Extra long matches vs normal matches
Updated: 23 October 2026
You are deciding whether a stated stick near 10 cm is worth more per box than a shrink-wrapped hundred of smaller ones, and the phrase extra long is getting in the way. Extra long matches vs normal matches, in this capture, is a split between about 94 mm to 10 cm and a bulk whose length is never printed. It is not a comparison with an 11 inch fireside match. The five rows sit in the [Matches comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/matches), captured on amazon.co.uk on 21 October 2026. Those listings and UK shop pages were used for the lengths. There is no lab burn. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You are deciding whether a stated stick near 10 cm is worth more per box than a shrink-wrapped hundred of smaller ones, and the phrase extra long is getting in the way.
You are deciding whether a stated stick near 10 cm is worth more per box than a shrink-wrapped hundred of smaller ones, and the phrase extra long is getting in the way. Extra long matches vs normal matches, in this capture, is a split between about 94 mm to 10 cm and a bulk whose length is never printed. It is not a comparison with an 11 inch fireside match. The five rows sit in the Matches comparison, captured on amazon.co.uk on 21 October 2026. Those listings and UK shop pages were used for the lengths. There is no lab burn. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Stated length | Boxes | Stated count | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Ship Ship safety matches, 100 boxes | n/a | 100 | n/a | 7.4 | about £6.88 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Bryant & May Bryant & May extra long, five boxes plus small box | 95 mm | 5 plus small box | n/a | 7.0 | about £7.99 | View offer |
 Bryant & May Bryant & May extra long, pack of 2 | About 94 mm | 2 | About 45 per pack | 8.0 | about £2.00 | View offer |
On this page
Three lengths, two of them in this comparison
Keep three lengths apart before you look at a price. The first is the fireside match stove shops sell at about 280 mm, often about 90 sticks in a box. Robeys lists that product among firelighters at roughly £4 to £9. Woodabrix sells a 10 cm safety match, 45 sticks, and says it is half the length of its longer fireside match. That 280 mm box is what many people picture when they type extra long. It is not for sale in this set.
The second length is the household extra-long stick these amazon.co.uk titles mean. The pack of two says about 94 mm, which is 3.75 inches. One five-box bullet says 95 mm. Another says 10 cm, and a review of that box says 90 mm. Wynnstay’s trade page for Bryant & May extra long safety matches gives 9.4 cm and 45 sticks, which agrees with the pack of two and is not an amazon.co.uk price. Do not average 94, 95 and 100 into one true length. Each row has its own figure, and one of them has already been contradicted by a buyer with a ruler.
The third length is the one the 100-box bulk never states. Reviewers call those boxes small and the sticks a little shorter and thinner. That is a description, not a millimetre. The single box states no length either. Its package line of 7 × 4 × 2.3 cm and 20 g is the carton, so you cannot prove from the listing that it is shorter than 94 mm. For the rest of this page, extra long means a stated stick in that 94 mm to 10 cm band, and standard means the 100-box bulk. The single box is too thin a file to represent standard quality.
What the extra-long packs state
The pack of two is about £2.00, about 94 mm, and about 45 matches a pack. Dividing by two is about £1 a box. The title lists candles, log burners, BBQs and open fires. The rating is 4.7 from 752 reviews. The brand field says EMBO and the scent field says Hickory, which you should see and not treat as proof of a fake. One review says the grit wore too fast. People who wanted a fireside spill say this is still a household long match. It is the smallest extra-long buy in the set, and it runs out quickly if the stove is lit every evening.
The five-box row at about £7.99 is about £1.60 a box before you think about the extra. The bullet says 95 mm wooden sticks, and the rating is 4.7 from 854 reviews. The manufacturer field names Swedish Match Company, the owner of Bryant & May, while the brand field says Riverbank Retail. The count per long box is not stated. The title adds a small matchbox. One review says that box was a Swan box with 14 matches against 32, and another mentions loose matches. Some reviewers say the sticks are not particularly extra long, or shorter than the picture. You are buying the 95 mm bullet and a large review file, not a photograph.
The other five-box row is about £8.75, about £1.75 a box, with 4.6 from 79 reviews. The bullet says 10 cm, about 45 matches and a safety strike strip, and it lists candles, open fires, log burners and BBQ. The manufacturer field says Blissify and the origin says Sweden. One review says the sticks were 90 mm and that the buyer had expected 15 cm. That single review is why this row cannot be quoted as a reliable 10 cm. Wind-resistant is unanswered, as windproof is unanswered on the pack of two. None of the three is a storm match.
What the shorter boxes are for
The 100-box bulk is about £6.88 for wood-based boxes, 4.7 from 1,627 reviews, the largest file in the comparison. About 7p a box is that shelf price divided by 100, a rule of thumb, not a printed unit price. Prices people remember from earlier orders are not the shelf on 21 October 2026. A buyer who counted many boxes reported an average of 38–39 matches, and another mentioned about 37. Quote those as reviews. They are not a stated count, and they say nothing about millimetres.
The sticks are what you trade away. Reviewers describe them as a little shorter and thinner. Some never snap. A repeat buyer says a later batch is thin and breaks. One review mentions strikers on both sides, which is useful when a strip goes smooth, and it is still a short stick. People light stoves with them because the box is already in the house. The listing does not say log burner, and it does not claim a length. The best-sellers line includes 1 in Car Starters, which is a browse node, not a reason to call them a motoring product. Waterproof is unanswered.
The single box is about £2.99, 5.0 from two reviews, and no review text. It does not state length, count or stem. The manufacturer field says Bryant & May. On a per-box basis it costs more than an extra-long box from the pack of two, and you learn less. It sits on the standard side of this page only because it is not labelled extra long. It is not the example of standard quality. A cigarette note on one review, that extra-long sticks feel awkward for smoking and more plausible for a pipe, is that reviewer’s habit. It is not a product purpose.
Which to buy
Buy a stated extra-long pack when the flame has to travel. A jar candle with the wick below the rim, a lantern, and the back of a wood burner are that job. The pack of two is the one to start with, at about 94 mm and about £2.00, unless you already know you will want five boxes, in which case the 95 mm bullet and 854 reviews are the stronger five-box file. Leave the about £8.75 row if the last person who measured it found 90 mm and you had 15 cm in mind. For the stove, the match still only lights the firelighter. Fuel and smoke-control rules are on long matches for a wood burner.
Buy the 100-box bulk when the matches live in a kitchen drawer, the wicks are easy to reach, and you would rather spend about £6.88 once than about £1 a box several times. Accept the unstated length and the thin-stem complaints. Do not buy it because of a Car Starters rank, and do not buy the single box because 5.0 looks like a win. If the picture in your head is an 11 inch spill for a deep inglenook, neither side of this comparison is that product. Leave the page and buy the 280 mm fireside box from a stove shop.
Common questions
How long is extra long?
In this set it is a stated household length, written differently on each row. The pack of two says about 94 mm, or 3.75 inches. One five-box bullet says 95 mm. Another says 10 cm, and one review says 90 mm. The 100-box bulk and the single box do not state a length. Extra long on these amazon.co.uk titles is not a promise of 15 cm and not a promise of 280 mm.
Are 94 mm matches the same as 11 inch fireside matches?
No. Eleven inches is about 280 mm, which is roughly three times a 94 mm stick. Woodabrix describes a 10 cm safety match as about half its longer fireside match. Robeys sells the long fireside box separately, at about 90 sticks. A 94 mm match can reach a jar wick or a nearby firelighter. It will not behave like a fireside spill in a deep opening.
When is the 100-box pack the better buy?
When you want a long run of ordinary lighting and a short stick is acceptable. The bulk is about £6.88 for 100 boxes, about 7p a box as a rule of thumb, with 4.7 from 1,627 reviews. It beats the extra-long packs on price per box by a long way. It loses when you need a stated reach, because the length is missing and reviewers already call the sticks shorter and sometimes thin enough to snap.
When is a short box a false economy?
When the job burns your fingers or fails. A sunken candle wick and the back of a stove are the usual cases. You then spend the match, waste a second one, and still order a long box. At about £1 to £1.75 a box, the extra-long packs are dearer than 7p and cheaper than a burnt hand or a stove that never catches because you could not hold the flame on the firelighter. The single box at about £2.99 is a false economy of a different kind: you pay more and learn less.
Why do some reviews say 90 mm when the bullet says 10 cm?
Because the five-box listing at about £8.75 prints 10 cm in the bullet, and a reviewer says the matches that arrived were 90 mm. That buyer had expected 15 cm, so two disappointments are stacked: the parcel was shorter than 10 cm on that account, and 10 cm was never 15 cm. Quote both figures. Do not correct the bullet to 90 mm for every box, and do not ignore the review.
Are standard matches worse quality, or just shorter?
The bulk’s 4.7 from 1,627 reviews is the same star line as the main extra-long packs, so it is not a poor rating. The complaints that repeat are length, which is unstated, and thin wood that can snap. Extra-long boxes add a stated millimetre and cost about £1 to £1.75 each. They are not waterproof, and they are not a better chemical match. They are a longer stick with a smaller cupboard. The brand-field clashes on the Bryant & May titles are a listing conflict, not a quality score.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Updated 22 October 2026.
- BS EN 1783:1997 (retrieved October 2026)
- White Phosphorus Matches Prohibition Act 1908 (retrieved October 2026)
- GOV.UK: General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Smoke control area rules (retrieved October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Selling wood for domestic use in England (retrieved October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Fire safety for parents and child carers (retrieved October 2026)
- London Fire Brigade: Candles (retrieved October 2026)
- Bryant & May: About (retrieved October 2026)
- Swedish Match Industries: Bryant & May (retrieved October 2026)
- Royal Society of Chemistry: Strike a light (retrieved October 2026)