Welcome aboard Walz!

About a year ago I bought one of the C2 metal cases for a mini bic, and it has held up quite well.

It does prevent the bics button from being depressed accidentally.

The larger size, rubber grip, and lanyard hole all help in wet and cold weather conditions. Last winter, I was trying to get a fire going in the snow. I had to take off my gloves so my hands became cold fairly quickly. The C2 case gave me something substantial to wrap my hand around and the rubber grip kept the lighter firmly in my hand for the most part. The lighter did slip out of my grip once, but I had the C2 hanging around my neck on a lanyard and that kept the lighter from falling in the snow.

Unfortunately it's not waterproof, but a wet bic isn't the end of the world. Usually a few shakes, a blow or two in the guard, and a couple of spins of the striker will do to get it working again.

It is cheap. I think I bout it for around $3.99 (if I remember correctly) and of course reuseable. Once the lighter runs out of fluid, you just replace it with another mini bic.

Another minor complaint is that the button that releases the cap is a bit trickiy if your hands are cold and you've lost a little bit of feeling in your fingers. Still, it's not impossible to open.

The silver paint rubs and scratches off eventually, but that's really not a problem.

Mine still works perfectly after about a years use.