I routinely carry a stash of strike anywhere matches in every survival kit I put together. While I also have butane lighters as they are cheap, having matches as well is just common sense. However, you need to make sure you keep them dry, right? To do so, I’ve used things like old prescription bottles, 35mm film canisters, even just ziploc plastic bags.

Exotac has taken a modern approach to match cases with their Matchcap line of products. They recently sent me one of their Matchcaps to review. I have to say, I’m impressed.

What we have here is a small canister manufactured out of aircraft
aluminum. The cap is square threaded and seals tight to the embedded
O-ring. The exterior has a knurled texture to it, both for grip as well as to give you a rough surface to strike the matches. The bottom of the canister also has a small patch of sandpaper for the same purpose.

Affixed to the canister and protected by the cap when sealed is a small strike strip to use with paper matches. This is a neat feature and something overlooked by most other match cases.

You can fit about 20 strike anywhere matches inside or about a dozen of the more robust storm proof ones. Upgrading to the Matchcap XL gives you about double the capacity.

The cap also has a lanyard loop, making it very easy to lash the Matchcap to your pack should you wish to do so. Being that it is a hair over 3 inches long and less than an inch wide, it is plenty small enough to fit into a variety of kits as well as just your pocket.

Now, the whole point of this product is to keep matches dry so I tested it out. I placed a couple matches as well as a strip of paper towel into the Matchcap, closed it up, and submerged it into a bowl of water for several hours. I then dried it off and opened it up. Not a drop of water had made its way inside. Everything, including the paper towel, was bone dry. However, the adhesive securing the sandpaper to the bottom of the Matchcap had come loose after soaking in the water. Using a waterproof adhesive would remedy that issue, I think.

Despite that small problem, I really like this product. It is well
constructed and built to last. As you can see, mine came in blaze orange but they also have gunmetal gray as well as black available.

While it is designed to carry matches, I can easily imagine using it for securely carrying a thumb drive or prescription medications. Whatever you put into the Matchcap is going to stay dry, that’s for sure.

Perhaps the best part about this product is that it is MADE IN THE USA! Find them here on Amazon.