Okay, today I got my order from DealExtreme. Included in it were a pair of small peanut lighters, just $3.70 for the pair with free shipping! While I haven't used them much, I did fill them up and tested them and wanted to post a few impressions.

First off, DX is a company some love and some hate. On the negative side, they're based in Taiwan (a negative to many, at least). Also I'm aware that they deal in some stuff that appears to be counterfeit. You may recall that there was a thread here somewhere that details some fake CRKT Doug Ritter knives that someone found for sale there. Now how much DX knows about the products it sells is open to debate, but it's possible they do it knowingly. For the record I placed this order before I heard about that. Anyways, that brings me to the last drawback- while they do ship free, it takes about a month to get your stuff. That said, this is my 5th order from them and I've yet to have a problem.

Okay, to the lighters! They come in two packs. Mine included on black one and a copper/brass colored one. They're about 1.75" x 0.5" or so and are reasonably robust. The cap and barrel are metal. The bottom, however, is plastic. I'm not sure how sturdy this makes them but overall the lighters are solid. They ship empty (postal regs, I presume) so I picked up a bottle of lighter fluid on the way home. Note: I don't smoke so I've never bought the fluid before, but to me it smells exactly like the lighter sold for charcoal briquettes. Can anyone confirm or deny this? The latter is cheaper so it would be good to know.

At any rate, they seem to hold a ml or or two of fluid. They have a batte, a wick and a sparker much like a Zippo. I'm not sure but they look to be replaceable. I've never smoked anything so I've never had a "real" lighter, just the disposable butane ones that I tuck in my pack for camping.

Both of them light easily and stay lit. Being small they're susceptible to wind.

So far I'm pretty pleased with them. They're certainly pretty nice considering they're under $2 each. If they hold up as well as they seem like they will, one will go into a PSK and the other will go with my regular camping gear. I'll keep you all posted as I use them more.

DX is based in China / Hong Kong (well atleast looking at the stamps).

Anyways, i have had used their full metal peanut lighter and the thing to check are the o-rings. Not very well made. One tore the first time and they generally feel very cheaply made. the rest was ok.

They are very small and metal so impossible to use with gloves.

I have some these peanut lighters:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/super-mini-vintage-oil-lighter-3734

They're cool novelty items while at home, but I carry mini Bics.

So I do. But does that mean you don't consider the DX ones worth carrying? Just picking your brain. I've had the Bics (mini and regular) outgas in storage. I don't smoke so my lighters sit more than they work. That's why I wanted the ones with the gaskets.

Are these truly waterproof like the real peanut lighters from countycomm, or are they just water resistant novelties?

I haven't tested that yet but I plan to.

I consider mini Bics to be more rugged. They are simple yet over-engineered and remarkably reliable. I have not had a leaking problem with mini Bics. Anyway, you can tell how much gas is in a mini Bic by looking at the white bottom and holding the Bic horizontally. Better yet, get a mini Bic with a case that is white, yellow or orange. Also, a mini Bic has no exposed wick, which may be a weak link on the peanut lighter.

Unfortunately, mini-Bics are not waterproof, like peanut lighters are (or should be). That's typically not an issue, but one should be aware of it just in case your backpack falls in a river. You need to let the mini-Bic dry before you can light it. It doesn't take long to air out. I just tried it. My mini Bic was able to light in about 2 minutes after being dunked in water. I heard that if you take the childproof lock off, then the mini Bic works while wet, but I have not personally tried this.

Regarding the peanut lighters from DX, I have had no leaking problems because I swapped out the O-rings with better ones purchased off the Internet. Overall, however, the peanut lighters from DX are more finicky than mini-Bics. I don't own any peanut lighters from Countycom, and I don't plan to buy any.

Peanut lighters are definitely a bit more fiddly that a bic - IMO.

I bought four (cheap ones) a while back and one did not work ! But I guess you get what you're paing for.

A plus with the peanut lighters is that they are easy and unobtrusive to attach to a key ring - as an EDC item.

Also you can light them and stand them up - like a candle, which is also handy if you want a light or need a candle.

I do have a handful of Mini-Bics and like them a lot, especially the orange ones. I just figured the cheap peanut ones were worth a try given the low price.

Just an FYI, I soaked one of the peanut lighters in a glass of water for an hour and it lit on the first strike.