How much time are you talking about (assuming the button isn't depressed)? Months? Years?

Even though it still lights, should I still replace them every couple of years or so?

I'd hate to have one light fine when I test it, and fail me six months later when I needed it.

I notice that some of the disposable butane lighters I have have a lower level progressively about every 6 months or so. I've never had one run out before I got rid of it, but I have seen some lose half their fuel load in the course of a couple years.

For an EDC, that is nothing, but for a backup, it is a factor to consider. Matches don't last forever either I reckon.

In a humid environment they degrade pretty quickly. In a dry environment it takes a bit longer, probably a few years.

I am somewhat distantly fascinated by primitive skills, but for me I want to invest my time into training, techniques and gear that gives better "bang for the buck". In other words, given the choice of mastering the mystery of fire bow drill in about three months of intense practice or lighting a fire within minutes using lighters or fire steel and petroleum jelly cotton balls, I prefer very much just to lit that fire and enjoy my tea, thank you very much. There are a lot of fires to be lit and enjoyed before I devote my time to esoteric techniques.

Maybe when the kids have grown up and I'm an retired old fart... nah, then it's time to teach the future grand children some really dangerous pyrotech...

I wouldn't discount primitive techniques too much.

You make a good point that there are a lot of things to learn and master before primitive skills become vital. IMO everyone should have first-aid, land navigation, basic camping and field sanitation skills under their belt before worrying about making fire with a bow. Those and a half-dozen more basic skill sets are vital and form the backbone of survival know-how.

The biggest payoff for time invested is for quick and dirty classes that cover the basics with written sources, lectures, and demonstrations but combine it with practical hands-on experience to lock in the concepts. Most individual subjects can be adequately covered in an hour or two.

That said there is a lot going for those esoteric primitive skills. You never look at a fire the same way, or gain such an intimate understanding of it, as when you create fire from a couple of sticks and a bootlace. Nothing quite gives you a gut sense of how rope works like making your own out of plant fibers you harvest yourself.

Did anyone catch the show the other night about a Marine Survival Course? One of the first things they had to learn to do was ... you guessed it, making fire with a bow drill.

You know, you made me think. I look at my own signature line about outdoor heritage being lost and realize again that with something as important as fire, a person should learn all of the skills and practice them. How much better to practice the bow and drill or flint and steel in a campsite with a picnic table and a cooler of cold whatevers, than in a true survival situation. I'm not saying anything here that you all don't already know, but the urgency of passing on survival skills to the next generation just dawned on me again. If not us, than who?

Good point and one I will take with me further.

I also appreciate Art_in_FL's point about leaps in understanding through countless hours of practice. As I said, I focus on practicing the art of making a fire cheating with Bic's, fire steel and so on. I am sure there are much lessons to be learned there as well. But I don't rule out that I will shift my focus to more esoteric techniques at a later time.


Speaking of which, I read a blog about using a cordless drill for testing various bow drill materials. (Sorry, forgot the reference). The idea was to test a lot of local materials at high speed, gaining experience to which materials that provided the best fire board + drill combination. That's distilling countless frustrating hours of bow drill experimentation into a matter of minutes. He still has hours and hours of practice before he can make it work, but he knows he now is practicing with the best possible combination of local materials. For all I know, he lost some esoteric, mythical deeper meaning when he cheated with an electric drill... but he probably gained a lot in terms of his ability to think outside the box and find new solutions to old problems.

Seems like a good way to keep the guys from using up all the hand grenades....

Ha ha ha, that's funny. But making fire with a hand grenade is kind of extreme isn't it?

Learning primitive fire making techniques is certainly useful and challenging, but I suspect it will prove to be of limited value in most situations.

I have had to light fires in some fairly challenging situations, and I have always managed to keep suitable "modern" materials at hand. You can easily fashion a very complete kit that will weigh about 2 oz, with more than one method of fire lighting.

There are probably other kinds of outdoor skills that would be a better use of your resources and time.

Actually, come to think of it, I have spent more time putting fires out (wildland fire fighting) than lighting them.