Bic: The lighter lighter

As it relates to the OPs question, the BPL kit is more aimed at firestarting (ie. starting a campfire) than a mini Bic because the kit includes tinder (which works excellently) so comparing the two weights isn't really apple to apples.

A new mini Bic weighs 0.41oz on my scale and just the Firelite Mini weighs 0.30oz (BPL claim), so the mini Bic isn't necessarily the lighter option. If you use the Firelite mini + the back of your knife as a striker instead of the 0.19oz striker, then the FireLite mini is the lightest way to go. Plus I would feel comfortable with just one firelite mini, but I always carry two mini Bics. I've had mini Bics fail temporarily (getting wet, getting lint caught inside) and permanently (the flint bit breaking and falling out). So I could actually save some weight carrying just the Firelite mini (0.30oz) vs. two mini Bics (0.82oz).

Looks like we do the same then — when it comes to canister stove with Piezo lighter. :)

The TSA won't confiscate your firesteel…

But, in keeping with the trend I've noticed in this thread, I carry a Mini-Bic, with a firesteel as backup. The firesteel is absolutely the only backup "just in case" item that I carry. Otherwise, I have no redundancies, though I am reconsidering my position on knives.

i tend to keep my firesteel in my little ditty bag, but put the Bic up where my daughter can't reach it, and on more than one occasion I've forgetten to take the Bic and had my @$$ saved by the firesteel.

TSA allows a reasonable quantity of BIC lighters as carry on — so no problems there. Just not in checked luggage though.

If you put your lighter in your carry-on bag, it's fine with TSA. Oddly, you can't check a lighter–it can only go in your carry on bag or on your person on the plane.

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm#9

…. and here

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=34637&skip_to_post=295468#295468

Seems to be a popular topic. I appreciate the caveman-ness of the fire steel but Bics are really hard to break.

The firesteel is also going to work regardless of altitude. A cold mini Bic at high altitude often doesn't work out so well. Usually I have to warm it in my hand for 5 minutes just to get a wimpy flame out of it.

I've found the mini-bic extremely unreliable below 20deg, partially just due to inability to use it gloved, propensity to strip my thumb raw in said conditions, and just unwillingness to light.

I always carry firesteel and pine fatwood(same as maya sticks I think?). I can firesteel my alcohol stove consistently with one strike, and never accidentally burn myself trying to light a wood fire as I often do with the mini-bic.

That being said for the weight, I pretty much always have a mini-bic thrown in my pack with my FAK.

Firesteel use is an acquired skill, but extremely easy and reliable once obtained. My firesteel is with my knife, so, I've always got it, around my neck.

I've used a bic lighter in VERY cold temperatures, down around 30 below. I keep it in an inside pocket in my jacket. In fact, I've sewn a special pocket (sized for the lighter) on my primary layer.

It seems to work fine, every time.

I use my INDEX finger to light the stove, not my thumb. Much more functional position.

In the winter, I use a full sized bic lighter.

> A cold mini Bic at high altitude often doesn't work out so well.

Well, we KNOW that the fuel in a Bic lighter is butane, and that butane has to be above 0 C to work, so smart walkers do what Mike C recommends and carry the Bic on their body where it stays warm and functional.

Cheers

I have had too many bics fail me, and ditto what others have said about hurting my thumb and burning my fingers. Long wooden matches are my primary firestarters, with a flint for back up.

I simply don't trust lighters. I've had bics and other brands die when I needed them, and I've had too many matches turn to mush after a good soaking. For a while I relied exclusively on the peizoelectric starter on my gas stove, figuring that I could torch a fire to life if I had to build one, then I found that those starters won't work if the burner gets moist.

I carry a sparklite now. I chucked the plastic box it came in, I only take 1 piece of tinder per day of trip (even though I rarely plan on building a fire in the first place), and put it all in a tiny ziplock made for holding beads. The sparker will light my alcohol stove, and the setup seems to work fine for starting fires on the times I've tested it.

I tried using a flint & steel and found it actually detracts from the camping fun for me. Everybody develops their own preferences.

Firestarting is one place in my backpacking gear kit where I want redundancy. I wear a lightweight firestriker (along with whistle and Photon light) on a lightweight piece of cord around my neck. Inside my pack, inside my first-aid/repair kit is are two Esbit tabs, a few matches, and a mini Bic lighter that have been vacuum sealed in plastic.

I've been carrying this for a few years and have never used it. I often wonder if this redundancy is too much but the scales have not tipped enough for me to stop carrying it.

Firesteels are simple, reliable, won't run out, and are not effected by weather.
Bics are designed to light cigarettes.
Any thing that makes fire/sparks can be used and bics and matches are easy and ubiquitous. Firesteels ( modern invention and not stone age BTW) require a little understanding of tinder use and gathering and the small amount of time and effort that goes into learning how to use it is just plain too much for a great number of people these days. Nothing wrong with that but to me that skill gives me a level of confidence in the wilderness no lighter can replace.

What are you fire-strikers using for natural tinder?

Besides the fun factor and satisfaction, primitive fire starting is a useful survival skill. It should be added to the Essentials.

I keep my BIC on a lanyard under my shirt in cold weather. That way, it lights every time. Sweat will rust it up in hot weather, so it goes on the outside then.

A mini BIC can be used to start a fire even when the butane is gone. The spark will ignite puff-ball spores, fine punk, charred cotton and cotton balls that have a little Vaseline on them. If you want to see if a fire kit is right for you, try a used-up BIC and cotton balls.

The cotton balls are a useful item for the emergency kit and are very reliable. They don't need much Vaseline. Just grease your hands and scrub the cotton between them for a few seconds. Pack the balls in small z-locks. And remember, play at home with anything you plan to take on the trail. Don't assume.

Natural tinder is location and seasonally specific. You need to find out what is/has been used in your area traditionally or just go out and experiment.

I normally carry 2 mini-bics (1 for backup) for most trips. If I'm going hiking for more then a few days in a possibly very wet environment (say Washington in September) then I sometimes carry the small BPL firesteel kit. Though I've never had a lighter fail. I use to carry the REI storm matches as backup until a few years ago as I've never needed them.

Something I noticed last year when I hiked the PCT about the difference between a regular and mini-bic. A couple of years ago I had found a working regular size bic lighter in the backcountry. Wanting to use it up before switching to a new lighter, I took it with me when I left for the PCT trailhead at the Mexican border last year. I used that single lighter all the way to the Oregon/Washington border before throwing it away. At the end, it was difficult to use since it was almost empty and didn't like being turned at an angle, but it had worked pretty solidly for starting a single hot meal/day for ~3.5months (and it wasn't even full when I started). When I finally switched over to the mini-bic, I realized that the regular sized bic had worked better in wind then the mini-bic as I now had to shelter the flame more. I'm not sure if that was because mini-bic doesn't burn as hot/big or if there had been a design change to save money as the regular size bic I had used was an unknown number of years old. I had never used a regular sized bic before so I was wondering if its just a better (though heavier) design.

Frank, I carry a 1x6x1/4" piece of pine fatwood, and find it to be a foolproof tinder that can be lit even soaked with some practice.

Very light and practical IMHO

this is an area that redundancy makes the best sense (at least in the climes I hang out in)

mini bics are great and I've not had one fail and one always goes w/ me hiking/backpacking, but I wouldn't even consider not carrying a backup of either a sparklite or firesteel

in regards to natural tinder- some of the tree lichens (but not all!) make good natural tinder (especially when given a little resin from the "blister" of a alpine fir), cattail and other fluffy seed heads, a well made (takes some practice) fuzz stick will catch a spark, but I never count on natural tinder- I always have a couple of tinder tabs and one wetfire cube if things are really dire

I hope my luck w/ mini bics holds, but if it doesn't- I will get a fire started :)