I have thrown Bic lighters, the real ones,into pack pockets, etc. and carried them for several years with good reliability. I have also invested in a peanut lighter which I EDC on my key chain. I test it about every few months, since i rarely have to light a fre under emergency conditions these days.

If you ever have to build a fire under true emergency conditions, the trivial investment in diverse and reliable fire building gear will pay off immensely. Don't be afraid to spend a little money for this stuff.

I do not smoke, but am a gadget geek, I love lighters-

+1 on the peanut lighters- They use regular old lighter fluid, but are sealed, so they don't leak. Only minus is they suck in the wind; must have wind guard

I bought mine at http://countycomm.com/lighterfamily.html

I also carry a Ronson Jetlite. They are about 5.00 at Walmart and Walgreens They are a blowtorch style butane light. I have been carrying one bare in my pocket for 4 years- the silvering has worn off, but it still lights every time.

Before that I carried a pipe lighter that I got for 12.95- sorry, don't know brand off-hand. I liked the fact that I could push it down into a glass candle-holder while lit without burning my fingers- I carried that for 5 years before the Ronson. It still works, I just like the profile of the Ronson better.

You could always use more than one to boil a cup.

I think I will be carrying both PJ cotton balls and Sure2Burn. I can use the Sure2Burn for convenience and the cotton balls if needed.

I purchased a Ronson Jetlite. It looks good. I now have duct tape on it and is attached to my keychain. Time will tell if it stays as a permanent part of my keychain.

I also purchased a peanut lighter off ebay. It should arrive in a few weeks and will be attached to my pocket knife lanyard.

Thanks for the advice.

Conway Yee

Yee, you said off brand Bic. That's not the same thing as far as reliability goes. Bic probably has a legal strangle hold on the mechanism they use, so that nobody can copy it absolutely the same. It's weird to talk about a $1 lighter like this, but Bics are pretty amazing. I have a Bic that's at least 8 years old, and it still has plenty of fuel in it.

Good point. The "Bic" was off brand. I may purchase a couple of name brand "Bic" to throw in the car/knapsack/house/etc.

I deliberately chose the off-brand lighter over the name brand for the specific reason that it is possible to adjust the flame to the point where blowtorch mode was possible. Unfortunately, the very adjustability (the ability to take off the covering metal shell and adjust the flame mechanism) makes the metal cover very prone to fall off during use. This in turn causes failure of the mechanism underneath particularly in the event of using the flint wheel.

Conway Yee