Are the arc or plasma lighters worth it? Nova knife also?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Are the arc or plasma lighters worth it? Nova knife also?

Posted: 5/4/2021 3:50:02 PM EDT

So I heard a rant the other day about how these arc/plasma lighters are the best tool for fire starting around. He went on about this Nova knife and been getting the emails from lone survivor my thought is that it looks like a cheap flashlight like the "Navy SEAL flashlights" they sell at Walmart.

Just wanted to hear what you guys thought of both these tools? The arc lighter seems cheap $20 is easy to spend but $150 for the Nova knife/flashlight. I like to hear what you all think.

Link to ultimate survival tool

Posted: 5/4/2021 3:55:58 PM EDT

[#1]

I know they suck at lighting a cigar and a few other small things on fire. I have a couple that have dual arcs. Fun to play with and neat that they dont take any fuel. I would still prefer a jet torch.

Posted: 5/4/2021 4:40:35 PM EDT

[#2]

They suck. My youngest is a Boy Scout and he decided he wanted one. It really sucks, you might get it to light paper or the driest of kindling but a cheap bic lighter is 500% better. Buy a zippo and the flint striker alone w/o any fuel will likely work better than that silly plasma lighter my son has!

Posted: 5/4/2021 5:37:30 PM EDT

[#3]

I would block the email address of anyone advertising that as a viable survival tool.

Looks like something from the advertising section of Boys Life

Posted: 5/4/2021 6:09:54 PM EDT

[#4]

OG zippo with a few flints stores under the felt for SHTF for me.

Posted: 5/4/2021 8:02:56 PM EDT

[#5]

Nothing better than a Zippo lighter with Bic backup!

Posted: 5/4/2021 8:11:41 PM EDT

[#6]

lol. that solar cell would take a month to charge the battery in it.

Posted: 5/11/2021 4:23:11 AM EDT

[#7]

I would trust them to light a propane camping stove, but that's ALL.

Posted: 5/24/2021 12:43:07 AM EDT

[#8]

Bought an arc lighter for the girlfriend to go with some candles i got her, because she tends to burn her fingers lighting so many wicks. It's a really neat little gimmick of a thing — that is, it works great for lighting candle wicks, but that's about it. You can set fire to paper, too, but they need to be charged kind of frequently, and i'm not testing if they're waterproof. For 15$ just get one, but I would not have that as my only source of fire starting if I NEED a fire. It is really simple to use, and neat to have, but if you want a survival tool then I'd advise against using this.

Posted: 5/28/2021 3:54:22 PM EDT

[#9]

There isn't anything about that Chinesium/flashlight/multi-tool/junk that I would consider for anything important. Tack on that $200 price tag and they have got to be kidding.
The marketing company that is selling that thing is looking to cash in on grandmas and aunts who want to buy something "outdoorsy" for their grandson, nephew, or son.

If I took the $200 I could buy a decent LED flashlight, a pile of CR123 batteries, a Mora knife, and a handful of Bic lighters and come up way ahead on price and quality.

Posted: 7/10/2021 10:55:23 PM EDT

[#10]

Thanks have not been on for a little.

When I saw it I thought it was a gimmick also. Yet been out of the outdoor loop for a little and thought that maybe I missed something.

Funny most said Boy Thing because first time I saw this a guy was trying to sell them to our Boy Scout troop.

Posted: 7/12/2021 10:52:38 AM EDT

[#11]

I like a torch better because you can use it to dry kindling, etc when things get wet.

We were out in the boundary waters after a huge rain storm and even the experienced guys I was with said I couldn't get a fire going. That little pocket torch took a few minutes but it did the trick.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Are the arc or plasma lighters worth it? Nova knife also?

Outdoors » Survival Gear

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