BIC disposable lighters. Why? cheap, reliable, i'm not afraid to lose it/give it away, makes fire.

I got a cheap butane jet from Ebay and I have had it for some time. It lights wet, I can refill it, has no flint, I can weld with it, im not afraid to lose it, and it cost $5.

I also have a few bics but I would like to have a really nice one too.

Since you can't take "torch" type lighters on aircraft, and I prefer to travel with my lighter than without (Learned that one in New Orleans in 2004 when they took my souvenir away at the checkpoint), I stumbled across this little baby at a gas station.  It cost me $1.25:


Green Cheap Survival Lighter

It's a peizoelectric push-button "click" butane type lighter.  Cheap.  Visual confirmation of fluid.  REFILLABLE.  Also, you'll note on the righthand side of the lighter, at the bottom (to the left in the picture) those little silver things stacked down there?  Those are AG3 batteries...that's right...it's also a bright little LED flashlight at that end, with both a momentary (flash) and locking (steady) switch.  And between the flashlight and the lighter button?  That little circular thing?

Well, that's a working compass.

And it's green.

Works for me.

Cheap, I can get more, or I can refill this one, I can change the batteries on the flashlight, and it has a compass, all built in, for less than two bucks.

No, I can't weld with it, but that's okay, I don't know how to weld anyway.

And I can take it on aircraft.

Now I'm trying to get one of my local buddies to carry it so I don't have to drive all the way to Hernando County to get one.

Anyway, that's what I carry.

PS: Desette, love the sig.  I'm stealing the concept.  Thanks!


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Scott : my god I want that lighter. That's like a wog sitting down and going "hmm, how much can I make a LIGHTER do?"

I also have the collibri CX gear and a windmill. Both are EXCELLENT lighters.

I recently acquired a zippo. I am not that impressed with it. The problem is the fuel. Also its less efficient and does not last as long as the butane lighters. For my money I take a flint kit and a butane lighter. The zippo is more of curiosity. In fact I am wondering if anybody here has tried their zippo with diesel, parafin, methalted spirits, alcohol and other fuels ?

Yeah, they want you to use naphtha for lighting it. Only I suspect that like benzine its an unstable chemical and may be carcinogenic. Best to stick to butane. After all, a butane lighter can operate upside down. Useful when lighting candles in tight spaces. I suppose the same could be said for fuses.

Mind you the human torch would not look as cool if he wasnt playing with a zippo for half of the X-men movie.

I've used my Zippo with the following fluids:

1) Naphtha (the zippo lighter fuel)

2) Gasoline -- makes a big orange dirty flame...it will screw up any synthetic batting you have in it -- won't do that again unless I use 100 % cotton as the batting.  But it does work.

3) Alcohol -- 70 percent BARELY lights and burns with a little bitty blue flame.  91 percent works better, with a slightly larger flame.  I'd use it in a pinch, but I really don't like to.

The Ronson flints don't give as good a spark, IMHO, over the genuine Zippo flints.  Just my opinion.

The trouble with Zippos is that they're always evaporating, so if you don't have fuel to fuel it in the field, if you go to use it in your BoB without filling it first, after letting it sit (even if you fill it beforehand) for months, it will be empty.

This is why I prefer butane.

S