Even the best of us have trying times in getting a campfire to start. I've been carrying and using a 7" piece of aluminum arrow shaft for my 'Fire Straw' probably 30 years now...can't recall, that's how long it's been in my pack. It'll never burn like plastic tubing; you can use it to get, abliet, unfiltered, water from seeps or cracks when needed; and it's light. Works as a fire poker too if you are like me and just make an Indian Fire (small campfire not a blaze). Just remember not to inhale <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />