Aurora firestarter and HGD sheath review

So we are pretty lucky here in New Zealand, if lost in the bush, with nothing more than what you have on a belt or in your pockets, with a little knowledge you can easily survive, we have not many native dangers, besides the odd shark that is, and maybe the katipo.

Introduced critters are a bit more common, wild bulls may charge, wild boars do charge (I can attest to this and can confirm that a M4 carbine will kill a charging boar very effectively thank you very much), I suppose that wild horses, deer and goats may kick or butt if surprised and a possum may think you are a tree and climb up you if you stand still long enough, oh and maybe a bird may dive at you as well, but realistically anything that you chance upon is going to hightail it long before you could even decide to attack or run.

So not much chance of death or injury from animals.

Death by thirst, while a possibility, is highly unlikely in New Zealand unless you are injured and can not move as there are plenty of streams, rivers and lakes to get water from, they may not be crystal clean but if you are dying of thirst that will do, there are a few places without much water, but if you are mobile then you can find water.

Death by hunger is also unlikely, common wisdom says you can last three weeks without food, that same wisdom says if I do not get my morning tea gingernut I can get pretty grumpy, but with a little knowledge one can find huhu grubs, ponga fronds, supple jack vines, cabbage trees, berries, fresh water crays or eels, trout, shellfish, birds...yup food is out there.

No what is going to kill you is exposure, whilst we are not in Alaska or anywhere really cold, it can get pretty damp and cold in the bush and without warm woollen clothes or shelter once the rain starts and the sun goes down it can quickly get cold and that could lead to your demise.

Being able to start a fire then is imperative, it keeps you warm, helps people find you and lifts the spirits tremendously. Having matches or a lighter is good, but if you are cold and wet then they may not work, making a firebow can work - but you really need the right wood and a lot of practice to get it right, if you have a rifle then you can get a fire by removing the slug and some powder then putting a bit of cotton in the top and firing it, or so I have been told, never tried it myself, if you find some flint then you could strike spark off of a carbon knife, I do not know if we have flint here, not what it looks like either. A magnifying glass may allow you to start a fire, or you could try the Maori method of rubbing wood, again not sure if you need special wood to achieve it.

What I use is fire starters, ferrocerium rods that you strike with a piece of metal to produce sparks, put the sparks onto tinder and then place that under kindling and you have a fire.
Easy - ok, its not that easy, it takes some practice to get it right, especially when you are cold, wet, hungry and tired and its dark and miserable - but its better than a lot of options, especially considering that they are not affected by the wet, just dry them off and they are good to go.

I have several, some are proper ferrocerium rods, others are simple sparkers using a piece of artificial flint in a small rod with a dial that you spin to produce sparks, both work Ok, but I wanted something better and I dissevered this:

Attachment 28900

This is the Aurora, a ferrocerium rod with a higher concentration of magnesium than is typical, it comes in a sealed aluminium case, with a screw seal and o-ring to make it watertight, at the bottom of the tube is a carbide blade for striking the rod against to produce a shower of hot burning sparks that will ignite your tinder, it means you will not need to carry a separate striker with you - that you could lose, and it keeps the rod safe and dry. It works really well, easily making a nice set of sparks that lights tinder well (the black fluff off of punga fronds makes good tinder).
But I wanted something to carry it in, it does have a loop for carrying it as a necklace, or for tying it to something, but the body has a rouch checking for improved grip and that makes it both uncomfortable for neck carry, and likely to wear a hole in my pocket, I needed a solution: enter HGD, I found a design on the web and contacted the original maker to discover they no longer make them, so I took the picture and asked Hamish to have a go, sent him my firestarter and waited, in a couple of weeks I had it back in my hot hands, and it was perfect, made out of good stiff leather with neat stitching, dyed to my specifications, and best of all I asked for the belt loop to be domed at the bottom instead of stitched, so that I could undo it without taking my belt off, or do it back up, meaning its easier to carry and switch, meaning I should have it with me when needed, and being that its not terribly heavy it should not put pressure on the dome and pop it off, even when moving through thick bush.
This was a test pieces for Hamish because he had not done one like this before and I have a knife being made for me and have devised a sheath for it that I want someone to make when it arrives, I know have confidence in HGD and will get him to make the sheath, in fact I am going to get Hamish to make me a pouch for my Silky saw soon as well, he makes fantastic stuff and takes pride in his work and will make something custom when asked.

So back to the item in question and the subject of this review: I can completely recommend the Aurora firestarter (just practice with it before you need it), as its a great piece of kit and more useful in a pinch than a box of matches (side note: I have had a box of matches ignite once when in my pocket - not a fun experience), and I can also recommend HGD as the piece I have is tremendous.

Shelley