Sorry if this has been answered before, but, what are the advantages of the Spark-Lite Firestarter over just a plain old Bic lighter?

I have several of the Spark-Lite Firestarters but it seems to me that the Bic can do everthing it can.

What am I missing?

All comments appreciated.

Tom

The spark-lite is quite a bit more compact, making it more suitable to a mini survival kit.

SL also not sensitive to altitude.

The Sparklite must be considered as a unit, which includes the splendid tinder. I've never experienced a failure with disposable lighters, and @ $1 they are a bargain. The previously mentioned altitude limitation and a finite fuel supply leave it on par with the Sparklite sans tinder. I could start a cyber flame by mentioning the sources of both units, but that won't heat anything but passions and I haven't had my coffee yet ( lousy slow burning ESBITS) <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

It's the tinder. The sparker is prettymuch the same as the sparker on a Bic lighter. The tinder is very compressible and burns well. It can get wet and is easily dried out.

S.

This is the only answer that made sense to me.

The argument that the Spark-lite is part of a system and needs to be used with the special waterproof tinder makes no sense - it would be cheaper to just buy the special tinder and you could use your 99 cent BIC lighter to ignite it, even if the lighter is cracked and has lost all its fuel.

Likewise, the BIC lighter will generate a spark quite well at any altitude (short of outer space where the lack of oxygen will make building a fire problematic <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ) The fact that, under some conditions, it fails to provide the additional functionality we expect of it is a limitation on the Sparklite, not the BIC.

I saw some lighters at Walgreens a few weeks ago that were very compact. They were cylindrical, and as I recall about 3/8 to 1/2 inch in diameter, less than 2 inches long. Not a heck of a lot bigger than the spark-lite, IIRC. No guard on the flint wheel. I should have grabbed a few, but that wasn't my mission. Next time I'm there I'll get some and tell you more.

For the most part a sparklite is like a bic with no fuel. If your bic ran out of fuel you could use it the same way after removing the guard and it would generate enough spark to work wth a cotton ball or sparklite tinder. The advantage I see is that the sparklite is more durable. It is made to spark and only to spark. After you remove the sheild from a bic, it gets a little fragile. I have had them come apart on me after removing the shield.

So is it fair to say that it is not the spark lite but the tinder that is important and I would be better off with a Bic and some of the spark lite tinder as opposed to the spark lite sparker and the tinder.

I must be buying the wrong lighters (Mini Bics) because I get twice as much spark from the SparkLite as I do from a Mini Bic (yes with the guard removed). Maybe you guys are referring to the full-sized Bics? I have no info on those. They are way too big for me to consider carrying so I have never even bothered testing them. As far as tinder goes... the TQ that comes with the SL is great stuff. It's my favorite tinder for wet weather, hands down. However I have had much success lighting both toilet paper and natural tinder with a SL. I have had success doing this with the spark from a Mini Bic lighter also, but not as much. If my choice is an empty Mini Bic or a SL, I'm taking the SL!

Now that we've discovered the pros and cons of a Sparklite vs Bic how to proceed? For a truly mini kit, the Sparklite is smaller and more robust. Anything above a minimalist assembly and it becomes "penny wise and pound foolish" not to have our often cited redundancy in this critical aspect of survival. I still have my strike anywhere matches, lifeboat matches, sparklite, metal match, fatwood, candles, magnesium bar and oh, oh! My chumash friend palmed my bic burning some white sage yesterday <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> I'll have to buy a few at the gas station- with 87 octane @ $ 2.37 a gallon. Now that really gets me burning <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Tom,

I think if you have room in your kit or your pocket that you can feel pretty comfy carrying a BIC. I carry a mini-bic in my pocket everyday. I have a sparklite and tinder in my PSK though, since it is smaller and doesn't take up as much room in the small container. I think it just depends on what your priorities are. If size is a primary consideration, then the sparklite is the way to go. Otherwise, the BIC is a inexpensive and dependable option.

Or you can do what I do, and carry both. I'm big on redundancy... One is none and two is one, as they say. I often have 3 or 4! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Greg

Bics are the king no question for expedient fire lighting but as said my tin kit rejects the bulk.

I think I will develop a mini mini bic and solve this problem.

Better get my patent in huh.

Flip

I solve the spark vs fuel dilema with a permanant match. It's a great little (smaller than a mini bic even) sparker that can be used with or without fuel. The fuel chamber is small but the extra spark it can produce over a bic or SL make it worth it IMO. Also I am told that it will work with almost any type of liquid fuel known to modern man. This I cannot confirm however as I have used only Zippo brand lighter fluid in them to date. That being said one can not ignore Chris' (and many other's) mentions of redundancy. Take my latest PSK for example...

Admittedly I'm not as concerned with fire redundancy in the warmer Texas months and may only carry a small ferrocerium rod but as the winter months creep up and the weather man says to expect a cold wet winter, I have quite a bit of fire making redudancy. SL, ferrocerium rod and min Bic in the PSK with two different types of tinder (TQ and Alcohol Swabs) and that is in addition to the permanant match on the keyring which I religiously keep topped off on fuel. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> That combined with tons of practice makes me pretty confident that I can strike up a blaze under pretty much any conditions. Oh I almost forgot that little bottle of liquid bandage. That stuff is muy flammable! Pour that stuff on a some wet kindling and hit it with the tiniest of sparks and watch it light up like crazy. So go ahead and make that three types of tinder. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Yep, nothing wrong with redundancy! Someone who relies on just matches, for instance, might be surprised when they actually need them, never practiced, then realized they can't get one lit without breaking them!

Brian

I put together a kit very similar to the one in your picture. Would you please give me a list of whats in yours starting from left to right

With pleasure...

Visible Items - Left to Right:

- AMK Viynil Pouch
- Modified Ferroceium Rod
- Spark Lite
- Tadgear SAS Compass (below the ferrocerium rod and SparkLite)
- Mini Bic Lighter
- ArcAAA-P
- 0.5oz Vial of New Skin liquid bandage (top)
- Mini Fox40 Modified (bottom)
- 1 oz vial of Meds
- 3' x 2" Duct Tape
- 12 Modified Cotton Swabs
- 50' 100# Fireline (across the top)
- 9 TQ Tabs (across the top below the FireLine)
- Small Space Pen (across the bottom)

Non-Visible Items:

- 6 MP1 Tabs
- 2 Large Oven Bags
- Modified Fresnel Lense
- 6 Butterfly Sutures
- 2 Scalpel Blades
- 3" 50/50 Serrated/Smooth SS SOG Knife Blade
- Modified REI Featherweight Mirror
- 6 1" x 1" Alcohol Swabs
- Immodium Tab
- 2 Small Sheets of Rite in Rain Paper


Ah darn I just realized that I could have counted the cotton swabs as tinder also in my previous post. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

"50' 100# Fireline (across the top)"

What is this?

Sue

Glad you asked. I love this stuff. It's basically 100LB deep sea fishing line but it is not "plastic" like traditional fishing line and is more "fiborous" like extremely thin, wax treated rope. "Fireline" is the brand. So far 100LB is the strongest I have found and I have only found it at Bass Pro Shops so far. This stuff is great. You see in the pic how easy it is to get 50' of it in to a tiny pocket kit. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Brian:

You must be a "young pup" to call plastic line "traditional".

In my day, traditional line was rayon multi-strand which was more supple and limp with less stretch than plastic, but not as abrasion resistant.

If you wanted to cast lighter baits, the rayon in a corresponding weight class would outdistance plastic by a good 33 percent.

Bountyhunter

LOL ... well it's true I'm only 32 and didnt start fishing until probably around 1980. That plastic stuff is all I have ever really known. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Not to hijack the thread, but I love spiderwire, firewire, or gorilla wire too. I've found the 100# test stuff strong enough to lash poles for a leanto, bind a gaf hook to a pole to snag fish in a survival scenario, and many other uses. You absolutely can't break it in your hands, without slicing through a finger like piano wire would! You may need to try different knot styles.

I put a tiny dab of hot glue on my pencil stub, anchored the line to that, put the pencil in a drill chuck and ran it as slowly as I could. Was able to lay down yards and yards of smooth, tight rows.

Very smart idea.