John,

My opinion is that having to dry a piece of survival gear off before being able to use it is a deficiency that I'd just as soon not care to deal with. In some circumstances that might be extremely difficult to even accomplish. And, 15 minutes, to use your example, can be a very long time when you are wet. freezing and running out of energy and time. There's also the issue of the flame intensity and wind resistance.

By the same token, some simple vacuum packaging, shrink wrap or other means can waterproof almost any piece of equipment. There are ideals or ultimate performance in the most difficult of environments that we strive to meet with our gear and there's the reality of what we can find/afford or otherwise make do with. Many throw a few BIC style lighters in their kits and on their person simply because 95% of the time they are adequate for the job and at the price, why not? That's not really the issue in this instance.