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.