[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Lighters?? (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 1/22/2011 1:34:06 PM EDT
| I don't smoke and never carry a lighter.. I am thinking about changing that..( carring the lighter, not smoking) and would like to buy a good lighter.. My dad carried one of those flip top ones and I can't remember what they are called.. Should I just get a bic or one of the flip top ones? I do keep a bic, matches and a fire steel in my BOB.. |
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Zippos are good. The problem is that if you overfill them, the fluid will leak out into your pocket.
Personally, if you want carry a lighter, I would get one of those disposable ones from Wall-Mart. If you loose it no biggie. I've lost all kinds of stuff, but not my pocket knife which is clipped on. |
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Quoted: I carry a zippo, but would not rely on it. You have to regularly keep up on it, or it will run dry. Seems every time I need it, it's out.   Pick up one of these, You fill it with lighter fluid and you will be able to fill it whenever your zippo goes dry. I don't have one but I usually just check mine every now and again and I typically have a bottle of fluid in the door of my truck anyway.
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Quoted: I've wondered about topping a Zippo off with fluid then vacuum sealing it in a food saver bag for bob storage- thoughts?? Never thought about that... you could always give it a shot.......although the vacuum might cause the fluid to come out of the lighter? Give it a shot and try it out |
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Had two of these. Worked great.....until I lost them.
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| I occasionally smoke a pipe so i have my AF zippo, other posters are correct it does dry out in about two to three week's, and that's if you fill it completely. I picked up a dollar store bottle of murine, emptied it, (the tip insert pops right out with pliers) and keep it filled with zippo fuel. The cap is virtually leak-proof, I've also found the zippo brand fluid doesn't dry out as quickly. |
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I would store the lighter, fluid, and spare flints together in a single bag, that way everything will be in one place when you need. I only takes a moment to fill. I would only fill in imminent SHtF.
I've wondered about topping a Zippo off with fluid then vacuum sealing it in a food saver bag for bob storage- thoughts?? |
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Bic. Wrap it up in a sammich bag or buy a case or it and you are GTG for 1/30th of what any other lighter will go for. My only bitch about them is that they can be accidentally relieved of all their gas in your pocket if there is a bunch of other stuff in there. I miss the old child proof ones that lock the gas tab up.
Now I needed something with a little more oomph to deal with frozen locks. The guys in the Cigar Forum recommended the Blazer PB207. It is a torch lighter but is not wind proof. I think it might even be less tolerant to wind than a bic even, but the flame is awesome and it holds a ton of butane fuel. It has the most useable torch flame and can be locked on and tolerates being on for a long time. It has a locking tab that prevents children from activating it and also keeps it from getting accidentally drained in your pocket. There is a cover attached to a chain to keep stuff out of the business end. I have also picked up a couple Essential Gear Windmill lighters. They are wind proof, water resistant and reliable so far, but the fuel capacity is small. The Windmill Delta is essentially the Windmill classic with a shitload of bulky rubber armor over it with the top piece held on with double sided sticky tape. Just get the Classic and save $10 as the armor is bulky and unnecessary and does not add to it's water resistance at all. EIther can not be used for extended periods as they lighter heats up beyond a comfortable lever after about 30 seconds. I like torch lighters but never feel inadequate with a bic and every house should have bics stashed all over. I am not a big fan of lighters like the Zippo, because I am just not that cool. I hate the smell. |
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Bic. Wrap it up in a sammich bag or buy a case or it and you are GTG for 1/30th of what any other lighter will go for. My only bitch about them is that they can be accidentally relieved of all their gas in your pocket if there is a bunch of other stuff in there. I miss the old child proof ones that lock the gas tab up. Now I needed something with a little more oomph to deal with frozen locks. The guys in the Cigar Forum recommended the Blazer PB207. It is a torch lighter but is not wind proof. I think it might even be less tolerant to wind than a bic even, but the flame is awesome and it holds a ton of butane fuel. It has the most useable torch flame and can be locked on and tolerates being on for a long time. It has a locking tab that prevents children from activating it and also keeps it from getting accidentally drained in your pocket. There is a cover attached to a chain to keep stuff out of the business end. I have also picked up a couple Essential Gear Windmill lighters. They are wind proof, water resistant and reliable so far, but the fuel capacity is small. The Windmill Delta is essentially the Windmill classic with a shitload of bulky rubber armor over it with the top piece held on with double sided sticky tape. Just get the Classic and save $10 as the armor is bulky and unnecessary and does not add to it's water resistance at all. EIther can not be used for extended periods as they lighter heats up beyond a comfortable lever after about 30 seconds. I like torch lighters but never feel inadequate with a bic and every house should have bics stashed all over. I am not a big fan of lighters like the Zippo, because I am just not that cool. I hate the smell. the "zippo blu" is a torch lighter. |
I found a cheap-ass REFILLABLE bic type lighter at the smoke store. It has while led built in. Got about 10 refills out of it before the electric sparker thing broke. Damn good deal for less than $1. Next time they have em in stock, im gonna buy 20 or so. Little LED emergency light, refillable and gets my Camels lit BTW-check out fleabay for this sort of thing. You can usually find the gumball container of disposables or ones like these for CHEAP if you buy a shit-ton at a time. Would link it, but I think thats against COC? EDIT: search for refillable butane lighter LED 5th hit down....box of 50 for $41...those are the ones. |
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I keep three in my BOB. A Zippo (new never used w/ extra flints stuffed in the pad and a bottle of fuel), a butane lighter (windprrof type with a can of fuel), and a normal Bic lighter. Three because I would normally use the Bic for a quick need but the Zippo would be for a long term emergency/survival use. The butane windproof light I like for situations where it is just too windy, wet, or ??? to really get the Zippo to light something. Now, I do have a Zippo I use on a somewhat regular basis too but each of our Bobs has a brand new one as they are very cheap insurance. |
| The Bic lighter is perfection. I'm sure zippos were fine and all in WW2, but I just don't see the reason to carry one. They are easily exhausted of fuel, smelly, heavy and can be easily damaged by dropping. A Bic is 99 cents and will last more than a year if you aren't a smoker. Hell, I've put them through the wash before with no problems afterwards. |
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I gotta say, for the size and ease of carry, the split pea lighters or the larger version (countycomm.com) are probably the way to go. I've had one on my keychain for two years now, and I've only filled it once. Sparks up every time I've needed it too so far. Can't say that about bics or zippos, and I'm a smoker/pyromaniac. My EDC usually includes two mini bics, a zippo, a firesteel, a firepiston, along with a SS peanut lighter. I've had my zippo go dry, my bics get too wet/cold/empty out from other pocket junk, and had be just too wet to easily fall back on my firesteel or piston. For the occasional use/emergency only types, that aren't accustomed to carrying one around, slapping this on a keychain or zipper pull of some other EDC object I think is the way to go. YMMV of course. EDIT: For those of us that also use refillable butane lighters, I have found that the white can Ronsonol stuff as well as most other off the shelf butane isn't exactly "pure" and I've had the valves on a mulitple torch lighters go TU after consistent use with the stuff. I recommend going to a good smoke shop and get the higher end butane to ensure your lighters last a long long time. It might cost a few bucks more, but better than ending up with a broken lighter when you need one most. |
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Drop a few spare (unused, and fully-coated) flints into the bottom of the Zippo case, fill, and re-assemble. Wipe off outside of case with alcohol to de-grease it. When dry, wrap seam between case top and bottom with electrical tape. Leave a pull-tab. That should prevent/really slow-down evap of the contents, and be adequate for mid-length storage.
Note that so-called flints are ferro-cerium, and there is a possibility of a USED flint causing corrosion. I store my mid- and long-term Zippos without flint installed. YMMV. I treat all filled Zippos as flammable items, ans store them accordingly. For grab-and-go purposes, I use Bics. The evap issues with Zippos are not a great concern if the thing is in daily use. |
| The thing about the .99 cent bic that I ran into just the other day was this, in low temps i.e. teens, the bic fails to function. Here's the situation from last week. Location: KY, in my garage. Temp 15 Deg F. I tried to light a butane torch with a bic in a no wind garage and the bic produced a blue colored flame approx 1/4" tall. This was out of a new bic and out of the following three new bics after that. Its a weak flame to say the least in cold temps. I think this is why cansiter type camping stoves have a "winter mix" in them. FWIW |
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The thing about the .99 cent bic that I ran into just the other day was this, in low temps i.e. teens, the bic fails to function. Here's the situation from last week. Location: KY, in my garage. Temp 15 Deg F. I tried to light a butane torch with a bic in a no wind garage and the bic produced a blue colored flame approx 1/4" tall. This was out of a new bic and out of the following three new bics after that. Its a weak flame to say the least in cold temps. I think this is why cansiter type camping stoves have a "winter mix" in them. FWIW I think you are onto something there. I've tried to light bics and similar that have deep frozen with bad results. Warm 'em up, and they work OK. Obviously the cannisters for the stoves cannot be easily carried inside one's coat, so they have different formulation. IIRC, the formulation of cannisters also takes into account the higher elevations in which they might be used. Frankly, I avoid cannister stoves, although I admit they are conveniant. |
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for Christmas.....I got a case of zippo fluid....and 6 large packs of flints....this compliments my zippo collection.
I also have a flat bic lighters from Sam's club...... And...I keep a ton of strike anywhere matches..... in a SHTF situation.....lighters will be extremely valuable. |
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ZIPPO + Thunderbird insert
http://www.amazon.com/Thunderbird-Torch-Lighter-Insert-Lighters/dp/B0049K2TR4 You keep the classic look of the zippo but don't have to worry about your fuel evaporating. I have one and like it a lot. I need to buy more for my other zippos. |
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There is a difference between immediate and short term use and potentially a very long term use as we have touched on here. We can't refill a Bic so once it is empty you had better hope you have a plan B. Butane lighters can be refilled but you need to have that can of butane to use to refill them. Zippo lighters, well they can use a variety of fuels. Options are good thing when it comes to survival.  |
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The thing about the .99 cent bic that I ran into just the other day was this, in low temps i.e. teens, the bic fails to function. Here's the situation from last week. Location: KY, in my garage. Temp 15 Deg F. I tried to light a butane torch with a bic in a no wind garage and the bic produced a blue colored flame approx 1/4" tall. This was out of a new bic and out of the following three new bics after that. Its a weak flame to say the least in cold temps. I think this is why cansiter type camping stoves have a "winter mix" in them. FWIW This is why I carry matches in addition to a couple of bics in my bag. Bics are fabulous when it is warm enough for them to work, you get ridiculous numbers of lights out of them. When it is cold the butane wants to stay in its liquid form and doesn't come out of the lighter. Sometimes you can warm them up in your hands, if your hands are warm enough. Unless you are a smoker, forget a zippo, they dry out in a couple weeks. Having a zippo is not a bad idea for long term, if you are worried that bics may not be available in the future. There are also fire pistons. |
| About 3 years ago this question came up on AR-15 and made me wander so I fill 3 Zippos and vacuumed sealed each one individually and dated each one and one the 1 year 2 year and just a few weeks ago opened the 3 year all of them lit up with just a few strikes and seemed to have ample fuel to run for a while. At the same time 3 years ago I bought a couple of the spit pea lighter from county comm. I use one of them often and I think I have filled it 2 maybe 3 times since I have had it the other split pea was filled and left on a shelf I just checked it and it does seem to of lost some fuel but still lit. Just a little FYI and you can make your own conclusions. |
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There are also fire pistons. I'd rather just have a ferro rod than a fire piston. Come to think of it I have a ferro rod and striker on my keys. I actually needed it once on a day hike that turned cold and rainy/foggy. up at elevation. I agree with you but a fire piston should theoretically last for ever. I believe they used to use them in the pioneering days because of this. |
| I like the Zippo Armor series lighters, the ones with the thicker cases. I cut a length of bicycle inner tube and put it around the lighter to seal it and slow evaporation. It also protects the finish. A piece of inner tube also makes water proof easy to light tinder. |
I really enjoy having a practical and good looking lighter. Since Im never taking it to the top of the K2 this is my do everything choice:
I do however, always have a backup lighter ie, classic Zippo, small size Bic, just in case. Also always carry waterproof matches. HTR. |
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Seriously, if you really want a lighter to carry around with you and you do not smoke, just check out the Split Pea lighter from countycomm.com cuz it is all you need.
It is very compact and works like the good old Zippo but doesnt evaporate like a Zippo because of the gasket. I bought the bigger one first and have since received the small one for Christmas. The small one is all you need. You will not regret it. See for yourself: County Comm Split Pea mini lighter LB |
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Quoted: ZIPPO + Thunderbird insert http://www.amazon.com/Thunderbird-Torch-Lighter-Insert-Lighters/dp/B0049K2TR4 You keep the classic look of the zippo but don't have to worry about your fuel evaporating. I have one and like it a lot. I need to buy more for my other zippos. +1 on this. You keep the classic look of a Zippo, but don't have to worry about the fuel evaporating plus get twice the butane of a regular Bic.  I got the regular butane insert from Tobacco Barn instead of the piezo torch insert Neomon21 linked to. It performs like exactly like a regular Zippo but uses regular flints instead of a piezoelectric ignition. If you run out of butane, you will still have the sparkie to make fire and can keep a few flints in the base under the insert. An eBay search for "Vector insert" comes up with it for $9.49 plus $4.25 shipping CONUS. |
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I have a bic in my fire starting kit and also carry a mini-bic on my person. I usually also have a Zippo handy.
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I don't smoke and found that I did not use the Zippo's I had enough to keep them from drying out. I have them stashed for long term use with several bottles of fuel and flints. Day to day here in Texas where it doesn't get that cold very often the simple Bic is king.
I buy them by the case and stash them everywhere, every jacket, every pocket of every vehicle. They last forever it seems. Also stash book matches, not perfect but they are cheap and easily stashed. Most of them I get for free, a restaurant we frequent has a huge box of them on the counter and everytime we go in I grab 3-4 books worth....... I like a layered approach. |
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I don't smoke and found that I did not use the Zippo's I had enough to keep them from drying out. I have them stashed for long term use with several bottles of fuel and flints. Day to day here in Texas where it doesn't get that cold very often the simple Bic is king. I buy them by the case and stash them everywhere, every jacket, every pocket of every vehicle. They last forever it seems. Also stash book matches, not perfect but they are cheap and easily stashed. Most of them I get for free, a restaurant we frequent has a huge box of them on the counter and everytime we go in I grab 3-4 books worth....... I like a layered approach. +1 |
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There are also fire pistons. I'd rather just have a ferro rod than a fire piston. Come to think of it I have a ferro rod and striker on my keys. I actually needed it once on a day hike that turned cold and rainy/foggy. up at elevation. I agree with you but a fire piston should theoretically last for ever. I believe they used to use them in the pioneering days because of this. as the fire piston is used the seals wear. it is not a forever item unless you know how to make them from scratch using natural materials and hand tools. |
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There are also fire pistons. I'd rather just have a ferro rod than a fire piston. Come to think of it I have a ferro rod and striker on my keys. I actually needed it once on a day hike that turned cold and rainy/foggy. up at elevation. I agree with you but a fire piston should theoretically last for ever. I believe they used to use them in the pioneering days because of this. as the fire piston is used the seals wear. it is not a forever item unless you know how to make them from scratch using natural materials and hand tools. nothing a little hide and grease cannot remedy. I wonder if you used the right materials if you could not build one that was without a seal. If tolerances where tight enough you would not need a gasket of any sort. |
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If you need a lighter you can count on to work when you need it in an emergency, I have two suggestions:
http://www.elighters.com/qtr774004.html And http://www.elighters.com/vlr300401.html Both are butane and both are built like tanks and both will work when you need them. Like others have said Zippos and other oil lighters will dry out in short order. They cannot be counted on to work when you need them. When you need fire in an emergency situation hoping your fluid did not dry out is not a situation to be in. Any disposable butane lighter is a better choice than a Zippo for an emergency. If you wish to carry a Zippo because you like Zippos, go ahead, but if you need something to work all the time every time, see the lighters above. |