I've seen some expensive lighters on the market lately. Not sure if they are worth the money. What is everyone using around the fire?

Still Flickin' my Bic... I usually carry 3...

Tanner

Bics...but also carry some plain ol matches, they actually will start a fire!

Lefty C

The "strike anywhere" matches are not what they used to be.

Carry 2 bic. Either big ones or micro. In a zip lock bag.

Carry 2 bic. Either big ones or micro. In a zip lock bag.

Bic as well. I usually have a handful of them in a couple different spots.

3 Bics: one in backpack, small one in first-aid kit and always leave one in camp. Inexpensive and they seem to work fine.

I like the UCO Stormproof Torch Lighter it is waterproof, windproof - this I like a lot and you can refill it.

I carry three of the mini Bics. 1 in my pocket & 2 in my backpack. Also carry some strike anywhere matches in the pack.

2 Bics and matches. Most butane lighters do not work when cold.

Another faithful Bic user here. I bought a $50 lighter about a decade ago and discovered that it didn't work above 10,000, as confirmed by the manufacturer! Back then, I was not able to find a single "high-dollar" lighter that would work above 10,000 feet, so I stuck with the Bics. They're cheap, and they have NEVER failed me, so I'll keep using them. I won't get suckered into spending more than a buck or two for a lighter ever again!

Bic (clear plastic to see fuel), kitchen matches, and a flint and steel.

Bic lighters are ubiquitous and fairly dependable

The best lighters IMO, are from a tobacco shop that is piezo activated. When my fingers are cold and a fire is very important, I have some coordination problems with snapping the wheel and getting the valve held down in time. The piezo is a simple single-function operation.

This is where I'm at. I added Bic's to the shopping list and will forgo the expensive lighters.

Thanks to everyone for their input.

It's a disgrace that they took away our good matches. Let the junkies kill themselves if they want to. That wouldn't be any loss. I want my good matches back.

Back when I was investigating the trouble with my high-dollar lighter, I found out that the problem was the piezo igniter itself. It seems that they quit working when the air gets thin, usually at somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000 feet...

I use a Bernzomatic TS4000 with a camping size propane bottle.

Slightly off topic, and I am unsure of how well they work at extreme altitude, but I always have a couple Walmart special road flares in the map pocket of my pack. I carry a bic too, but only use it when it is nice out and everything is hunky dory.

The hell with cotton balls dipped in vaseline, tree bark soaked in some other skank juice fuel and all that other gay ass jazz. When your fingers are numb and you're completely drenched, road flares straight up work and will give you a guaranteed 15 minutes of flame. Soaking wet wood gets lit up quickly too when you shove your flare in a pile of sticks like its a Thai hooker. I keep a couple in ziplock bags and make damn sure the cap is sealed well until it is time to start a bonfire in the pouring down rain.

Of course you wouldn't use this backpacking, but when I'm packing with the llamas, this always goes along. It's great for starting up the wood stove.

What does one of those things weigh?

My buddy found one of those on the side of th road and it has been our camp lighter for many years.

BIC lighters, take two of them. Also use inner tube rubber as firestarters, which might be just a Kiwi thing.
After doing a couple of canoe trips that came undone, I have started carrying one of those magnesuim striker things that are all the rage - not because I want to light a fire with them like a mountain man, but because at least you can light the gas cooker with them and make a cup of tea while you wait eight minutes for your Bic lighter to dry out. Bic lighters are remarkably efficient.

Not too sure, but they couldn't be more than 4-5 ounces each. I usually carry 2 and I never notice them weight or bulk wise.

BIC all the way. I have and carry a couple of the butane lighters. I trust the BICs to work and I like that you can see the amount of fuel remaining. I also like to use them to read wind so I have way too many with my. I figure they weigh nothing and I don't want to ever have to start a fire with a spark if I don't have to.

If it's an emergency, using a spark is the LAST thing you want to do. You want an inferno and you want it NOW.

Bic, one in my pocket, one in my pack, and military matches in my first aid kit.

If you want an inferno and want it now, that leaves the road flare option posted above. I've carried flares or a flare gun in my pack for years. You can start a fire with a flare gun, but what you're shooting into must be able to absorb it or it's going to ricochet.

My old ZIPPO works every time and has for many, many years.



L.W.

How well does that inner tube keep the fluid from drying out? I can fill mine and in 4 or 5 days, it's dry.

R.C., a number of years ago I ran a test on that. First, I don't smoke so I was not lighting the ZIPPO 25/30 times a day for cigarettes. Once a day I would light it for 15 seconds, simulating getting some fine kindling going, then put the rubber band back on. I did this each day for eight weeks and it never failed. After eight weeks, I stopped the test simply because what it proved to me was that in an emergency, it would last me a long time.

I've also carried a cleaned small Tobasco bottle as illustrated, filled with lighter fluid. It is in my day pack but I've never had to use it.

Should one overfill the lighter, the rubber "ranger" band keeps the lighter fluid from leaking and blistering one's skin, if it is in a pants pocket. I cut the bands from a used bicycle tube. If I overfill the Zippo, I just let it stand open for five minutes and then no problem.

The ZIPPO is far more windproof than a BIC, can stand alone, and much easier to light if one's hands are extremely cold. I also put it in a glass of water for two hours to see if the band really made it waterproof. It does. Fired up on the first strike.

The ZIPPO that is burning I won in a Sunday afternoon barracks poker game when I was in the Army stationed at Fort Gordon, Georgia, in 1959. About ten years ago it was getting "weary" so I sent it to ZIPPO and they returned it tightened up, a new wick, cotton filling, flints, and nearly like a new one. Only cost to me was the $2.00 to mail it to them. That's what you call quality service.

As I said, it works for my needs.

L.W.

When using a bic for just about any purpose I always end up with a half cooked thumb. I don't want any lighter that runs only with my hide adjacent to the flame. Zippos aren't perfect, but they are pretty darned good. I have had very good experiences with several different flint/steel options.

I'm not a smoker either, but love my Zippo and carry it every time I head to the mountains, and EDC during the winter months.

I've read (in passing) about using a ranger band, but haven't tried it yet. I definitely will now.

I have tried sealing the lighter with a lap of electrical tape, and wrapping extra around the bottom. But ultimately that didn't work because the fumes seem to dissolve the adhesive after a few days..........and it's a minor pain playing with the tape.

With two month fill times, and two hour water resistance, I'll be tracking down some inner tube very soon.

I have a bike out here with a flat. Maybe it needs a new tube.
That's the only problem I've had with Zippo's. Evaporation. I'm another non-smoker so I carry mine only for fire starting.

In a pinch you can drop a couple of drops of gasoline on the wick of your zippo. Don't put it in the cotton in the bottom. miles

If I'm in need of a fire, I'm likely not near enough to the truck to have gas handy. If the truck IS handy, I likely will have a propane torch in it.
Besides, my truck is a diesel and that's not a bad fire starter either.

Yep just read Jack London's story about lighting a fire and you'll see just how grave that situation can be.

I've got those mini-BIC lighters stashed everywhere throughout my outfit, but ALWAYS keep a couple in a ziplock full of vasoline-covered dryer lint. That stuff is pretty serious fire starter.

Funny... I'll buy a pack of 'em and have them in what seems like every pocket during a trip, then come home and it's as if they vanish.

bic... three or more scattered throughout the pack.

This. Why mess with it?

I pack a small Bic -- but I usually start fires with a ferro steel striker with cottonballs smeared with vaseline. That will get a fire going in even the worst conditions and I find it far more reliable than the Bic. Not a knock on the little lighter, but wet fingers can cause them to crap out.

I carry a FIRE STARTER KIT in a waterproof pouch that contains the following items:
Bic Lighter
Small box of waterproof matches (strike on box)
Small box of strike anywhere matches (not waterproof)
Flint Striker (will start your stove when matches get wet and lighter gets cold/wet)
Hemp Rope (16")
Phone Book Pages (several)
Fire Sticks (sawdust impregnated with paraffin)
Triox cube

I use to carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer (70% alcohol). But never used it, so I stopped carrying it.

If I'm going to be in a coastal rain forest, I carry a couple of small road flares.

When car camping I K.I.S.S. and use charcoal lighter fluid.

KC

The problem with strike on box matches is that the box wears out when 2/3 of the matches are left. Does anyone sell a striker that will light them instead of the box? I'd buy several if I could find them.

The current strike anywhere matches are a joke. They won't. I don't care if the junkies poison themselves making meth from matches. Why should the rest of us suffer because they're idiots? I want our good matches back.

When I'm car camping, I use a propane torch. It also goes along on llama pack trips when I don't have to carry it. It's great for lighting a tent stove.

I love the film canister stuffed w/ dryer lint rolled with vasoline.

Stuff is amazing, tho my wife asked me one day why I had the gasoline by my work bench and was going through a brand new container so fast...

Two lighters I use above. Both are piezo style, which I much prefer over butane flame. The low cost angled lighter is WAAAAY easier to start a fire with than the expensive Storm Proof orange one. The lid on the Storm proof monstrosity gets in the way of lighting tinder. The angled flame head on the cigar lighter is just right to light tinder and keep thumb and fingers from getting too hot if you keep the lighter going for several seconds.

I've got some Bics around but have had the striker mechanism come apart into tiny pieces in pocket or pack too may times to depend on any lighter of that type, including the angled cigar lighter shown above. My backup and which I use more than the lighters just to keep proficient, is the ferro flint and steel. I have ferro rods stuck in every pack, glove box, etc. With easily ignitable tinder they are as fast as a lighter and I can work them with cold hands better than flicking a lighter. My hands have been too cold to work a lighter but the flint and steel works with larger muscles, not just finger muscles.

couple Bics & Swedish fire steal.

I have two of those too. They don't work at altitude though. Even a bic has a measly flame at 11,000'. Best thing I've found at two miles high is a zippo.

bic and a box of matches

We don't hunt at those elevations here so I've never encountered that problem w the piezos.

We always have newspaper from wrapping things in panniers, but even when trying to keep it dry, it still gets damp enough to be junk for starting a fire.

We've been known to take the gas tank off the Coleman stove and use it as a torch. That gets a fire going pretty well.

I don't know for sure what part of the bbq lighters that altitude affects but I think it's the butane. I've tried a dozen different brands and it's always the same. We camp above 6k regularly and they won't light. I don't think it's the piezo that fails. Our camper stove has one and it works anywhere but it's lighting propane.

REPLACEMENT STRIKER SHEETS. I stumbled across this web page. They have full sheets of adhesive backed paper that are supposed to light all matches, including strike-on-box. I haven't tried any yet so I can't say if they work or not.
REPLACEMENT STRIKER SHEETS

I too have wondered where the "strike-anywhere" matches of old have gone. I even tried contacting Jarden home brands (owner of blue diamond match) pointing out that they are selling a "strike-anywhere" match that barely lights using the box and got a boilerplate "We have shared your concern with our Quality Assurance and Manufacturing Teams". I was also unable to determine if they were being used for meth - maybe users crush up the match head and mix it. Like an American version of brown-brown. At any rate, the best way to light them is with a bic, so that's what i carry.

I think it's the phosphorus that the junkies use to make meth. No one has come up with a decent substitute for matches.

I ordered several of the replacement striker sheets that I posted about up above. They're pretty cheap. I'll report on them when I get them. They say they have phosphorus and work on both safety and strike-anywhere matches.

I keep a bic on hand, but can't say I've used a lighter or match since a dozen or more backpack hunts ago. If I was still in MT hunting late Oct. and Nov. out of a pack that would be different. I use a striker to light my stove and keep an otherwise cold camp 99.9% of the time. Just how I do it.

Rocky:

I live at 6,400' elevation and regularly camp at elevations between 11,000' and 12,000'. I've never had problems with butane failing to light. It performs poorly below freezing and fails all together below 0°F. If temps are warm, then higher altitude actually improves performance because the low ambient air pressure at high altitude increases the differential pressure between inside the canister and pressure outside the canister.

I think there's some other problem plaguing your BBQ lighters. Are they the kind that have the long pipe? If so, it takes an extra second or so for the pipe to fill with butane. You need to hold down the fuel button for a little while, then pull the trigger to light the flint striker.

The next time that you change the propane tank on your camper, and then use your camper stove, note that it takes a while for the pipes to fill with propane. And the stove won't light during that few seconds. Once the pipes have filled with propane, the stove lights properly every time. BBQ lighters work the same, only the pipe is shorter so the wait time is less.

KC

This is useful info.

Thanks

KC

I've seen large wood strike anywhere kitchen matches on the shelf at Sportsmans Warehouse. They work fine, just like those that we kept next to the kitchen stove when I was a kid. The newer strike anywhere matches have a smaller head.

You don't need to use the striker on the side of the box, but I do because it's convenient. Of course the striker on the side of the box wears out when the box is still half full of matches. The strikers that RockChuck referenced will be useful when that happens.

KC

For the fun of it, I emailed Diamond Matches and asked what they recommended to light their matches when the strip on the box wore out. I actually got a reply that's as useful as a hernia.


Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us to inquire about strike strips available. We do not provide the strike strip other than what is on the box. We regret to hear that the strike strip wears out. We will share your report with our Quality Assurance and Manufacturing Teams so they can take the appropriate steps to prevent an recurrence of this issue. To complete our report, we would like to gather more information:

· Are the matches kitchen or penny size?
· Production code – This is an alpha-numeric code that is stamp on the outside of the tray where the matches they.
· Place of purchase.

We will be sending you a product coupon to use on your next purchase of matches. We thank you for assisting us in maintaining the quality of our Diamond brands.

Sincerely,
Consumer Affairs Agent

Surprised it took this long for someone to point that out. Wet thumb = dead Bic. Take it from a ski bum who's had occasion to light things on the mountain.

That said, I carry a couple mini-Bic's, and a small firemaking kit in a ziplock that has a couple resin sticks and a small box of waterproof matches. I got that from the Department of Redundancy Department.

I use a Turboflame Ranger and it works fine. It is refillable butane and I never heard of it until I bought this thing but the instructions say you must use highly refined, zero impurity butane.....and they are right. But, if you fill it properly and use the correct butane it works great, in the rain or snow, wet or dry, wind or calm it lights. Amazon sells these things for $71.00, but I didn't buy mine there and I didn't pay no $71.00 for it either. 3" long, 1 1/2" wide at the widest point and has a hole for a lanyard. As long as I have this I cannot get lost in the woods...just look for the lone single hillbilly standing next to the 40,000 acre forest fire because if I don't know where I am I am burning the woods down!!!!! I wont be lost for long...wont be cold either.

Amazon's prices are absurd sometimes. Here's a site that has it for $20. TURBOFLAME

Just spent 4 days camping at 8800' and our BBQ lighter worked fine...

What brand do you have? I have several that work fine here at home but not in the mountains.

Kingsford.

As others have said stash a few bic's in your gear and in your pocket, and roll with it. Just remember to pop off the child safety band, don't want to screw around with that in a real emergency. I carry a firesteel as well as a back up.

One bic with the stove and pot, one bic in my leg pocket, and one in my bino case..

I've had good luck with Bics over the years at all altitudes, I always have at least one backup source of ignition however.

I've got in the habit of putting two flattened tinder tabs and put them under a section of inner tube (which can also serves as a fire extender) that goes over the base of the lighter



a small piece of shockcord to insure no gas inadvertently escapes

Used to carry BICs until I realized they no longer worked well for me when my hands were cold and wet. Loss of tactile sensation and degraded muscle control - when cold and wet - made me turn against them.

I've got a couple of other lighters - a Zippo and a butane cigar lighter. Carry one or the other as back up but have yet to need either. Swedish fire steel and vaseline-cotton balls have been working the first time.

Think I may carry a road flare next time I go out. Just to try.