I brought a Primus power lighter for Christmas, it's great for my jetboil and other stoves. A bit pricey but reliable.
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cigarette lighters
- Thread starter philipb
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Clipper lighter, refillable and has stood the test of time, the flint can be replaced too, cheap, so why not have two, one for the pocket and a spare in the pack.
It's horses for courses in my view.
What are you going to use it for?
Want to leave it in your emergency-kit for months on end?
Want it to light when wet?
Have to work in windy conditions?
Freezing conditions?
Is one handed operation important?
So give us more to go on, and you'll soon be sorted. In the mean time I can rant a bit about a couple of lighters:
I my view, in outdoor life, a cigarette lighter is mostly needed for the "other" tasks, rather than fire lighting. Sterilizing a needle for taking out a splinter, or melting the end of nylon webbing and the like. In fire-lighting, they do come into their own when it comes to trying to light less than perfectly dry tinder, though. In most other cases, a ferro rod is just so much less hassle.
I agree with those before me about the clipper lighter. Used them a lot when I was younger, but don't see them in the stores any longer. BIC's and mini BIC's seem to have cornered the market for disposable lighters here.
Trouble with all of these disposable lighters are, you tend to burn you thumb if trying to light something other than a fag or a firecracker, or for any other reason try to keep it lit for a little longer. Not a major problem, but still.
A zippo is kind of a crap daily user. Between drying up on you, and giving you the occasional chemical burn from leaking in your pocket, it will get too hot while burning, not actually be stormproof, and need servicing with a new flint when you least expect it. (By jamming the last piece of the old flint between the wheel ant the tube supposed to hold the flint) It also take ages to dry out if you get it wet if you don't want to remove all the cotton stuffing.
That said, it has the advantage of being almost indestructable, and being a petrol lighter, able to light in very low temperatures. This makes it more than suitable as a backup lighter for winter trips. Fill it up, seal it with an inch of bicycle inner tube and it will stay dry and filled for weeks on end, ready to use when you need it. The inner tube can of course be used to further aid fire making if that's the kind of situation you're in.
That's where I use mine nowadays. (Well not actually USE, but you get my meaning)
Imco lighters are swell. Simple construction. Don't dry out quite as quickly as zippos, but they do dry out. I only use mine when camping if I'm also using petrol as fuel for my stove(s), Then it's quite handy, and can easily be filled by pulling out the wick/fuel thingy and dunking it in the tank of the stove. The thin square-shaped one is the one I use after giving away my "original" style imco. It's fancy enough to serve you well for a night on the town as well, I figure.
For most daily tasks, though, I choose a butane jet-lighter. Need to quick-start that romantic dinner with upside-down lighting of several IKEA "Glasig" tealight holders? Need to light someones fag, or seal the end of a paracord in a hurricane? No problem.
You do need to keep it warm and dry though. Won't work if left in you pack on a cold day. They're even sensitive to different "normal" temperatures, and brands of butane, as the gas mix really needs to be just right for it to light. Also the piezo ignition can be sensitive to short circuits by anything from pocket lint to a snow flake landing in the burner at the wrong time before lighting. Most of those problems can be fixed by blowing hard into the burner, but annoying nonetheless.
Well, that's me finished. Congratulations if you made it through this wall of text!
What are you going to use it for?
Want to leave it in your emergency-kit for months on end?
Want it to light when wet?
Have to work in windy conditions?
Freezing conditions?
Is one handed operation important?
So give us more to go on, and you'll soon be sorted. In the mean time I can rant a bit about a couple of lighters:
I my view, in outdoor life, a cigarette lighter is mostly needed for the "other" tasks, rather than fire lighting. Sterilizing a needle for taking out a splinter, or melting the end of nylon webbing and the like. In fire-lighting, they do come into their own when it comes to trying to light less than perfectly dry tinder, though. In most other cases, a ferro rod is just so much less hassle.
I agree with those before me about the clipper lighter. Used them a lot when I was younger, but don't see them in the stores any longer. BIC's and mini BIC's seem to have cornered the market for disposable lighters here.
Trouble with all of these disposable lighters are, you tend to burn you thumb if trying to light something other than a fag or a firecracker, or for any other reason try to keep it lit for a little longer. Not a major problem, but still.
A zippo is kind of a crap daily user. Between drying up on you, and giving you the occasional chemical burn from leaking in your pocket, it will get too hot while burning, not actually be stormproof, and need servicing with a new flint when you least expect it. (By jamming the last piece of the old flint between the wheel ant the tube supposed to hold the flint) It also take ages to dry out if you get it wet if you don't want to remove all the cotton stuffing.
That said, it has the advantage of being almost indestructable, and being a petrol lighter, able to light in very low temperatures. This makes it more than suitable as a backup lighter for winter trips. Fill it up, seal it with an inch of bicycle inner tube and it will stay dry and filled for weeks on end, ready to use when you need it. The inner tube can of course be used to further aid fire making if that's the kind of situation you're in.
That's where I use mine nowadays. (Well not actually USE, but you get my meaning)
Imco lighters are swell. Simple construction. Don't dry out quite as quickly as zippos, but they do dry out. I only use mine when camping if I'm also using petrol as fuel for my stove(s), Then it's quite handy, and can easily be filled by pulling out the wick/fuel thingy and dunking it in the tank of the stove. The thin square-shaped one is the one I use after giving away my "original" style imco. It's fancy enough to serve you well for a night on the town as well, I figure.
For most daily tasks, though, I choose a butane jet-lighter. Need to quick-start that romantic dinner with upside-down lighting of several IKEA "Glasig" tealight holders? Need to light someones fag, or seal the end of a paracord in a hurricane? No problem.
You do need to keep it warm and dry though. Won't work if left in you pack on a cold day. They're even sensitive to different "normal" temperatures, and brands of butane, as the gas mix really needs to be just right for it to light. Also the piezo ignition can be sensitive to short circuits by anything from pocket lint to a snow flake landing in the burner at the wrong time before lighting. Most of those problems can be fixed by blowing hard into the burner, but annoying nonetheless.
Well, that's me finished. Congratulations if you made it through this wall of text!
I use Bic Mini Piezo lighters. I have previously had a hard time using a stiff flint roller with cold fingers and favour something I can just squeeze to make a flame. I like the jet type lighters and have tried a few from cheap to very expensive but found the cheap ones break and the expensive ones are fussy about their fuel... all are a pain to re-fill.
I also have a little chrome peanut lighter a friend gave me and it's fired up perfectly after a year in storage. I was surprised to find no fuel had leaked or escaped in that time.
I also have a little chrome peanut lighter a friend gave me and it's fired up perfectly after a year in storage. I was surprised to find no fuel had leaked or escaped in that time.
Z-Plus version. Been in there a few years now. Ok, it's about £15, and that will buy a lot of Bics, but you get to keep your Zippo in use without worrying about evaporation.
I like clippers as a cheap gas lighter, but use a Zippo - I just love the feel and the smell, as for drying out, I got a great tip from a YouTube guy ( far north bushcraft and survival ). He puts a length of bicycle inner tube over his as a skin, the rubber can also be used as fire lighter if you need it, adds grip if it's wet too. It's all good stuff
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Clippers are great. The Flint wheel can be removed and used as stand-alone device. Have managed to light an alcohol swab using one.
This is now my preferred lighter, large tank gives a 'lot' of burn time and you can see how much gas you have left.
Angled head gives greater 'reach' but it does take up a little more space when stowing it inside a cookset.
Burns like a mini blowlamp.
You can probably find it a little cheaper if you shop around.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PROF-ANGL...ame-Turbo-Flame-Refillable-Tank-/111920046074
I was intrigued by these, so I ordered a couple off Amazon. They're brilliant - if ever a lighter was designed for lighting a Trangia burner, this is it. Gets down to the fuel even when quite low, while keeping your fingers out of the way, and usually works first time. And you can see exactly how much fuel you have - which is usually loads because the tank is huge.
