Camping last weekend, I had something happen I've never seen in 40 years......all my matches and a Bic butane FAILED!

I keep kitchen matches that I've waterproofed in paraffin in a waterproof match case, along with a few birthday candles. This has always worked for me. These matches were only a year old, and the match heads turned to mush when I tried to strike them. Never had this happen before. Apparently kitchen matches aren't what they once were, and paraffin/candles broke down the match heads in just a year. Then, my Bic which has worked countless times, failed to light, but came back to life after I got home!
What worked.....book matches in a baggie. We also had a mag bar and a fire steel in the group, so no big deal. I've just never had kitchen matches fail before.

Moral to the story: Apparently kitchen matches have changed (the heads are much smaller now). Test your fire starters before heading out!