Has anyone seen, used, or owned one of these before? (Another version here ) Seems like a nifty idea.

Comments?

.....CLIFF

You live and learn. Or you don't live long. - Robert A. Heinlien

Got several of them in kits, had one as a kid, and used one for weeks backpacking (easier to light a stove with the match-like wand than with any normal lighter).

Some here like them, some here think they're junk and have said so.

I fail to see the problem; they're lightweight (at least the plastic ones), they use ordinary fuel which does not evaporate, they're flat and compact, they're waterproof, they don't cost much, and if, somehow, the lighter fails or runs dry, you still have a ferrocerium sparker. The rod is very thin (as in, not coincidentally, Zippo-style lighter flint diameter) and won't last forever, but it will probably do hundreds of lights, anyway.

Yes, I got one, use it with zippo fuel.
The fuel doesn't evaporate, as there is a gasket at the top.
Very easy to use.
Give a flame like a match, as long as there is fuel. When empty you still get sparks.



Alain

I have a couple and carried one for a few years in Alaska. They work. Not wind resistant - like a match. They also work fine to ignite responsive tinder like cottonballs. I think of them as a fire ignitor vs a "lighter" for smokers. Blazo (Chevron brand white gas stove and lantern fuel) worked OK in mine, although I keep lighter fluid in them nowadays. The Blazo I used to buy in Alaska was more volatile in cold weather than Coleman Fuel, FWIW, but it may have been locally refined for our conditions.

Tom:

Thanks for the info. Any other sources you know of other than the ones I found? What would you, O engineer-master, recommend: the plastic type or the metal?

.....CLIFF

The most dangerous thing in the world - a 2nd Lieutenant with a map.

I bought one many years ago, it was called a "Permanent Match" (probably the brand name). I thought it was kind of junky because the fuel evaporated quite quickly; but in hindsight it probably wasn't a very good quality one.

Personally, I'd prefer to just carry a small ferrocerium rod on my keychain than one of these, but I'd want some good tinder to accompany it.

Cliff,

They seem to be all over the place - even Coughlin's sells one. Try out the cheapest one you can find. I've never owned a metal clad one - just plastic. They are not a bit spectacular, but they work just fine. Wife and I keep one in our kits as one of several alternatives for fire starting. Being able to re-fuel from the stove with just a few drops was handy on a couple of occasions for me. I carry an eyedropper in one of my sub-kits for various uses, one of which is to siphon off a little fuel from stove or fuel bottle.

P_L may have more info for you.

Tom

Nobody who quotes Heinlein can be all bad. This forum is where Deacon Matson would hang out... <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I'm afraid, like Tom, I've never really tried the metal kind. The one you posted a link to seems to be everywhere suddenly; I don't remember seeing it at all a couple of years ago I guess I'd want to look at it to see how it's fabricated- the plastic kind has an injection-molded body (of course), I'd be afraid that seams on a metal version might be sources of slow evaporation, if not leaks- but maybe not. For backpacking, it's hard to justify the extra weight. I also chuck the key-ring immediately for use in kits.

The last few I bought were off of eBay, and they do seem to be most typically called "Permanent Match", or sometimes "Metal Match".

There are differences in quality between some and others- once I was checking out of a wine-and-cheese shop, and they had a display of these things (with various sticker-decals on them to enhance the "value") which I examined while in line. They were pretty horrible- glue everywhere, some striker rods broken and some loose.

The one I had as a kid was the one that I carried as a teenager backpacking, just a simple one sold as a novelty item, but it still lit after years in storage.

Back then I carried a Svea 123 stove, which was difficult to light with a lighter, easy with a match, and this worked well. It is certainly not windproof at all, though.

There's an old thread on them here .

The ones I got most recently look pretty much the same as I remember, only the country of origin has obviously changed.

Haven't checked the ones in the kits for awhile; thanks for the reminder, I should do that...

make sure you put the falme out wenn the flame is starting to get weak or the "wick" on the steel match will be gone... been there, done that, seen it. ohw well another excuse to buy another one <img src="images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I don't even know if mine has a metal or plastic body. I'll have to check.
About evaporation : I guess if the gasket around the "match" is good, you won't have any or at least not a lot ...
I forget my "permanent match" in the glove box (?) of my car for over 6 months.
When I re-discovered it, it lighted allright, there still was enough fue inside.


Alain