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