You're funny Sarge! Knowing this is your way of showing your affection I'm as honored as BG....and we all know how you truely feel about him.
You're funny Sarge! Knowing this is your way of showing your affection I'm as honored as BG....and we all know how you truely feel about him.
As....I used a zippo for many years, one day I ran out of fluid to refill it and just never bought more. You said you've been using one for 40 years so you know that it's going to run out of fluid when you need a smoke the most. Doesn't it make sense to carry another form of lighting a fire? Odds are you'll never need to make a fire with a 9 volt and steel wool and i'd never carry such a combo with me but it's nice to know you can.
I've become somewhat interested in learning different ways to make fire, if for no other reason than to know I can.
I carry both. Matches work better for getting to the underlying tinder in a pile of firewood. Lighters are handier for all the above mentioned reasons. BUT, lighters don't work once they get down to a certain temp. So if I am out in the winter, I also make sure to have matches. As a smoker I carry my cigs and lighter in an outside pocket for easy access but have to put my lighter in my glove for a while to warm up enough to light.
Why do I live in Alaska? Because I can.
Alaska, the Madness! Bloggity Stories of the North Country
"Building Codes, Alaskans don't need no stinking Building Codes." Sourdough
Yes, I have wifi in my outhouse!
1stimestar - You're talking about Bic type lighters right? While it is true that the butane must be warmed up a bit, a Zippo will work in cold conditions without pre-heating.
Are you using regular zippo fuel?
I've never had any issues in the cold, but admittedly I have not experienced the extremes that you do.
I haven't tried zippos, yes talking about a plain old Bic. By cold I am referring to something colder then -20F.
Why do I live in Alaska? Because I can.
Alaska, the Madness! Bloggity Stories of the North Country
"Building Codes, Alaskans don't need no stinking Building Codes." Sourdough
Yes, I have wifi in my outhouse!
"I don't see how people can eat okra. I know it is food but my system rejects it because I have not been raised on it."
WHAT? No gumbo in a survival sitch? Then I ain't doing it!!
"...in the end, what you don't surrender, well, the world just strips away." --Bruce Springsteen
I normally carry matches in a waterproof container, and a Bic, and either a ferro rod or mag bar. I usually use the Bic for starting fires, but if it don't work I go for the matches. If they fail, I go for the ferro rod/mag bar. If that fails I make a drill and try that. If that fails I freeze/starve to death. Oh, well, that's life in the wilderness.
Wherefore, let us be thankful that there are still thousands of cool, green nooks beside crystal springs, where the weary soul may hide for a time, away from debts, duns and deviltries, and a while commune with nature in her undress. ~ George W. “Nessmuk” Sears ~
@EdD270 You could resort to using the ice to start your fire. How??? Form a lense in the palm of your hands from the ice and use it like a magnifying glass, it works.
SARGE
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
Albert Einstein
Proud father of a US Marine....SEMPER FI!
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin
Yeah, but EdD lives in Arizona - the guy he was telling to form an ice lens.
SARGE
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
Albert Einstein
Proud father of a US Marine....SEMPER FI!
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin
I generally use my lighter to start my matches. Redundancy. Remember redundancy.
Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.
I don't have a problem with any of them. When hunting or otherwise in the woods, I normally carry waterproof, strike anywhere matches in a water tight container and a large size Zippo. I've encountered considerable difficulty trying to start a fire with a Bic type lighter under windy conditions, thus I never rely on them.
I think it would be easier to us the plastic bag and pee, in the desert....maybe ice lens in AK, or any of the cool ways to make fire....if you have to.
I'm a BIC guy myself......buy them by the dozen...at least one goes into every jacket, coat, bag, pack, glove box, counsel, tool box everywhere.......and they all get lost!....LOL....Some day I'll find the "Magic Pocket" and all lost lighters are there!
So then its back to the Zippo, water proof matches, ferro rod, Flint/steel, lens.......
THEN bow drills, hand drills, friction fire, steel wool/battery, ball point pen spring/battery, coke can/chocolate,.........
Or finally, standing in a clearing with a 2 iron and a tinder bundle, during a lightening storm.
Or just use your smart phone,,,,gotta be an APP for that.
Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
Evoking the 50 year old rule...
First 50 years...worried about the small stuff...second 50 years....Not so much
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Starts a good, reliable fire....... until the battery goes dead.
"Freedom had been hunted round the globe; reason was considered as rebellion; and the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think. But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing."
Thomas Paine
Minimalist Camping: Enjoy nature, don't be tortured by it. Take as little as you need to be safe and comfortable.
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