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The over use of lighters
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Home › Forums › Gear Forums › Gear (General) › The over use of lighters
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Jun 7, 2011 at 3:36 pm #1746197AnonymousInactive
"Most of the times that I have seen a lighter next to a fire ring, there is also beer bottles or cans."
And roaches. ;=)
Jun 7, 2011 at 3:55 pm #1746204I use lighters because they're free. I've never once payed for a lighter you just find them everywhere whether its parking lots, sidewalks or wherever. Plus they last me forever.
Jun 7, 2011 at 4:25 pm #1746218honestly i don't know why more people don't use torch lighters. they cost less than 3 bucks, are much easier to light things hard to reach, work better in wind, refillable with butane, and last for years. if my alcohol stove needs more priming, i just torch the side of the can for a bit. i have a mini bic and mini firesteel as backup but have never used them.
The problem with most torch type lighters is that they have piezo electric ignition systems which usually tend to fail somewhere around 7,000 to 8,000 feet in elevation. I've had a piezo electric ignition work on a torch lighter as high as 10,000 feet, but I really had to futz with it.
people still use matches? =)
For cold weather, yes.
HJ
Jun 7, 2011 at 5:19 pm #1746234I smoked for years and the only lighter that I would use was a Bic. I always could get it to light as long as it had fuel and one would last me 6-7 months easy. I would light up every time snowboarding at A-Basin at 13000 feet on the lift in the wind and snow you just got to watch a smoker and learn.
Jun 7, 2011 at 6:30 pm #1746256I think that's a little low. I lived in Flagstaff for years (7000') and owned a torch lighter during that time which never performed any worse than at lower elevation.
Jun 8, 2011 at 3:03 am #1746351> seen enough of these disgarded by campfire rings
I suggest you replace 'discarded' with 'lost'. Careless teens I imagine.> I have seen the bic ruined by water on the spark wheel.
Dry it out and it will likely work again. Let it rust – yeah, well…> I've seen them crushed or vented by items in the pack.
That is horribly bad packing, most likely by a complete novice. Experienced walkers pack them away carefully.One Bic lighter has lasted me for over 6 years now. Mind you, I think I found it somewhere …
Cheers
Jun 9, 2011 at 9:03 am #1746941Hmmm… During the 24 years I've been backpacking I've never had any of the problems the OP describes. Idiot hooligans are those who leave trash wherever they go… rarely will you find trash at a deep backcountry site IME.
I've never had a lighter ruined by water, nor crushed or broken in any way. Whereas matches prove to be inconsistent and sometimes unreliable, a lighter basically always works.
On the way to the trailhead one trip I stopped at a grocery store and picked up a 3-pack of generic lighters at the checkout. Got on the trail, none of them worked… didn't even have fuel in them! Bic, on the other hand, has never failed me. Even after abusing them popping caps off beer bottles!
Given that this is a UL site, & the mini Bic is half the weight of the regular, makes sense that's the one so many here carry.
I used to carry two or three lighters, a couple plastic bottles of matches, & a flint. Then I realized that my lighter always works, so I didn't need more than one. If I really needed a back-up fire source, matches invariable seem to get wet or blow out. So now I just carry the flint/steel as backup to my lighter. Totally reliable system.
Jun 9, 2011 at 10:12 am #1746985BIC failures I've experienced have mostly been jammed spark wheels and magical disappearance of the flint. I don't know how the second occurs and the first seems to happen because either the casing got bent removing the metal kid-resistant hoop or the newer variety spiral-type sparker starts unraveling.
Old BICs–ones with the adjustable flame–are clearly better made. I still have one or two with fuel remaining. While I've looked for better solutions, both cheap and expen$ive, I seem to always return to tbe now-more-humble BIC, but make a point of always having a second in response to their enhanced cheesiness. Mind, with a piezo stove I can go an entire trip without once using a lighter.
Cheers,
Rick
Jun 9, 2011 at 10:58 am #1747019One advantage of lighters over matches is that they can be used one handed, which may be an issue if you're injured…
Nov 25, 2011 at 8:05 pm #1805570If I bought 10-15 lighters, would you expect the fuel to evaporate over time or is it sealed in there some how for the long haul? Thx.
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