polySTRIKER™ XL

The polySTRIKER XL is the answer to the one real limitation of the standard polySTRIKER: size. A minimalist fire starter is only useful if you can operate it when it matters, and cold, wet, gloved hands make a small rod and a small handle hard to work. The XL fixes that with the largest rod and handle in the polySTRIKER line while still weighing only about 1.4 ounces, so it stays a genuine ultralight option.

The 5/16-inch ferrocerium rod is the same diameter as the one in the machined fireROD V2. It is the easiest of Exotac's rods to strike and it produces the greatest number of sparks per pass, which is exactly what you want when your hands are numb or you are working against the weather. It is rated for up to 10,000 strikes and, like every ferro rod, it sparks at roughly 5,500 degrees Fahrenheit and works soaking wet; pat it dry and strike.

It keeps the features that make the line work. The striker is a very hard, very sharp tungsten-carbide insert built into a tool that snaps into the polymer body when it is not in use, so nothing is separate and nothing is lost. The body is molded from recyclable ABS plastic. The included lanyard is 550 FIRECORD, whose inner strand burns as emergency tinder.

The polySTRIKER XL is offered in Black, Grey, and Orange and is covered by Exotac's lifetime warranty. Choose it over the standard polySTRIKER when you expect to use it with gloves, in winter, or as a primary fire starter rather than a deep-backup item, and over the machined nanoSTRIKER XL when you want to save weight and cost without losing the tungsten-carbide striker. Like the rest of the line it is designed and tested to be operated cold, wet, and under stress rather than on a calm afternoon in the backyard, and at well under two ounces there is no weight penalty for the extra capability.