Tag Archives: Blackbeard

Gadgets, Product Reviews

Blackbeard Plasma Lighter

When you hear the words ‘plasma lighter’ the lightsaber or something out of the Aliens universe comes to mind. But they are real and they are sci-fi (at least to old guys like me). Plasma lighters are battery powered devices that generate a high voltage electrical arc which can ignite kindling. They work in the same way as your car’s spark plug or a mini taser.

Blackbeard Fire sent me a Pirates Plunder survival pack which includes their Plasma Lighter along with Firestarter sticks and a Ferro Rod. The device is about the size of an executive Zippo lighter and is incased in a black silicone skin. The top is latched down to keep it water proof. The device is recharged via USB-C and has LED charge indicator lights.

Pressing on the a button next to the igniter, immediately creates a purple spark of plasma. Unlike a plasma lighter that I already owned, Blackbeard’s uses not just a single pair of electrical contacts but four to create an ‘X’ like electrical arc between them.

Like a mini arc welder, the electricity heats the air into a plasma at hot as the surface of the sun. The Plasma Lighter easily ignited the Fire Plugs and FIrestarter fibers that I had soaked in water for an hour. The only thing a Plasma Lighter doesn’t do better than a traditional lighter is provide illumination but I’m sure somebody makes a version with a built-in CREE light so check-mate Bic.

AFFILIATE RETAIL LINK

Amazon https://amzn.to/3xQqPAE

Pirate Plunder Kit: https://amzn.to/3xHAgm6

Gadgets, Product Reviews

Blackbeard Fire Plugs

In a survival situation, without a means to create a fire, can you slowly die of hypothermia. Blackbeard sent me a bag of Fire Plugs; compact fire starters that feel like mini candles and look a bit like white cheddar Cheetos. They claim their completely water proof.

As a torture test, I dropped a plug into a pitcher of water and let it soak for an hour. After 62 minutes I took a wet plug out of the water and gave it a quick shake. I bent it and twisted it and worked it back and fourth until it softened and allowed me to pull it apart into two halves.

Blackbeard’s online demos advise fluffing up the torn half which felt like wax impregnated cotton cigarette filters. Despite floating in water for an hour, the interior of the plug felt relatively dry (though it was hard to tell as my fingers were wet from fishing out the plugs). To my surprise the tinder lit up without too much effort. Despite it also being a gusty day, I was able to get a small fire started.

If you’re a hiker or packing for an extreme bug-out-bag, adding a Blackbeard to your kit is good “fire insurance.”

AFFILIATE RETAIL LINK

Amazon https://amzn.to/4ePPfLr

The lighter and ropes are part of the Pirate Plunder Kit: https://amzn.to/4eW4H8I

Gadgets, Product Reviews

Blackbeard Ferro Rod

Blackbeard is a small company that was founded by Kai and his brother, who are avid hikers and outdoorsmen in Utah. They invented a range of Fire Starters and fire starting tools based on trail and their own experience, setting up camps in rain or after crossing creeks and rivers with wet gear.

Along with Fire Starter rope cord and Fire Plugs, they include in their Pirate’s Pluder kit, possibly the largest ferro rod on the market. Ferro rods are sticks of magnesium metal that when struck by steel or iron produce sparks. This is the metal used to make sparklers and burns with enough intensity to ignite most kindling.

The Blackbeard Ferro rod comes with its own metal striker which has a built-in bottle opener. Both are connected with a paracord lanyard that can unwound for 6ft of emergency rope. If you’re a hiker or packing for an extreme bug-out-bag, adding a Blackbeard to your kit is good “fire insurance.”

AFFILIATE RETAIL LINK

Amazon https://amzn.to/3VKnqwu

The lighter and ropes are part of the Pirate Plunder Kit: https://amzn.to/3VL6XYX

Shooting Sports

Blackbeard Fire Starter Rope

In a survival situation, without a means to create a fire, can you slowly die of hypothermia. Cold is debilitating and demoralizing. Plus its hard to make a decent cup of hot chocolate.

Blackbeard is a small company that was founded by Kai and his brother, who are avid hikers and outdoorsmen in Utah. They invented the Fire Starter based on trail and experiments, setting up camps in rain or after crossing creeks and rivers with wet gear. They invented a special cloth rope impregnated with a secret blend of ingredients that are non-toxic yet easy to light even after getting them wet (by accident).

The braid of black rope is in a plastic wrapper. The ends are open so the wrapper itself is not a weather seal. Cutting and peeling back the wrapper, the rope end felt like soft cotton to the touch and does not have a petroleum smell as I expected.

As a torture test, I dropped a Fire Starter cord into a pitcher of water and let it soak for an hour. During that time, the cord took in water and sank to the bottom of the pitcher. After 62 minutes I took the wet cord out of the water pitcher and gave it a quick shake and cut off about 1/2 an inch of the rope end and captured the cut fibers.

Blackbeard’s online demos advise users to rub the cut fibers together into a loose ball with the palm of your hands to fluff them. Despite the fibers being damp, to my surprise the tinder lit up without too much effort. Despite it also being a gusty day, I was able to get a small fire started.

If you’re a hiker or packing for an extreme bug-out-bag, adding a Blackbeard to your kit is good “fire insurance.”

BUY IT

Amazon affiliate https://amzn.to/3VKnqwu

Pirate Plunder Kit on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3VL6XYX

Or it direct from Blackbeard Fire: https://alnk.to/6TAekmO