Do I remember advice to coat ferro rods with something to prevent them rusting. It's early here and I haven't had my necessary quart of coffee to kickstart my brain. I don't know if this would be applicable to lighters or not.

I've heard of using nailpolish to prevent oxidation. I guess it depends on your local environment. I've got a 30+ year old BSA hotspark that has been pocket carried for close to the last ten years. There may be a little deterioration over that time but not enough to coat it with anything.

I coat my ferro rods with Vaseline. The ferro rods and Vaseline are then covered with heat shrink tubing and stored as desired. It works out well because I also keep Vaseline around to put in cotton balls. So, I can implement this protection repeatedly when I'm "out there." There's no need to do anything special before striking the ferro rod.

I sprinkle the little orange and red mini-Bics around my gear, clothing, and vehicles like flower petals at a June wedding. I switch to the standard sized red and orange Bics in winter, as with big, cold hands, the minis are hard to light.

The problem is IMO, that they are pressurized inexpensive pieces of plastic, and I don't think that they are designed for long-term storage. I overcome this with sheer quantities, constantly replenished by the lose-buy cycle.

OTOH, I have some 30 year old lighter fluid and old-time catalytic handwarmers and Zippos out in the garage that I used back in the days before Bics and Hothands. Those are still good and have stood the test of time, but could also be lit with an empty Bic in a pinch.

Good move. In the excellent Essentials of Sea Survival the authors point out that ripping open survival gear packed in plastic pouches becomes significantly more difficult in cold weather due to the plastic getting stiff in the cold plus loss of manual dexterity.

When you are cold and wet, or simply stresses, simple tasks can become difficult.

Many lighters (at least in Aus) have a safety / child proof mechanism on them. I remove this on my lighters so that they are easier to use.