. The flatware comes in a nice nylon wraparound holder with compartments for each piece. It would be nice if Coleman also offered some kind of backpack or duffle bag designed to hold the dishes and mugs, that would make a really nice kit or gift set.

Review by S. Hughes:

We have used these dishes on several camping trips. They are great, very sturdy, and are way better than paper plates. You just have to be careful when putting hot food on them, the dishes themselves get hot as well. I wish there was a carrying case for the dishes like the flatware. I bought a small tote with a lid to store them in when not in use, but also use for a wash basin when camping. It works out well. Well worth the price for what you get.