Mini-Bic lighter

[Bob Gross]

I think the Mini-Bic cigarette lighter is very popular in this crowd.

Is there another butane lighter that is better or weighs fewer ounces?

–B.G.–

[Travis Leanna]

Bob, maybe this will do?

[Bob Gross]

That must be a Maxi-Zippo.

I had in mind something more in the realm of 5-8 grams.

–B.G.–

[Dale Wambaugh]

The mini Bic has become a standard. It works, it is easily purchased, and light. I found a piezoelectric version by Bic, the "thumb friendly" Bic. Scripto makes a mini too. Personally, I find the larger ones are easier to handle.

From there you get into really expensive and heavier windproof or micro-blowtorch models. I would go for fire starting redundancy before hauling a heavier lighter. The K&M match case with compass and the Light My Fire mini firesteel are my favorites. I have a spy capsule jammed full of Tinder Quick tabs on my survival keychain too.

[Bob Gross]

" I found a piezoelectric version by Bic, the "thumb friendly" Bic. "

I saw those at the store, but I didn't know how reliable they are or what they weigh.

I know there are some tiny lighters that use lighter fluid, but I prefer butane.

–B.G.–

[Roger Caffin]

> " I found a piezoelectric version by Bic, the "thumb friendly" Bic. "
> I saw those at the store, but I didn't know how reliable they are or what they weigh.

I would be inclined to rely somewhat on the Bic brand itself.

Cheers

[Bob Gross]

Piezoelectric sparkers have a bad enough track record on a quality stove with a warranty. On a cheap lighter, I don't know if I could expect even that much.

Should that develop… a lighter that won't spark isn't much good for anything.

–B.G.–

[Konrad .]

I'm a bic mini user myself. Haven't found a replacement. My old complaint use to be that the were hard to light at times. Especially if my hands were wet. Then I read Mike C's new backpacking tips book and realized that I could rip off the childsafety sliver of metal that partially covers the flintwheel. Ahhhhh so much easier now!

[James Marco]

I use bics, too. I would avoid the peizo ones due to poor track records with failures. Only a fire steel, or, mini fire steel is lighter, but, requires a bit more fiddling and dry tinder. There was a thread on *carefulllly* sanding the parts down, to save a gram or two…not sure it is worth it.

[kevperro .]

I carry the mini-Bic and a backup. I've never had one fail to light so I figure two is plenty of fire-making security.

[Don Meredith]

Another benefit of the Mini-Bic is its ability to function in altitude change. I learned the hard way that the torch style lighters are more sensitive to air fuel mix on a trip to Mt. Mitchell (6,600ft). The torch lighter wouldn't light at that elevation but the mini-bic did. I tested the torch again at lower elevation and it worked fine. After reading more on that style of lighter I learned that you may have to adjust the mixture if your lighter has that feature (mine didn't). I only carry the mini-bic and a back-up now.

[Mark Ryan]

I found a piezoelectric version by Bic, the "thumb friendly" Bic. "

I saw those at the store, but I didn't know how reliable they are or what they weigh.

I know there are some tiny lighters that use lighter fluid, but I prefer butane.

–B.G.–

I use these. The weight isn't much higher. Also, I dropped my in very wet mud and it started after two tries. The regular lighters take much longer to dry and light.

[Tyson Marshall]

Hey Bob,

Are you familiar with the split pea and peanut lighters from County Comm? A titanium split pea lighter weighs in at 14.3 grams…

They are waterproof, extremely durable, and zippo-like…

Check 'em out…

[Lee Fitler]

Those peanut and split pea lighters are way cool.

[chris kersten]

2 mini bics on every trip I have went on. Never had one fail but I always figure one will run out. The question for me to ask everyone is- what color do you prefer? Are some colors easier to see the fluid levels? I have been meaning to compare them to see.

[David Drake]

Interesting question–never thought about it. I have a green one and a purple one–looking just now, the green is easier to see through.

Bright colors would be harder to lose. I like two different colors, so I can remember which one I'm using, and which one is the backup. White would probably be easiest to see through…

[Greg Mihalik]

In a dark closet with a headlamp behind them, it easy to see the fuel level regardless of color.

[Bob Gross]

"County Comm? A titanium split pea lighter weighs in at 14.3 grams…"

That is heavier than a mini-bic.

Heavier is a bad word with me.

–B.G.–

[Tyson Marshall]

"That is heavier than a mini-bic.

Heavier is a bad word with me."

Perhaps you'd find, that its multi-purpose-usefulness-waterproofness is worth the 3 grams. It could be used for: a waterproof container (pills?) or a MICRO titanium mug w/ lid.. :)

Or carry 1/1261 of a gallon less water to make up for the 3 grams… or something like that :)

Do you typically take two mini-bics?

[Bob Gross]

"Do you typically take two mini-bics?"

Never.

–B.G.–

[Terry Trimble]

I use a zippo slim that is smaller lighter Zippo sometimes but the fuel dissipates fast.
A lighter alternative
I use to use the Permanent Match for backpacking I would get the Camel cigarette Permanent Match with a plastic body because my grandfather had about 100 of them because he smoked 3.5 pack of camel non filters a day. They worked pretty good but they would run out of fluid fast. The government recalled the Camel cigarette Permanent Match.
But here a company that makes the Permanent Match out of steel.
http://www.permanentmatch.com/orders.html
Terry

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

"Do you typically take two mini bics?"

I normally take one mini Bic plus a BPL FireLite Mini sparker. I normally use the mini Bic for everything, and the FireLite Mini is my trusted backup. The mini bic is 11.6g and the FireLite mini is about 14g.

I like mini-Bics, but I don't trust them that much. I've had many strangely run out of pressure or fail for other reasons. One easy way to wreck a mini-bic is to accidentally try to use it with greasy/oily hands. This might sound easy to avoid, but if you are preparing a meal and then you need to light your stove, you may just grab your lighter and give it a quick flick without thinking much about it. It only takes one spin with a moderately oily thumb to wreck the lighter. The oil gets gets transferred from the wheel to the flint and then it no longer sparks. Sometimes if you spin it for a long time it'll start sparking but other times it's garbage. You can also wreck one by stepping on it. Plus anytime you get it a bit wet it's out of commission for a few hours.

[Jeremy Platt]

I'm glad this thread came up as the last three times I have been hiking with three separate mini-bic lighters they have failed to light after a day or two. This is usually ok as I use gas stoves and can make do with the spark.

To be honest I usually leave them hanging around camp and am not particularly careful with them, but it seems like alot of people on here get them started whilst wet. Has anyone else had these kind of experiences with these lighters? Am I doing something fundamentally wrong (I have removed the little tab)?

[Scott Pulver]

I have been using Bic lighters for decades and as long as there is fluid in one I have been able to get it to light. When having difficulty lighting it is often the flint that is the cause. One trick is to reverse the strike wheel a few times then try to light.

I have never had problems with Bic lighters and moisture, even after the lighter has gone for a swim. Tonight just for funzzies I submerged one for ten minutes and it lit right away. If it gets oily, just use some dry soil to clean, it's natures grease remover :)

[Rick Dreher]

BIC seems to have added a new failure mode when they redesigned the spark wheel. It used to be solid metal but is now a metal spiral wrapped around something else (plastic?). I've had the new version become jammed and unusable. I've also had the flint mysteriously vanish.

When operating correctly flint lighters work much better than piezo lighters at altitude. In fact I've never had a piezo lighter work above, say, 7k feet. I guess there's just not enough spark for whatever happens to the fuel:air mixture up there.

As a coda, matches aren't what they once were, so I feel better with a second BIC as backup rather than matches.

Cheers,

Rick

[Author]

Posts