New Zippo is out...

Take a look at the new zippo. <br><br>http://www.zippo.com/products/mpl/index.html<br><br>Hmmm... It may be little big (and I can live with that) but why not jet flame? They just reinvented BIC lighter.<br><br>Matt

Im having a heck of a time just finding a polished chrome traditional zippo. Seems that everyone around my area scarfs them up the moment they hit the stores. I asked a lady at one store about this and she said that she keeps the engraving store nearby in business with polished chrome zippo lighters. :)<br>It seems to me that it is hard to beat a polished chrome zippo (or a Ronson until I can get a zippo). It IS hard to blow them out. They are quite water resistant. When you run out of fuel you still have a flint and a naptha soaked cotton (?...it looks like cotton). When you run out of flint you still have an improvised signal mirror. If nothing else you could tie a string to it and throw a line. <br>My grandfather carried one for over 50 years without a hitch. That right there tells me that they work.

Zippos will also work on gasoline. They work well in extreme cold - 35 to - 80 Cel.<br><br>Most knock offs are almost as good but not as hardy. The key is good quality flints, wicks and stuffing.<br><br>Mariner

I have owned a Zippo for many years and I have never had a problem mechanically. However, I do find that the fuel evaporates awfully quickly. <br>I was suprised to learn that they will run on gasoline.<br>Will a Windmill Waterproof Butane Lighter do the same?<br>I am currently trying to get as much info as I can comparing the two different types as I am in the market for a new lighter.<br>At the moment I use the BIc lighters. I have some that are 5 years old and still work flawlessly and still have fuel in them.

Donald,<br><br> How do you keep the flint from turning to powder? I had set a couple aside,<actually misplaced them> for a couple of years and the flint had turned to dust.

I was thinking of the Brunton Helios myself. Anyone have experience with this item?

>>I was suprised to learn that they will run on gasoline.<br>Will a Windmill Waterproof Butane Lighter do the same?<<<br><br>Er, no. No butane lighter will.<br><br>I had an uncle who worked in the third world for many years and used gasoline in his even back here in the US. Personally, if I smoked the thought of inhaling burning gasoline wouldn't appeal to me. When I did smoke, I didn't care for the kerosene taste of lighter fluid either.<br><br>There's also a question about long-term use. Gasoline is fairly famous for gumming up in storage, whereas kerosene stores for much, much longer. One wonders if gum would build up in the stuffing and wicking of a Zippo over time.<br><br>The big disadvantage of this type of lighter is that the fuel evaporates fairly quickly whether you use it or not, which makes them pretty well unsuitable for an emergency kit that might spend years without use or attention. Aside from emergency kit use, this is a problem if you don't smoke, but sometimes use a lighter for gallant gestures- you're setting yourself up for embarrassment. I have butane lighters, disposable and refillable, that still have their original charge after 25 years of storage.<br><br>On the other hand, the novelty items sold as "permanent match" or sometimes "metal match" are smaller (flatter) and lighter than a zippo, use common liquid fuels, are easier to start a fire with, create lots of sparks even empty (piezo-electric butane lighters do not create enough, or the right type of spark to start a fire when empty), and store indefinitely full. I have a few in various kits. Quality varies a great deal between manufacturers, though.

Hunter,<br><br>There must be some other variable... storage conditions, change of flint type, something... as I said elsewhere, I have some dating back 20 years (found in old kits and in backpack pockets) that still light just fine.<br><br>These things could easily spend years unsold on a shelf in a country store- deteriorating in two years would not even be acceptable to the manufacturer.

I have had no problems with deteriorating flint, either, but I understand that any ferrocerium flints can corrode just like steel. Storage conditions would probably have an impact on the storage life. Damp conditions, especially salty coastal conditions would probably accelerate the deterioration.