Does anyone know what the "shelf-life" of a BIC lighter is?
I have quite a few of them(Mini's) spread out through my assorted packs,vehicles,kits, tackle boxes, etc.
They seem to be lasting a long time. I found a few still in package from Y2K prep years ago and they are still working fine.

Any ideas?

I've had one in my trailer for about 10 years and it still works. Corrosion aside, my guess is as long as they've got fuel they are pressurized, and as long as they are pressurized they will work. The fuel might have a shelf life though (?) Best rotate them like everything else.

Thanks for the info, I kinda always wondered that myself.

I see Bic lighters mentioned a lot here, but I don't hear anyone mention problems with them. I for one have had the flame heat the metals parts and melt the plastic. Am I the only one?

Personally I don't trust them overly because of this.

-john

I never trust a Bic. I always trust matches first. Bics are handy to have, but I rely on matches and Sparklite or ferro rod when it really gets down to kit.

if you use a zippo, look around the smoking areas at work for empty bics. The flint may have to be trimed for length, but they last way longer than any zippo replacement flints you'll find.

So that's where Zippo makes some money. What a rip!

Bics stay pressurized for a long time. I always trust them, even in the cold, you simply warm them up a bit with your bare hands. I do the opposite you seem to do : I never trust matches (actually, I never carry them or use them in my kits).

I rely on the Bic, and I also have a firesteel in my wilderness PSK. Oh, and I have cotton+vaseline balls... <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I hate matches, basically. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

But they malfunction. Matches are more reliable and as John Wiseman says in his SAS Survival Handbook:

"However many lighters or fire-makers you carry, still pack as many matches as you can - you can't beat them."

After seeing so many lighters screw up so much on myself and others throughout my lifetime, I tend to agree with him.

The general rule is that a BIC lighter will always last one light LESS than what you needed it to.