When you’re freezing cold, the last thing you want to worry about is getting a fire started with your fumbling hands. But these emergency fire starters and lighters will give your fire-starting skills a boost so that you can rest easy in the warmth of a glowing fire.

Fire starters and lighters aren’t replacements for other essential outdoor gear or knowledge of basic fire-building techniques, but when you need them, you’ll sure be glad you have them in addition to other gear, knowledge, and preparation.

Check out these different types, listed in order from most basic to more complex design:

Light My Fire’s Swedish FireSteel®

Overview: Simple, lightweight, and easy to use, Light My Fire’s Swedish FireSteel is made of a magnesium rod with an easy-grip handle and a striker that creates sparks when drawn against the magnesium. A toggle-style cord with a built-in emergency whistle holds these two elements together, creating a product with additional functionality.

Pros and Cons: Using a magnesium fire-starter requires some practice, as you must be able to create and direct sparks in order to light a tinder pile. Magnesium will still spark in various weather conditions and at high altitudes. No fuel or fuel refills required.

Product Information: www.lightmyfire.com

Coghlan’s Magnesium Fire Starter

Overview: The Coghlan’s Magnesium Fire Starter is essentially a block of magnesium with a flint striker affixed to one side. Shave small magnesium flakes off the block with the back of your knife directly onto a tinder pile.

Now, strike the back of the knife against the flint striker on the other side of the block to throw sparks onto the magnesium shavings to light.

Pros and Cons: Magnesium shavings light easily when sparked, and this system doesn’t require fuel refills. This magnesium starter is also a simple method of starting a fire, and it doesn’t have other moving parts, such as igniters, that could break. The magnesium starter will still throw a spark in wet conditions, but tinder will likely be more difficult to light if it’s not dry.

Product Information: www.coghlans.com

Survivor Firestarters

Overview: This three-in-one survival tool will help you start your fire with magnesium flakes and flint striker, and it’s also outfitted with an embedded compass and a thermometer.

Pros and Cons: Survivor Firestarters are lightweight and compact, and they also make use of high-grade waterproof flint and magnesium, which makes it easier to throw a spark in difficult weather conditions. As with other magnesium starters, aiming the spark requires practice, but you won’t have any fuel refill hassle. While this starter works like other magnesium starters, it’s multi-functional, which makes it a good choice if you like each piece of your gear to do more than one thing.

Product information: www.survivorfirestarters.com

Zippo’s Emergency Fire Starter®

Overview: Even though the Zippo name is perhaps best known for its lighters, the Zippo Emergency Fire Starter isn’t a traditional lighter equipped with lighter fluid. Within its sleek pop-top container, the Zippo Emergency Fire Starter houses several water-resistant waxed tinder sticks. All you have to do is fray the end of the stick and then ignite it with the flint wheel igniter, also inside the waterproof container.

Pros and Cons: Fire starters, as opposed to lighters, are a good choice for survival gear because they don’t require liquid fuel, which may evaporate or leak out before you need to use it. A spark-based igniter such as this flint wheel igniter will work well in dry conditions, but it will still be difficult to start a fire in a wet situation. However, it’s pretty much always a challenge to start a fire when it’s pouring rain. In the end, the Zippo Emergency Fire Starter will do a better job than traditional matches because the waxed tinder sticks are more water-resistant, and they’ll have more staying power in difficult fire-starting conditions.

Product Information: www.zippo.com

Soto’s Pocket Torch XT

Overview: This burly lighter has serious fire-starting power, and it’s also windproof and water-resistant. The Soto Pocket Torch has an extending head that can be positioned to light a fire or stove from a distance of at least four inches away, which is helpful when you don’t want to put your fingertips close to a surface that might already be hot.

Pros and Cons: While your friends might make fun of you for carrying such a powerful lighter with you in your backpack, they’ll be the last ones laughing when you’re the first one to start a fire in deteriorating weather conditions. The Soto Pocket Torch relies on liquid fuel, which will need to be refilled periodically, so make sure that you have a reliable fuel source in the area where you’ll need it. Also take precautions to contain fuel leaks, and have a back-up plan in case you run out of fuel.

Product Information: www.sotooutdoors.com