Regarding people stuck overnight while hiking/ running in the woods...A mini-bic lighter weighs effectively zero.

A Mini Bic weighs less than my watch, and I don't notice my watch when I'm working out. It's a pretty remarkable product. I can't decide which one I like more for EDC, a Mini Bic or a Split-Pea.

I just bought a pair of Numyth Tohil lighters at Goinggear.com. They had a Black Friday deal where they were offering 35% off on all Numyth stuff, so I got the lighters & an aluminum battery capsule for a single CR123A. This is easily the most impressive lighter I've ever seen. It's very heavy aluminum, and nicely machined. If anything it's even nicer than my Exotac stuff, and that's saying a lot. The O-ring seals it very tightly. If I don't forget I'm gonna take it work and run it thru the commercial dish machine a few times to see if it remains dry...but I suspect it will.

It's a little bit bigger than the regular peanut lighters but light years better with regards to build quality. And still much smaller than a Zippo.

IF I'm carrying a lighter at all I carry a split-pea style on my edc/keychain.

My reasoning:
split-pea "weights more" but is typically smaller, refillable, and secure (aka, I can attach it easily to whatever), more durable, repairable (flint/wick/wadding).
Anybody who smokes has lost their bic, or had one fail at one time.

But normally I don't keep a lighter at all. Maybe someday I'll curse these words, but the majority of "alternatives" last 10-1000x longer and, in my opinion, as readibly available..

But to answer the original question; what do they weight? 0.5oz .... split-pea 1oz

Very few of the reliable fire making modes weigh significantly. Well made wooden matches have always worked for me - a waterproof capsule full of them along with a striker and a modest amount of tinder weighs maybe an ounce and will get you flame when you need it. A fire won't make your night out luxurious, but you will survive.

Lately I have taken to scattering mini-Bics through all of my packs. They are cheap insurance and pretty reliable.

I take a rubber band and wrap it around the mini-bic, blocking the gas lever to preclude something hitting it and allowing all the gas to escape.

And in a pinch, the rubber band becomes tinder.

GREAT IDEA!!!

.... on my way to hunt down a rubber band ....


Conway Yee

a rubber band will also help keep those slippery plastic things from falling out of your pocket.
i also do the Mini's everywhere thing as a replacement for the matches everywhere.

Its so easy...and cheap...and easy to carry...and simple...The problem, I suspect is the "it won't happen to me" mindset. I run / walk/ go here all the time and I know my way/ never get lost/ the weather is always beautiful/ I am immune to any sort of mobility -impairing injury.

There are some things you can do to hold on to your Mini Bic such as the Keep It.

Not sure the exact weight, but pretty light. I keep a normal-sized BIC on me every day and stopped smoking a few years ago. I need to do the rubber band trick to keep it from running dry.

At $5, the price is a bit expensive. I use the outer shield of paracord (a few inches) and secured to the BIC with yet another length of duct tape (made skinnier than the standard 2"). The result is a loop for the keychain.


Thanks.
Conway Yee

I keep bics in all my packs, jackets, my desk, my Jeep, etc. and I do the same thing as this to secure a mini bic to a keychain or emergency lanyard. It's hard to beat a litle parcord and duct tape.

Maybe so, but down here in the tropics, duct tape in your pocket gets gummy and messy very quickly. Not worth the savings for ruined pockets. YMMV.

I live in the Northeast. I find the extra source of duct tape a PLUS. I switch out the duct tape about once a year if I haven't already used it for other purposes.

I have short lengths of duct tape scattered where convenient in my pockets.

Thanks.
Conway Yee

Runners hate weight - I wonder what the smallest runner suitable wilderness kit would weigh?

"I wonder what the smallest runner suitable wilderness kit would weigh?"
Do a search for ultra-light backpacking.

old trick from a Special Forces friend.... must have been out of duct tape when I put it together... just loop hitch behind belt and slip Bic and Farmer in pocket

Thats a nice set up...easy to keep from losing them.