Exotac XL Fire Starter

Introduction

Survival situations require certain survival skills and survival gear to maximize survival chances. Some hacks and little tools can obtain paramount importance in such situations. When camping out in the wilderness, many different things are needed for surviving, such as warm clothes, a decent flashlight, food, water, a well-packed survival backpack, or even a secret survival garden.

What most people forget is fire-making: not all people can make a good quality fire by themselves, and not all of the weather conditions, such as a wet or a windy one, would allow you to create it just with matches.

For these reasons, waterproof fire starter products were created, and an Exotac nanoSTRIKER XL is one of them.

About the company

Exotac Fire Starters is the USA and, more specifically, a Georgia-based manufacturer created by a Purdue graduate with a passion for off-grid adventures. Now, this is a business owned and operated by the family of this graduate that produces high-quality outdoor products.

It creates innovative yet affordable fire starter products, a good sign for a relatively new company. However, they are not mass-produced.

When buying some of the Exotac fire starters, be sure that a user-friendly, light-weighted, and easy-to-access camping product will be purchased by you. Their average rating is often more than four stars, which is a sign of high-quality products. Find the answers to all your questions below in the article.

Exotac NanoStriker XL Firestarter Product

Now that we have talked a bit about the manufacturer and what does it stand for, let’s select one of Exotac’s products and see what features it has.

What is it in essence?

This is a true product by Exotac called the nanoSTRIKER. It is really simple to manage. It is a self-contained ferrocerium rod and striker often carried by camping enthusiasts and highlighted in many positive reviews. This is a pretty cool-looking and ultra-lightweight fire-starting implement. It can be added to your keychain or even worn as a necklace. It comes with a small lanyard to wrap around your fingers so you don’t lose the rods while you use it. Exotac also makes the nanoSTRIKER XL, which is a bit larger, making the nanoSTRIKER the better tool for those who want the lightest and most compact option.

This is a great sort of tool to have for any bug-out bag prepper, as it is a lightweight and reliable fire starter. It is important to have some kind of fire-starting tool in the backcountry, and this one is so light that it is almost unnoticeable on a necklace or keychain.

How does the Exotac fire starter work?

The body is lightweight and made of 6061 aircraft aluminum. It has a grooved design for easy gripping in wet and cold conditions. The case is sealed with rubber O-rings to keep the contents dry when not in use. To use, unscrew the top, where you will find the tungsten carbide striker. The striker is durable and provides maximum sparks while striking the rod. It can also be easily sharpened if it becomes dull.

The ferrocerium rod is a solid and hard material that can be found inside the body. It slides out and can be turned over and screwed back into the body to create a longer handle. Sparks are created when the striker is dragged across the rod. Small pieces are shaved off of the rod and spark. When the rod begins to wear down, it is removable and can be easily replaced.

Ferrocerium fire starters can be best used with dry tinder such as:

• Dryer lint
• Grass
• Shaved wood
• Cotton
• Dead leaves
• Birchbark

Simply bundle the tinder and have other kindling ready to go. Hold the striker and rod close to the tinder and apply light pressure while quickly sliding the rod away from the striker.

Characteristics of an XL firestarter

Being an extended version of a previous product, this XL firestarter has:

• A forty-six percent bigger sticker handle
• A thirty-three percent larger ferrocerium replaceable and waterproofed rod that allows for two thousand more strikes, compared with an initial version of a firestarter
• A replaceable waterproof rod capable of providing you with light in any weather conditions, be it wet or dry.
• A minimum length of three-point six inches in a stacked condition and a maximum of four-point six inches one when in use
• A built-in split ring for the function of carrying keys or any extra O-rings that protect the device from getting some moisture inside

Additional firestarter features

Even though this is a prolonged form device, it is still capable of being helpful in survival situations when little to no space capacity is available. Exotac fire starter XL is made out of aluminum and tungsten carbide, has a zero point nine weight, and therefore, you can easily store it in your backpack.

The temperature of this product can heat up to five thousand and five hundred Fahrenheit degrees and give you enough warmth and light for creating a long-living fire. It also goes together with a lanyard loop.

Moreover, the product’s quality is proven by the lifelong warranty and other outdoor enthusiasts’ reviews, as the average rating value equals four point three stars.

Issues

The handle for the striker is tiny and can be hard to grip. Be careful when striking, as the sparks will be very close to your fingers. The lanyard hole is quite small and can be pretty difficult to fit a length of cord through. It can take a few strikes to get a reliable spark going. You will need to bring or find a very dry tinder for this to work properly.

Takeaway

NanoStriker XL is a helpful device that is capable of working in wet and dry environments and can save your life in any survival situation, as it creates the fire decent enough for warming you up, cooking your food, or being the source of light.

It is a product that is easy to carry and use, has a prolonged replaceable rugged rod that was designed for providing you with up to three thousand light strikes.

And despite its bigger size, it is still lightweight and capable of being put into your bug-out bag, a simple backpack, or any other place.

To give you even bigger confidence in this firestarter, note that it only costs around thirty dollars in any online or physical store, and the reviews of other buyers are pretty great.

Free Hint: Try to create a fire that is capable of long usages that would allow you to constantly add various burning materials, such as leaves and papers. Be careful and do not let children near your fire striker.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is it safe to use Exotac Firestarter XL?

As long as you use your fire striker for what it was designed to be, yes, it is safe.

However, you would always need to keep your device far away from the kids, as they might not know how to use it and can easily burn themselves and create horrible scars.

Furthermore, the sticker’s sharp is comparable to a razer one, so do make sure to keep your firestarter in its stacked condition somewhere safe.

How reliable is an Exotac Firestarter XL?

As reliable as you can only find on the survivalist market. Together with a rugged rod that was designed from ferrocerium and magnesium, this XL firestarter can be used both in wet and dry weather conditions and heat up to five and a half thousand Fahrenheit degrees. In addition, it has a nice feature of a holder ring for your keys.

And as the rod is of replaceable type ones, you can always buy a new one and continue to use your device without the need to buy a new one. For a pocket-size fire sticker that costs thirty dollars, this is the best option.

If this device were of bad quality, it would not have a lot of positive reviews and an average rating of four-point three stars. But if you will not be satisfied with Exotac products, you can always leave a review on any website by opening a modal dialog there.

Which firestarter to use in the wild?

While being in an off-grid situation, a fire starting device with a waterproof feature is a must.

Also, try to look for firestarters that are of small size form, as you probably have to store and carry it in your bug-out bag, and for the kinds that can provide you with the longest period of one charge work.

People’s reviews are another important thing, as the company can write a lot of different features, but only users will help you to understand whether they actually work.

If you do not want to search for such a firestarter by yourself, read our review on an Exotac NanoStriker XL and select it for your survival environment needs, as it has close to five stars average customer ratings and will probably suit you well. Reviews of this XL firestarter’s users can be found basically on any website where this product is sold.

How to use your Exotac NanoStriker XL

Follow the simple guide:

• Pull out a metal striker that is located on the end of your device. By using it, break the protective glass by scraping your rod until sparks will appear, as this is the sign that you are now capable of creating a fire.
• Now when your NanoStriker XL is ready to be operated, the most important step is to select the place where you will want to start a fire and clean around it. Any grass or leaves should be avoided or taken away. It is also a good idea to create your own fire pit by using rocks.
• Here are your next steps:
• create a thirty to forty degrees angle between your fire pile and your NanoStriker XL,
• make contact between a flint rod and a striker,
• and start scraping your flint rod, BUT do it in an against from you kind of motion.
• Continue your scraping until sparks will be created and the fire will start.