Integrating a fire starter in your pocket multi-tool is one of the best things to do if you’re the sort who regularly goes camping. Or you can get a multi-tool that combines basic survival tools with a proper fire starting kit. That’s exactly what you get with the Zippo SureFire Multi-Tool.
A fold-out multi-tool, it takes the familiar form factor of Swiss Army knives, where a bunch of tools are folded into the integrated handle. Instead of the usual complements of cutting, driving, and prying tools, though, the multi-tool comes with everything you’ll need to get a fire going, whether you want to light a ground fire at camp, start a bonfire at the beach, or get the grill going to make yourself some backcountry grub.
The Zippo SureFire Multi-Tool comes with seven tools, including three that are specifically useful for starting fires. There’s a tinder grater, so you can take any random wood stick you can find in the forest and grate it into ultra-thin tinder, which should light up a whole lot faster than a typical piece of wood. While you can use standard blades to do the same thing, the integrated grater should do it a whole lot easier, similar to how a cheese grater lets you make a pile of thin cheese slices much simpler and quicker than a regular knife would.
The integrated paracord attached to the multi-tool’s key ring is actually a fire paracord. That means, it’s got a strand of wick inside. Juts cut an inch off the length of the rope, expose the wick, and use the tool’s flip-out flint wheel to set it alight. It’s designed to ignite fast, so you just turn the wheel once to get the wick to burn, after which you can throw it into the pile of tinder you grated earlier. They also throw in two extra flint wheels, just in case it gives out, both of which can be kept in a storage slot right on the tool. Do note, the included paracord is only 15 inches long. That means, if you use 1-inch wicks, it’s only good for starting 15 fires. The good news? Fire paracord is readily available elsewhere and should be compatible with this tool’s flint wheel, so you can easily put in replacements once you use up everything.
The Zippo SureFire Multi-Tool also has two blades: a standard knife made from 420 high-carbon steel for cutting branches and a double-cut saw blade for larger branches that require a little more elbow grease to split, allowing you to feed your flames with different types of fuel. Those two blades should handle most light-duty cutting tasks you’ll encounter in the backcountry, making this useful for much more than starting fires. Aside from the blades, it also comes with a flathead screwdriver, so you can do emergency fixes for your gear, and a bottle opener, just in case you still don’t have enough of those. Dimensions are 3.6 x 1.1 x 0.7 inches (width x height x depth), with a weight of 3.6 ounces.
The Zippo SureFire Multi-Tool is available now, priced at $19.95.