Lighters- Which sort?

[dandan]

I usually carry a Bic lighter.
Does not matter to me if it is a flint wheel one or an electronic one.

Anyone done any road tests on the pro and cons of each sort ?
Dont like the gas(petrol) sort ( Zippo), as it needs refilling to often , and you smell like a gas (fuel) station.

I usually get them from the supermarket .
I have tried Lidl and Aldi lighters , but in my opinion Bic are numero uno!

May I have your comments please?

[natertot]

I have tried a few here and there. I prefer the Bic brand with the flint wheel. I always have a Bic Mini in my pocket and you can find Minis in most of my bags and kits. I keep the regular sized ones in my car, tool box, and work bench.

As you have mentioned, they can be had at the supermarket. Big stores usually carry them in bulk packs for a discount price.

[kyratshooter]

I have dozens of the things lying around. Some in the kits, several in each vehicle. Most are Bic. 3,000 lights is the norm for the brand. Most will provide spark long after the fuel is gone.

I do have several Zippo lighters and I like them. I carried a Zippos for years when I smoked. Most will hold fuel for a week or more, which is enough for most outings, and even after going out of fuel they provide a stronger spark for flint and steel fire starting than most disposables. They will also work using more fuels than just the Naptha lighter fluid.

I no longer smoke so none are pocket carried daily. That task now falls to the tried and true Boy Scout ferro rod. It never needs refilling, works even when wet and just lives on the key ring until needed.

[hunter63]

Although I like to play with all sorts for fire starting methods, I also carry a BIC for most fire starting tasks.

No longer smoke, but still carry at least one BIC (preferred brand, as well).... in my pocket as part of the EDC....
Also....each jacket, coat, hoodie, tool boxes, tackle boxes and any/all of the bags.

On sale you can get pac's 5 for $1 to 2 bucks.......
Cheap insurance.

Several Zippos in a jewelry case.......haven't used them in a long time.

[alaskabushman]

After carrying a Zippo for a couple years, even being diligent to have flints and fluid on hand, it seemed like the Zippo was always out of fuel when I needed it most. I like the form factor and trim package a zippo presents, but if you don't have fire..well...it's just a cool looking fishing weight.

I've even tried refillable butane lighters with very little luck. Even expensive Windmill lighters never seem to work as well once they've been refilled.

So I am firmly in the Bic camp. They are cheap, disposable, almost indestructible, and reliable (as long as they are dry). I usually try to buy the ones with patterns or designs so that when I loan my lighter to someone I know which one is mine.

Something that has caught my attention is rechargeable plasma lighters.
https://www.amazon.com/Tesla-Coil-Li...plasma+lighter
I know almost nothing about them, and for a kit I'd stick with a Bic, but for EDC...maybe. Charging my lighter in with my other electronics? Has a ring to it.

As long as its not a match.

[hunter63]

Psssssst....Buy pink Bic's....No one steals pink lighters....

[M118LR]

I find that the rougher the terrian the more I break Bic lighters. Zippo's still function even with dents. Not to mention that all you need is a unit sticker on a Zippo and it becomes a piece of trade bait. That being said, the more varieties of fire making tools the better your chance of having fire. But you may also need to take into consideration that fire is going to let everyone know where you are at. In the American Wilderness that's normally a good thing, if you are in an evasion situation fire making tools are just extra weight.

[Rick]

I had to evade a farmer once after being in his watermelon patch. I even had to evade an irate father once but my evading days are over. What on earth do you do that you smash up a BIC? I've never broken one and have them in my packs and everywhere. I've never so much as cracked one.

[kyratshooter]

I can not imagine what I would do to smash a Bic lighter that would not put me into the hospital or in the ER to have the pieces of plastic removed from my "pocket area". Hurts just thinking about it!

I carried them off and on for nearly 30 years and never remember breaking one in my pocket.

Some of our members from Alaska might have other opinions about Bic lighters.

Here in the lower 48, or perhas the south of France, they work OK 99% of the time but when the temps hit -30 the butane sometimes refuses to burn.

I think that was part of the reason ferro rods were originally called Swedish fire steels. The Swedes stressed their use in the ultra cold of the arctic.

[chiggersngrits]

Bic has to be the number one disposable. I have been buying Scripto from the Dollar store for about the last two years and can say I have not had a fail to fire as of yet. . I still have bic in the kits but carry scripto daily. They are cheaper than bic and have adjustable flame. I get a free lighter when I buy smokes at the local convenience store. MK brand , half of them never work the first time.

[hunter63]

Only Bic I ever broke, was running one over with the lawn mower.......saw something yellow (the Bic) the heard a "thump" and had the mower jump about a foot off the ground.....wit fire and smoke....

But have found one in the mud on a logging road....kinda rusty with the adjuster broken....dried it out and it light up just fine.

If I was evading ....I wouldn't light a fire....
But then I always liked Bruce Willis's Zippo ...Yippee Ki Yay, M***** ******

[randyt]

there is no substitute for horsepower, here's the one I use

http://www.bernzomatic.com/product/t...rt-torch-head/

[natertot]

there is no substitute for horsepower, here's the one I use

http://www.bernzomatic.com/product/t...rt-torch-head/

In that case, let me go grab the flame thrower......

[hunter63]

When something needs to burn....


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[shiftyer1]

I've had bics expode in the car. If i'm that hot the lighter ain't my problem!!!

[Antonyraison]

always have preferred and carried the bic lighter with the flint wheel

[Rick]

let me go grab the flame thrower.

Randy has two of those and parts for 4 others in the parts box.

[hunter63]

Randy has two of those and parts for 4 others in the parts box. [/COLOR]

......that he inherited......

[1stimestar]

I normally use bics with the flint wheel. As Kyrat said, they can be problematic up here in the cold. Even in what we considered mild winter temps, they get too cold to work very quickly. They can also be difficult to light with gloves/mittens on. But still, they are the most dependable easily accessed fire available. You learn to keep them in an inner pocket (or bra) to keep them warm enough to light.

[Seniorman]

I've posted this before. Wrap a piece of bicycle tube around your Zippo and it will be good for weeks without filling. I carry a small, clean Tobasco bottle with lighter fluid in my pack and if needed, it will keep the Zippo running for a long, long time. It won't leak and is waterproof, according to various tests I have applied.

Easy to use, and does not require one keep depressing the lever to keep it burning. Think mini-candle, if you will.

I don't smoke so I don't need to use it 30 or 40 times a day. (A Bic would be fine for a smoker.) In the woods or mountains, I don't build a fire an half dozen times a day, so once or so does just fine for me. Do I also carry a Bic? Yep, but in an emergency when a Bic won't do, my Zippo always comes through.

I learned many, many years ago that when filling the Zippo, just leave the lid open for five minutes and it won't leak on my thigh when I carry it in my pocket.

FWIW, the Zippo in the picture that is burning, I won in a barracks poker game on a Sunday afternoon when I was stationed at Fort Gordon, Georgia. Guy had just bought it at the PX and tossed it into the pot for a one dollar bet. He lost, I won, and it is still working like a champ. That was in the summer of 1959. Zippos rock!!


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S.M.