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.
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If you're reading this, it's too late.