Animal Planet TV Crew Finds Man on Deserted Island: 'He Was Prepared to Die'. No one knew he was missing so no one was looking for him. From what I can tell, no preps whatsoever. Pure unadulterated luck.

This is the usual, relatively superficial media report, missing what might be significant information. The guy indeed was fortunate. Of course no alcohol was involved???

Ah, I was expecting it to be a certain Mr Ed Stafford.
If anyone gets a chance, watch his Naked & Marooned series. Mr Stafford is a very knowledgeable and resourceful individual but his programs really make the point about being Equipped to Survive.
He was, at one point, really wishing for a Swiss Army Knife.

Swiss Army Knife and a G.I. match safe full of waterproof matches more like.

An NPR story on this incident stated that the victim was going to resume smoking, "so that he would always have a lighter with him." ???!!! Can't a non-smoker carry a lighter? This one does....

If certain individuals (feel free to mentally inserta certain S word here) that I have the displeasure of being acquainted with are to be believed then the answer is no. Apparently a drug addict (which is essentially what a smoker is) can be trusted with a lighter. Non addict's like yours truly can't.

Don't think I had better tell them about the two matchcases full of waterproof matches, ferro rod and two other lighters I E.D.C....

IMO a good EDC lighter for us non-smokers is the standard size Peanut lighter found on CountyComm. Available in brass, stainless steel, titanium, anodized aluminum and copper. There are also Split Pea (smaller) and XL (bigger) models available. To the uninformed, they don't look like lighters.

I EDC a split pea and it works if I am careful to keep it fueled - it will spontaneously run dry if you don't pay attention. Still a good item. I regularly use in my cooks kits a Bic which can go years without attention.

I hear ya. I've found one Bic covered in frost at the park one morning and all I needed was to dry it out -- over half full and fully functional. I dropped it in a kit and it's still there. The brass Split Pea looks much better on a keyring.

So does this one. However, it's not often than I think to test it, so there's a real chance it will be out of fuel when I need it. A smoker will be "testing" it 20 times a day.

Also, I have been unable to find a good lighter for non-smokers. I carry a pea-style one, but (a) there's no way to see how much fuel is left, and (b) the fuel still evaporates, albeit slowly. Also, it's quite small and fiddly, and would be hard to use if my hands were cold (ie, when I most need it). I'd rather a butane lighter with a fuel window. However, the ones I've found have been too bulky, or too unreliable, or missing the fuel window. I'm not sure I'd trust a piezo ignition when wet, and I don't want an exposed grind-wheel that would trash other items in my pocket.

This chap recommends carrying both electronic and flint ignition. One of the comments says that with a light colour one can see the fuel level.
Bic are available in slim and mini sizes.

https://youtu.be/t7eIG_3qMBI

qjs

My routine fire lighting is accomplished with a Bic or one of it clones. In several crucial situations I have lit a fire just fine with normal kitchen matches. If you want to be sure of getting that flame going, resort to one or another of the various brands of storm proof matches. They have never failed me....Good lighters work well, but plain old matches are simple and dependable.

In my experience peanut lighters tend to come unscrewed at the wrong moment. I personally prefer to E.D.C either a Bic or a Clipper.