TomT -

I agree with you about this being suitable for message-board "garage business."  It's kind of like those "Bungee-Dealee Bobs" made & marketed by a fellow on one of the other canoeing message boards.  You just KNOW folks have been making variations of those things at home a lot longer than he has been selling them.   Nevertheless, kudos to him as HE saw the niche market, went after it and is making a few bucks on them.

I could see this fire-starter product going the same route.  I, for one, would surely buy one versus going to the all the trouble of procuring materials and then putting it together... which is exactly what I tried to do yesterday.  I limited myself to what I could find in my garage... which wasn't everything I needed.  I simply wasn't motivated enough to get in the car & head to the hardware store to pick up the rest. Besides, carrying a baggie filled with dryer lint and/or Coughlan's fire-starters hasn't been all that burdensome in the past.

On the other hand, this would be a neat, space & time conserving option if I could simply buy it on-line somewhere or at CanoeCopia booth (like those Bungee-Dealee Bobs).  Would I buy one that was reasonably priced?  You bet.

Jimbo   8-)