Yes to Magnesium fire starter. I had one for a wilderness trip in high school. Most important item in my backpack.
Dude screw trying to start a fire every night with magnesium clippings and flint, just buy a BIC.
I've always carried magnesium sticks in my camping bag but I don't think I've ever actually used one. If you have dry tinder a regular lighter works perfectly fine to start a fire.
I don't have the starter any more but I can tell you this, sometimes a lighter doesn't work. At the time when I was in high school I had never used one before that camping trip when I bought it just for the trip. We were out on the trip for about a week. Two days hiking in, one day on location doing class work and compass training as well as reading topography maps, and two days hiking out by a different trail. I must say, I enjoyed using the starter. As a teenager I had taken lessons in starting camp fires a year before. The starter was easy to use, worked every time and was reliable.
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