<br><br>1. Using a zippo as a lighter – is it a good idea? I heard a story that they are unreliable for long term use – true?<br>2. Does any one here carry some sort of fire arm with them? (just out of interest)<br>Does the potassium permanganate crystals suck into the sand as well as into the snow to create a marker?<br>3. Does any one use a bum bag for carrying survival gear around? I gave it a thought but it would make me look even more like a tourist. Although it would be very handy instead of carrying a rucksack...<br>4. Is any one here prepared to make a quick night escape? For example if your house is on fire and you want to make a quick escape that your documents are all packed etc.<br>Reinhardt<br>

<<1. Using a zippo as a lighter – is it a good idea? I heard a story that they are unreliable for long term use – true?>><br><br>The fuel evaporates. There used to be a US military item that functioned like a Zippo but was encased with a truly water-and-vapor proof screw-on lid, but it has been over 20 years since I've seen one. Machining up something like that with the chimney design of a Zippo is on my list of things to do... but I don't know if I'll ever get that far down that list...<br><br>They can be a real PITA if they are immersed for a while - must have the batting dried out and re-charged with fuel.<br><br>Zippos are OK for routine use on outings. They have one advantage over butane lighters in very cold temps - they work. Butane lighters need to be warm enough to let the fuel vaporize. Try leaving a butane lighter outside in below freezing temps and then try to light it while wearing gloves... The solution, though, is to simply keep the butane lighter under your outer garments as close to your skin as possible - and some of the apparently "good" locations are not.<br><br><<2. Does any one here carry some sort of fire arm with them? (just out of interest)>><br><br>Of course, but there are tons of caveats and circumstances. For me (USA) it would be accurate to say that there are times that I do NOT carry a firearm.<br><br><<Does the potassium permanganate crystals suck into the sand as well as into the snow to create a marker?>><br><br>Er, if that's what you want KMNO3 for, try tempura paint instead... KMNO3 is purple in color and extremely soluable in water. It stands out in snow because it is a richly colored salt; it "melts" into the white snow and spreads its color. In damp white sand it would disolve and temporarily color the sand, but it would keep on disolving and spreading... I consider this one of the "so what?" uses of KMNO3.<br><br><<3. Does any one use a bum bag for carrying survival gear around? I gave it a thought but it would make me look even more like a tourist. Although it would be very handy instead of carrying a rucksack...>><br><br>The US common name for that pack will make you laugh - but I know which type you mean. Many folks here use one for that purpose and find it quite useful. For my purposes and habits they are too small - but that's very much personal preference. Ask around here for what models folks like and why.<br><br><<4. Is any one here prepared to make a quick night escape? For example if your house is on fire and you want to make a quick escape that your documents are all packed etc.>><br><br>Yes and no <grin>. At a certain point in life it becomes a question of *which* documents are essential in various scenarios. A house fire - assuming an urban area with a responsive and effective fire department is fairly easy to deal with on the documents question - daily carry stuff ready to go and the rest routinely in some sort or another of fire-rated confinement. Still remains a "what is important?" question, though. We have too much stuff these days. <br><br>My dad loves to say words to the effect that the only truly free man is one who can carry all of his possessions on his back.<br><br>Truly effective Bug-out-bags (BoB or BOB) take art to assemble. Beyond the scope of this discussion...<br><br>HTH,<br><br>Tom

1. I don't know much about Zippos specifically, but I always carry multiple means of starting a fire. Redundancy is really important for fire starting. The rather expensive Windmill type butane lighter seems to hold its butane well and has worked well so far for me. I still carry alternatives.<br>2. Hardly ever, and then not for wilderness survival. There are far more improtant and useful items for equivalent weight/bulk. Urban conditions are another matter.<br>3. Sure (bum bag=fanny pack, right?). I have one which is just right for short hikes all by itself. On longer trips its contents are placed in a larger pack.<br>4. Yes, but if the house is on fire, our concerns are saving lives (which means getting out immediately), not in rescuing a bunch of documents. Redundancy applies here, as well. Copies are duplicated and placed with relatives or the orgiginals are stored in a safe deposit box.<br>

to question 4, yes. I have a fire proof case that only cost me around £20.

to 1.) I have a Zippo. It´s good for normal use and it lasts about two weeks before it needs refueling.<br>to 3.) I wear a vest with a lot of pockets instead. For me that´s more convenient than a bum bag.

1:I think a Zippo lighter work very well but they are useless when they run out of fuel.<br>2:I think carrying a firearm with you is a great idea.The one I like is the AR-7 Survival Rifle.

Reinhardt, I bought my first rifle in Kodiak Alaska with visions of facing down Kodiak brown bears. I encountered one,once. I was waxing the deck of the PX late at night. I backed into a mounted specimen on display. I saw huge forearms stretching in the twilight. I screamed, ran and slid across the fresh wax and into the wall. All my encounters with wild animals after that have been rather anticlimactic. I enjoy firearms, but feel our unique american gun culture distorts things. Most people with a protective firearm blunder into situations out of subtle arrogance. I would have no problem taking animals in a survival situation. However, given a choice between 10 lbs of my personal rifle or a 5 lb sleeping bag and 5 lbs of oatmeal---;O)

I do not consider an empty Zippo useless. If the sparker still works and the cotton batting is dry....do you not have a metal clad, tinder containing Sparklite?<br><br>You may have to pry off the windscreen to get the sparks close enough to the cotton batting, but you now have a firemaking tool that simply works differently than normal.<br><br>I carry a Zippo because it does work well at cold temperatures, high altitude, and is familiar to just about everyone. I keep mine wrapped in Saran wrap which gives me about 4+ weeks between fillings.

I'm not against Zippos (they work), but check one thing - I do not believe that they are filled with cotton batting; only the wick is cotton. The fuel batting is wool felt, I believe - not good tinder.

Tom,<br><br>I just pulled my Zippo out, unwrapped it and looked. Mine has a thick block of batting (unknown material, but felt of some sort) covering a stuffing of white, fiberous, cotton-like material.<br><br>I pulled a small clump of the "cotton" from the chamber with my trusty SAK tweezers, allowed the lighter fluid to evaportate, then sparked it with my FireSteel. It burned just like a cotton ball, easy to spark, yellow/orange flame, very small residue, odor not of hair but of wood.<br><br>I think it is cotton. <br><br><br>