Survival Lighters

What is the best brand of windproof, re-fillable lighter, survival lighter? They are pretty expensive so I don't want to just buy some. If anyone has had experience with them, I could use your help. Thanks.

I have a Brunton Helios for several years. I paid around $35 for mine (on sale) at a local outdoors shop. It is really well made and I hight recommend it. But at the same time, I have to agree with many others on here that a simple Bic is still a simple way to go.

The Helios is built well........quite waterproof. Refill is easy too.

http://www.brunton.com/product.php?id=34

Brunton makes a pretty darned good lighter. My experience is it is fairly stormproof. You may find a number of lighters nearly as good, some for less cost than the Brunton to be sure, but I seriously doubt you will find any that are better. Here's the link:

http://www.brunton.com/product.php?id=34

Ha, figtree beat me to it.

I know you guys like the Brunton but I still think the peanut lighter is the best all around survivor lighter. Although it is not windproof it has many other advantages.
1. Cheap $5
2. Waterproof 200 feet
3. Uses lighter fluid (not affected by cold like butane lighters)
4. Sealed so no loss in fuel evaporation (light it up years later)
5. Extremely small, can fit on keychain and carry a backup it needed
6. Most every part in the lighter can use zippo parts


http://www.countycomm.com/peanutlighter.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lidqk1dCGrc&eurl=http://www.countycomm.com/peanutlighter.htm

I really like those little peanuts. They are a great deal and very practical. I will add my recommendation to the list for these little gems.

But the OP asked specifically for the best windproof lighter, and nothing beats the Brunton, cost not being a concern.

For a number of years I carried a refillable Solo Candle Lighter - this is made by the same company that makes the Solo Storm lighter.

http://www.getlit.com/nhtml/candle.shtml

I liked it because it is extendable which made it easier to get to the firestarts underneath a bundle of kindling.

A few months back - when it was much warmer - I was trying to start a fire in a fairly high wind and I had lots of problems with the Candle Lighter blowing out. This got me to rethink my selection of lighters.

I decided to move to a jet-type lighter. I have both the Solo Storm and the Windmill lighters, and find them fairly similar in capability. Both are good lighters with jet-type flames. My only real complaint - and its with both of them - is that when in use I wish the tops of the lighters would flip back farther than they do. The lids kind of get in the way when reaching firestarters.

Of course the problem with jet-type lighters is that they go through fuel much faster. For me that isn't a problem since I don't/won't start lots of fires on any one trip.

Of course I also carry waterproof matches (REI) w/ striker pad in a K&M matchcase, a firesteel w/ striker, and petro-cotton firestarters.

http://www.getlit.com/nhtml/storm.shtml

I have found refillable lighters to be unreliable; Bics for me.
Bill

I know it’s not vogue or sexy, but the inexpensive Bic Lighter had done me well for years.

It lights when I want it to, every time.

It’s waterproof, if it gets wet, blow on it for a min and it’s back up & running.

As far as not working when cold, I keep it in my pants pocket where it keeps warm enough to light even on the coldest of days.

And while it’s inexpensive, it seems to be well enough made. As evidence of this you see people all over in all kinds of weather and conditions using them with success.

Disposable butane lighers are awful handy and cheap, but none of them are very windproof and few are refillable.

I have to agree with Bill on this one. I have a bunch of refillable Jet-type lighters that all stopped working about the time of the first re-fill. These were all mostly low-end models, the only expensive one I had I lost about a week after I started carrying it.

So it's Bic Lighters for me, lots of them.

I often use a lighter to thaw out frozen padlocks by heating the key up or the lock itself. Bic's are not that great for this because the wind blows the flame out or the Butane is too cold. So I keep a 1 lb Propane Torch in my vehicle, I light it with the Bic and the lock is unfrozen in no-time. I tried small butane pencil torches for this but they had the same "cold butane" problem as with lighters.

This is way off topic but in the past I have had the entire 4 foot tall swivel post of an access control gate frozen tight. To thaw this out we build a bonfire around it just long enough to thaw it out, then quickly put the fire out with snow as it is really hard on the paint!

Mike

+1

I've owned several refillable butane lighters over the years (although I have never tried the Brunton Helios) and not one of them was worth a damn after the first refill. Perhaps I'll give the Helios a try.

I once put one of my lighters in the freezer for a few hours and then heated the butane refill canister with hot water from the faucet just before refilling, and while this helped considerably, I still only got about half the use I did originally when it was new.

I've yet to have a mini Bic fail to light for me except for once up in Wisconsin in the dead of winter. A few moments next to my skin and shaking it briefly got it working again.

Jim

I agree that the refillable Butane lighters are throwaway items, in spite of their higher price. They seem prone to failure within a month of use. Also I have had a lot of piezo (sp?) lighters fail to spark or spark enough to light the gas.

The Bic with a striker wheel is simple and reliable. It also can be used to light tinder with the spark. Drier lint or cotton lights very easily with it.

i went abit over the top with the lighters





still have to sort some bulletproof lighters

I stash mini bic lighters all over for emergency purposes at home, in the car, and in my gear...my wife smokes so they tend to go missing if I don't. I also litter my kits with Coghlan's waterproof match containers full of strike anywhere matches or wind proof storm matches. The only fancy lighters I own, I carry. A Ronson JetLite in my pocket (or a Zippo on windy days) and a peanut lighter on my lanyard.

Yes, it seems that a lot of refillable lighters out there have a rather high failure rate upon refill, even after just the first refill. I think it has something to do with either the quality of the butane being used, which is unlikely in my opinion, or more likely some sort of vapor lock or mechanical problem maybe. I too have suffered unrecoverable lighter failure in this way. It is usually instantaneous failure, meaning the next immediate attempt at use results in a failure to ignite, making me think it is usually of the latter category of failure types. I have a few refillables that have not failed afer repeated refills using the same butane supplies that other refillables did fail on, so unless some types a lot more finnicky about the quality of the fuel, I gotta think it is a design problem more than a fuel quality control issue.

If anyone else out there has a more definitive explanation for the reason why refillables fail so much, the input would be welcome.

Until I can figure out what is going wrong, I will just continue with my trial and error method and keep those that don't seem so prone to refill failure. I will also carry at least one other source for ignition with me when necessary.

The best butane lighter I had was a Blazer. I had it for years (8 at least) and it just failed recently. It wasn't very windproof, though, so I guess that makes it no candidate. I keep a lot of little Bics in my kits and a Zippo for daily use.

I have had a number of windproof lighters and they seemed to not work after a while. At the tobacco shop I mentioned this and they said the quality of butane is important. Colibri and other good quality butane (such as found at a tobacconist) will not cause your lighter to fail. I think there was a thread not terribly long ago about the quality of butane. The tobacconist said that there is a way of filling and purging a lighter that sometimes loosens up whatever is causing the blockage.

I use a Windmill lighter which Doug had mentioned a long time ago. They come in a number of colors including glow-in-the-dark light green. The only problem with the lighter is if the lighter is in a trouser pocket with a lot of other stuff the button releasing the cap gets pushed and the cap opens.

I don’t buy the idea that run of the mill (inexpensive) butane is inferior. I have a Butane soldering iron, I bought it from Radio Shack in 1979. I refill it with whatever is the least expensive sold at stores, it’s still working like new. I have also used the same butane in lighters over the years and had the lighters fail. If it’s the butane that is the problem, why does it work in my soldering and also a small Harbor Tools torch I have had for years?

Deductive reasoning and my experience says it’s the lighters and not the butane.

Pete_Kenney
Journeyman


Registered: 07/12/04
Posts: 53
Loc: Sylvania, OH

Hey we are neighbors, I live in Oregon on the other side of Toledo…

Could be the soldering iron has much larger jetting.

This is the first time I've heard of 'bad' or dirty butane too however. I've almost always used Ronson brand and never had an issue. The only problem I've had with cheap butane is a crappy tip that leaks when you try to fill something, freezing your fingers.

I don’t know, I do a lot of work with the soldering iron, probably an hour or so a week. I have bought new tips for it as they get corroded but that has nothing to do with the filling of it. I have been expecting the soldering iron to bite the dust for years as it’s old, but it keeps going. So does the $3.00 torch from Harbor Tools.

If a $3.00 torch can work for years, why can’t a $20.00 lighter???

No butane lighters for me. I've never seen a reliable one. So what's the point of having one for emergency use?

Firesteel for reliability. Two Bics for convenience. Waterproofed matches and a small fresnel lens for additional backup. Vasoline cotton and commercial prepared tinder. "Can't blow 'em out" trick birthday candles for the windproof needs. I've never had to actually use those birthday candles, but that's my windproof plan (hope it works!)

Like I said, I really don't believe it is all about the quality of the butane, otherwise my results would be consistent when using the same refill cannister to charge many different lighters, and certain ones consistently failing while others seem wholly unaffected. Perhaps it is a combination of bad fuel and a more sensitive setup, but that still means some lighters are just better built than others.

I too had a butane soldering iron that I used for years and no matter what type of butane I put through it it never gave me cause to curse. Then I was issued a different model and it worked good the first tankful then never again.

My culinary torch (the ones they advertise for toasting creme brulee) has been going strong almost a decade now. That little unit has seen some rough times, and cost me $25 back when. I use it for soldering, lighting my propane stove, lighting my charcoal chimney, lighting my smoking pipe and the occasional cigar, melting lead, melting the end of synthetic rope and string, igniting the ends of my handwarmer sticks, etc. I've easily run a gallon of butane or more through that little unit, and it still lights everytime on the first click.

All the refillable butane lights I have ever tried failed at high elevation also. I don't think I would spend any great amount on a butane lighter, and I certainly would never count on one working (except for the cheapies which seem to work more times than not).

I have heard all the stuff about cheap butane too, and am not buying it. I have also tried all the tricks about purging out air etc from the butane tank for each refill. I think most if not all the expensive butane lighters are somehow mechanically flawed and the cheap butane excuse is what works for them when you return it.

I like the little Peanut light too....not windproof but it at least has a good chance of lighting when all my expensive butanes just wear my thumb out clicking. It sparks too, and has cotton batting....emergency tinder and a sparker in a waterproof capsule.....for only $5 (aluminum), $10 (stainless). Now that is a bargain.

I'm with Schwert - I carry the stainless peanut lighter and have grown to like it. Though, I'm looking for a good O-Ring replacement. It can spark even without fuel or tinder, it can seal up fuel for ages if it's intact, contains a last ditch tinder, and it's very durable - it's not going to accidentally turn on, leak fuel or break.

I would make a strong recommendation to get the stainless version both for strength and build quality - especially for EDC. You can easily fit a spare flint in the cap, maybe even stuff in some tinder, though it would be very small.

About the only thing I don't like about it is that it's a bit difficult to unscrew one handed, especially when cold - but it's doable. I suppose it would be easier if it was slightly longer, it's only other real drawback.

If you get a good copy, the O-Ring is probably just fine. Mine is so thin and flimsy that it rolls out of the way when you seal the lid tight. So I'm on the hunt for a good replacement. I will say though, that you can tighten the lid without an o-ring and it seems to seal VERY tightly - maybe not completely leakproof, but close.

One trick I've learned is that if you hook the splitring to a keychain, you can actually hold the keychain and the lid and unscrew the body - this makes it easier one handed.

My o-ring is pretty thin and will move out of the way if I am not careful screwing the cap on slowly. I think this is about the only fault of the peanut lighter (mine is stainless). An extra flint can go in the cotton on these too. Overall I think it would be hard to find a better inexpensive lighter. Well designed, well machined, mechanically simple and damn near foolproof.

I carry a zippo and a Tabasco bottle of lighter fluid as the Zippo is just about always dry when I want it. I wrap it in several layers of Saran wrap which helps keep it fueled for a few weeks, but it is really too much trouble compared to the Peanut.

Look for a Viton o-ring (brown) or silicon (red) in the same (or thicker) size as your presumably black o-ring. Viton is chemical and heat resistant, but hardish, while the silicon is softer but just as resistant.

As far as survival lighters go, I use tiger brand butane lighters.

I've had one forabout eight years now, and it's still going strong.

Considering I paid less than ten dollars for it, I'm happy.

I packed one in my bag, along with a bic, and I feel that as far
as lighters go, that should do me.

i am under the impression that they are designed to fail so we have to fork out for a new one

I have considered using those in my kits in the past, although if I recall correctly they need to burn for 10-15 seconds or more before they actually develop enough heat to relight themselves. If this is indeed the case, the benefit (in strong winds) is essentially negated.

Based on this thread, I'm seriously thinking about picking up a Brunton Helios tomorrow, but I'm really going to be pissed at myself for wasting the money (they're not ceap) if it turns out to be like all the other refillables I've owned in the past.

Jim

Brunton has been good about replacing all the defective compasses I bought from them, so check out their warranty before you buy.

Hope it works, but I would carry a reliable backup.

Replacement warrantees are ok when something doesn’t work, but it would be better to not have it break in the first place.



This sounds too far fetched to believe, No one can have this much bad luck. But it did happen to me just like this.

Back in about 1990-91 I bought a Simmons Rifle scope, it was their 6 to 18 power Presidential Ranger scope, it was the best most expensive scope they made. I put it on my 22-250 Mauser rifle and was a happy camper, till I tried to sight it in. it would every once in a while be off 8-inches in 100-yards. I took a Redfield scope on the rifle (taken off my 3006) and it worked perfect. This told me the scope was the problem. It had a great warrantee, send it back and we will send you a new one, sounds great. But the second scope would not go through all the power range when zooming in. I sent it back. The next one was blurry around the edges. I told them I wanted my money back as all these scopes are junk, they refused and said they would replace it. I had them send me a few sets of binoculars to equal what the scope cost. One set of binoculars was back ordered (3-months) the other one came right away, it would point each eye piece different directions when shaken. I threw them away. The second set I gave to my son (5-years old) to play with. My friend that sold Simmons scopes in his gun shop stopped carrying them.

Needless to say, a good warrantee does not impress me after this 9-month fiasco.

Good quality does.


PS I buy Redfield, Burris or Leopold scopes only. All others don’t get a look.

I'll definitely be looking for some O-Rings. I saw some GITD ones but they were too large. The ones on these things are really thin and when you tighten fully, they tend to bunch outward and can even break the seal. I took a better O-Ring off of a chrome version of the peanut lighter that I kept around - it seems better. I think it would actually work better with a washer type ring instead of an O-ring which rolls when you tighten down the lid. The washer type might be near impossible to find...

Anyway, it's still a fantastic lighter. I've replaced my Redilite which I carried for a long time. Those eventually evaporate the fuel despite the fairly tight fitting lid.

I love the form factor so much I'm considering getting another stainless one to remove the lighter and use it as a container. Unless someone knows of a good stainless or titanium container. The aluminum ones always seem thin-walled and too big to me.

Only refillable lighters I've had that got used enough to comment on were Ronsons @ about $8 each. Not wind proof but they work when filled. I usually use medium grade butane (Scripto or Ronson).

BobS

PM sent.

Pete

I don't know about stainless ones, but reasonable aluminum ones are available from EDCDepot.com in 3 sizes at very low cost. They also send a small one with every order.

Respectfully,

Jerry

I'll check that out. The last Aluminum one I had got so scratched and dented it wasn't usable and I stopped carrying. I've seen some HAIII tubes that were pretty sturdy, but they were very large. I wish I had unlimited money and could hire someone to craft me one or ten out out of titanium. :-)