About Us

Meet Konel and Frank

Konel and Frank are a couple of wilderness enthusiasts on a mission to make starting a fire easy for everyone. You shouldn't have to be a mountain man to strike up a flame anytime, anywhere!

Keeping the Whole World Warm, One Fire at a Time

From cavemen banging rocks to Native Americans rubbing sticks together, fire is a fundamental human need – right up there with food and water.

InstaFire makes it easy for moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, and folks who've never set foot in the wilderness to have the safety of a roaring fire in minutes, no matter what kinds of conditions they're facing.

The Spark That Started InstaFire

 

The spark that started InstaFire came from the worst disaster in Idaho history.

On June 5th, 1976, the 305-foot Teton Dam collapsed, unleashing 80 billion gallons of water into the Snake River Valley below. Konel's sister and her family were right in the path of the flood and went missing for nearly a week.

Though they thankfully made it out in one piece, the experience stuck with Konel. How would a regular person like his sister stay warm and cook food if everything else was washed away?

An Old Mountain Secret

 

The answer came many years later, in 2007, during a wilderness rendezvous on the Wasatch front. Konel saw an old mountain man lighting a rock on fire. How was this possible?

For the next nine months, Konel and his business partner Frank worked in an abandoned, owl-infested warehouse to perfect a fire-starting formula using the same type of rock as the old mountain man. It had to be safe, easy, and work every time.

InstaFire was born!

The Sky's The Limit

Since then, InstaFire has skyrocketed from local phenomenon to nationally leading fire starter.

  • They appeared on Shark Tank™, where they won the enthusiastic endorsement of Mark Cuban.
  • They've been featured in Good Morning America, Popular Mechanics, Wired Magazine, and more.
  • They're an approved fire starter of the Boy Scouts of America.
  • Today InstaFire is sold in stores like Home Depot, Lowe's, and Academy Sports, to name a few.
And they're just getting started.