Peanut Lighter is unreliable, sorry

Peanut lighters have let me down in far too many situations. It does not matter how much I baby them or modify them. It pains me to say that because I have spent more money than I am willing to admit on peanut lighters. And they are just so cool. The “Split Pea” model disappears on my keychain.

Unfortunately, after years of giving peanut lighters a fair shot, I have come to the conclusion that a simple Mini Bic is far more reliable. I vaguely remember somebody telling me that. I had to learn the hard way.

My split pea has worked for me when it has been called upon, but it is nowhere as reliable as a Bic. when I will likely be making fire, I always carry a Bic, backed up by matches, and a ferro rod and steel (-possibly even more if really critical).

I do the very same as hikermor. I also carry a Ziploc freezer bag filled with petroleum jelly infused cotton balls.

Maybe a bazillion smokers who use Bic lighters can't be wrong?

agreed. some peanuts are better than others. i have custom Ti body made by DeanJ that holds fluid for 6+ month.

that said, i carry a handful of mini bics in each survival kit, not peanuts.

fyi - you can blame me for the peanut issue, cause i'm the one that "discovered" them in 2007 and brought them to the attention of the EDC community so they could be imported to the US ( Old EDCF thread where they're mentioned)

The Peanut and Split Pea lighters I have all came from CountyComm and have been trouble free, but I don’t use them enough to say more than that. Like Hikermor, I prefer a Bic.

I have one from True Utility. It is reliable enough and it holds fuel longer than my Zippo. However the wheel is a bit small for easy operation.
For EDC I have Bic lighters and a small ferro rod (like so many others here). I switched from mini Bics to the regular size. The regular size is just easier to operate and the additional bulk does not matter for me.

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...sl_6yc9o6khqr_e

One thing I have done is to augment my regular size Bics with the Exotac Firesleeve which provides additional protection and waterproofing (allegedly). I have not yet used these in real conditions, but I believe they will be up to the task and provide flame on demand. In bright orange the firesleeves are easy to find, definitely...

Around here we only get them in black. I tethered mine. That makes them easy to find too.
The part of the sleeve that holds the gas tank has a tiny hole (opposite to the Exotac writing, right in the middle of the X shape). So the waterproofing may be limited but certainly better than without the sleeve.

I also rely on Bic Lighters. On my ramblings over the years, I have occasionally found Bic's on the ground, in various condition. I have no idea how long they were there, but, as long as I could see gas in it, they worked every time I tried them.

I have a couple peanut lighters from County Comm, kept in kits. Whenever I check on them they light and are full of fluid or nearly so.