Holtzman's Gorilla SurvivalWood Handle Fire Starter Ferro Rod Set with Finger Grip (Light Brown)

As stated this is a very comfortable Ferro rod in the hand with finger grips, and is long and thick although I havent used it as of yet. It came with a small ferro rod and striker nearly placed on 550 paracord for a necklace which was a nice gift and I now wear it daily.

Specs:4.25" long rod .5" diameter (12mm)3.5" handle with finger groovesPros:1) MASSIVE rod should last long. It's dense and heavy.2) Includes handle steel striker3) Good Quality wood4) Surprise! There's a tiny ferrocerium rod on the Lanyard!Cons:1) does not include any magnesium or storage for tinder. Oddly, the following statement is on the Amazon ad: "WORKS LIKE A CHARM ANYTIME, ANYWHERE: Designed to produce steel-melting sparks even in the harshest weather conditions, your magnesium fire starter tool will work even when soaking wet. No need to settle for unreliable matches or fire starters." Did you catch that? It says, "magnesium fire starter tool". Hmmm. Smells like ferrocerium to me and I've been around that stuff for years. I think this is an error, but magnesium is helpful if not crucial to fire starting. The sparks need something to catch on.2) Medium-size handle. If you correspond this to a glove size, it would be medium. I would have preferred a larger handle. Does work, but seems small for my large hands.3) Confusing lanyard. This is a small loop of fire cord? with a steel rod (for some reason) and break-away coupler. There are SEVERAL problems with this setup:- a. the cord is supposed to keep the rod and striker together, right? But how? The ends are cut and burnt to keep the connectors on the end. You literally cannot put the rod and striker on the same cord without cutting the cord, slipping them on, and then reconnecting.- b. this is firecord, right? Well, to use it, you have to cut one end, cut some fire cord, then reseal the end of the cord with a lighter so the quick connector won't slide off. What do you seal it with? Fire. Well, hope this thing works while it's in five or six pieces that can now get easily lost.- c. the cord is only about three times the length of the tool. That's long enough to use it while the striker is attached to the cord BEFORE you shorten it to use as a fire starter... but that's not much cord.4) The handles are pretty, yes, but they are earth toned. The lanyard is black. Guess what happens when I drop it. Can't see it anymore. BYE!Suggestions:1) Make the lanyard and handles out of blaze orange or some other fluorescent color so we can see it if we drop it.2) Include magnesium. It would be really easy to have the ferro-rod glued to a stick of magnesium. Make sure it's the right kind of magnesium, too.3) Use a small loop of bright colored paracord around both the rod and the striker that can then be attached to the larger cord so they are loose and easy to move around4) Make the handle hollow and waterproof with a cap so we can put some tinder in there. Again, brightly colored5) Make the handle LARGER so we can both hold it batter and store more stuff in there.6) Don't ship it with the box. It's wasteful and unnecessary.That's my evaluation. Not trying to be too harsh or critical, it just seems that the money and effort put into this could have been directed to more practical uses. Still giving it 5 stars and it's great for the price.

Ok. I'm going to be honest- ferro rods are amazing as they don't run out of fuel & they work in the rain. However a lot of them aren't easy to grip & won't give sparks the best on better days. Please please please try this one out I promise you won't be disappointed.When I opened the box I found a wooden handle beefy enough even for those that sometimes have a hard time gripping (me included) & a large enough rod that you'll definitely get a strike as you practice if you're new or old at this. The quality is amazing & I terrified gsmiky members because I was scraping some of the costing off & had some monster sparks without intending to fight aaay.I'll tell you what else- I don't buy for myself often but I wanted one that could fit on a necklace & there it was.... A necklace with the toggle ferro on it. You could easily put the striker on it too.I can say that I don't leave detailed reviews like this typically but I'm sincerely impressed.If you're a newb or a pro with ferro rods,please give the business owner that makes these a chance. You'll probably be able to start thousands of fires with how big the rod is plus it's a superb gift idea.I'm going to order from him again.Perfection in a ferro it is said yoda lol

The box it comes in is pretty nice and gives a good presentation as you open it. The downside I found is that the striker and rod are not already on the lanyard, so I had to heat up the tips of the lanyard to get the clasp off and then slide everything on. There is a nice bonus ferro rod as a toggle on the lanyard, and the primary ferro rod is very hefty. Definitely making this one my main fire starter and packing my old smaller ferro rod as my backup now. Also pretty cool that one of the strands in the lanyard can be used as kindling.

First of the presentation of the starter was nice. Love the look of the wood and ergo feel of the handles. This is a heavy duty starter!So easy to use, I used the opportunity to teach the kids how to start a fire with them practicing using the scraps from yard cleanup.I would not recommend as a compact survival starter for a BOB due to the size and weight but better suited for general outdoors and camping or keep in a vehicle.Easy order and delivery with follow-up service.