They say the Bic can fail but I've never seen it. I leave one out in the elements by my grill at home and after 5" of rain the other day I walked out and it lit like always.
I've seen bics fail a couple of times, but it can be protected against.
The ones I've seen fail seem to have lost all their fuel due to being carried or stored in a way that the fuel flow tab was depressed in a pack, bag, or pocket.
I like and use various fire steels because, with a tad of prep, they are so bombproof reliable.
At the same time, I am not above using a bic or other lighter.
I have not seen a match worth carrying in quite some time...
