I've never tried an expensive butane lighter. I picked up a cheap one (at WalMart) once. A "Ronson". I think somebody here might have recommended the thing, but I can't remember. What a piece of trash. I have about a 2% success rate getting this thing to light INDOORS. I certainly wouldn't ever waste time trying it under adverse conditions. That's trying it with different flame adjustments, butane full, half full, near empty. Push halfway, pause, then strike. One swift motion to start the butane and strike. It's ridiculous. I have refilled the thing twice, and it's currently empty again. I have tried lighting it (emphasis on "tried") less than 100 times, probably closer to 50. And it's out of butane two times already. I guess you get what you pay for. From what others have said in this thread, $50 or $100 may not buy you a whole lot more than my $5 WalMart special (or whatever it's cost was). If butane lighters like this were the only things you could light up with, we'd have a lot less addicted people (unless they just gave up and ATE their cigarettes!)

[edit]
I just found the stupid thing. It's a "Ronson Jet Lite". Now, off to the trash it goes. I don't know why it was still sitting around...
[/edit]

I tried looking on the Walmart website, but apparently small items like that aren't listed. I'll stop at one on my lunch break and see if I can find it.

I don't think I'll replace my bic for everyday use. I keep it in my pocket and have no trouble lighting it up. I always seem to misplace them before they run out of fuel. I've never had one break on me that I wasn't trying to destroy, and even then it took me two tries before it stopped functioning.

In my opinion buying cheap lighters is a waste of time. They burn through the fuel too quickly, their flames are too small, and they are not durable at all.

However, cheap lighters found on the ground are another story. These rusted, abused relics seem nigh indestructible. They function perfectly, with a beautiful flame. I don't know what it is about lighters that have braved the elements and survived, they just seem tougher.

sorry--for a canoe country ditch vest the Bic's are out..
i'm sure i'll find a good torch lighter between now and when
the lakes open in the spring..this lighter would not be a
long term..many use sort of thing..it only has to light ONE
fire..and thats the one i would make ASAP pulling myself out
of the lake and grubbing together a pile of wood and getting
a heat tab into it..the altitude would never be over the
1500 foot level..and all down hill to Hudson's Bay..i would
not expect freezing weather--just wet and cold..i won't be
refilling the lighter--i just want something that i can strike
and get a big flame without holding the lever down so i can
"hose down" a heat tab--candle stub--birch bark--twigs--
whatever and get a fire going..that done i can warm up..
make a hot drink..build a shelter and blow in that whistle
untill help comes..----the chances of this happening are
so remote that i don't even think i would invest in a PLB
unless i was going much farther north..i have no problem
making a fire--see my "one match--wet wood" post..

O.K. I stopped at Walmart. Had to look through several checkout stands before I found it. They are on a card and hanging, but not with the bics, just by themselves.

It is "The Amazing Slide Lighter" by Gibson Enterprises. It is piezo electric and like most butane lighters, you have to shield it from the wind to light it. I haven't had any problems with mine, but now I'm thinking I'm going to stick it in the freezer and dunk it in water to make sure it keeps on going.

A quick google search and this is all I could find:
http://cgi.ebay.com/AMAZING-SLIDE-LIGHTE...1QQcmdZViewItem

The ones I got at Wally mart are single, on a card for $.97 apiece, so probably not worth buying them on the internet if you can help it.

Hi Lukus,

Thanks for the detailed information, I will check out the stock at my local Walmart this afternoon.

Mike

I've got a couple of cheapies in the pack, backed up by matches and a sparklite.

I have one of these for EDC (mostly for curing heat shrink now that I gave up smoking), works better than I expected, lighter and less bulky than a zippo, the candle function is nice too. Austrian Lighter

I'm planning on trying out one of these, the extendable nozzle looks handy Solo Candle Lighter

Re,

C. Rowe

even without fuel, a bic or equivalent, is better than those piezo starters. Why? because the sparks will still light steel wool or charcloth.


Alan



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Important to know how to refill butane lighters.
Purge the remaining fuel/air by depressing the fuel nipple
Fill

As a cigar smoker I've used quite a few butane lighters over the years. I almost always reach for my $3.00 Ronson. I've never had an issue with one and thats after countless refills.

That said, I wouldn't want to rely on any butane lighter in a cold weather survival situation. All the lighters i've used needed to be warmed a bit before using in cold temps. I'll stick to Bics for my preparedness kits.

I use a Ronson JetLite torch/jet style lighter and I love it. I think I paid $9 for it. It's never let me down. I carry it always in the 5th pocket of my jeans...this also keeps the butane warm when I need it in the cold.

In cigar circles the new Zippo jet lighter is really becoming popular both because of the name and quality of the unit itself. I've been tempted to pick one up as my Ronson has seen better days (mostly cosmetic...it still lights like a champ)

For survival use buy a quality windproof lighter. A standard torch/jet lighter can blow out just as easy as a Bic will (my JetLite is supposedly wind resistant but it's really not). I don't know how the Zippo stands up to wind but I'm very curious to find out.

http://www.ronsoncorp.com/jetlite_detail.cfm