I wish I knew that about Bic lighters when I lived in Colorado and climbed fourteeners regularly, some in the winter in well below the freezing point of water (and skin, and lots of other things). All kidding aside, they work fine at high altitude in the cold, you just have to keep them in an inside pocket. We used to put half a bottle of warm water in one boot, and the stove fuel and lighters in the other boot, then put the boots in a sleeping bag stuff sack, then put the works in the bottom of the sleeping bag for the night. I still buy long sleeping bags to this day.
Oh, and back to the original topic - we used to walk the train tracks near crossings and pick up the dud and half burnt railroad flares. Cut them off in 2" pieces and dunk in hot paraffin a couple times. Had to take a knife and use the point to loosen up the wax and powder on one end before lighting, but worked well and gave about 5 minutes burn time. Could probably do the same with store bought road flares.
