This thread seems to have evolved from matches to butane lighters. FWIW, I have had probably 15-20 butane lighters scattered amongst my hunting equipment for several years. They all have electronic ignition. I recently gathered them all up to see if they still worked. To my surprise, most all the brands would no longer light with the exception of the Cricket lighters, all of which lighted. I checked the other brands one by one and found that they still had gas and would light by holding the thumb lever down and using another fire source to light them. So, the conclusion is that the electronic lighting mechanism had failed as they all still lighted when ignited with a seperate fire source. I will replace the defective ones with new Crickets. I would recommend that any one with butane lighters with some age on them check them to see if they are still operational. <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />