I would like to seek the opinion of fellow forum users on the types of windproof / storm proof lighters out there before I plonk any moolah down for any of these. The ones I'm considering are:<br><br>1. Windmill lighter<br>2. Helios stormproof lighter<br>3. Solo Storm<br>4. Solo Match<br><br>Any comments / suggestions would be helpful. Thanks. (and, no, I don't smoke)

Windmill! expensive but worth it. The price of disposables makes a few scattered about along with matches and other firemaking options in your various units ( PSK, pocket, rucksack, vehicle) an excellent option.

I have been using a windmill for about the last four years as my primary igniter. It works well and it has won a place in my heart and in my "essentials" gearbag. I still back it up with disposables and with matches, kept carefully waterproof.

I tried an inexpensive, imitation Windmill-style wind-proof lighter that I got at Wal-Mart for about $7. I think it was called a sport-utility lighter. The functional parts looked identical to a Windmill as far as I could tell. Consider this a warning:<br><br>Hopefully the real ones are much better, but the one I had consumed a full charge of fuel very quickly and I also found that the button got too-hot-to-hold very quickly. Also, the cap hinged open only about 90 degrees, so it was in the way for fire starting and I also found the blow-torch style invisible jet "flame" was not that good for lighting things on fire. For instance, I couldn't easily light a candle with it. The jet would char and burn the wick, but the force of it would sort of blow-out the flame or something. <br><br>I was dismayed at how lousy it was. I would rather have one disposable lighter than 100 of those imitations in a survival situation. Again, the real ones are probably much better, but if even some of these disadvantages are present in the real ones, I'm not interested. <br><br>I decided not to experiment with a more expensive version and just stick with disposables. With a disposable I get 3000 lights in the most compact package for a buck or two. That's good enough for me. OK, so it's not windproof, but it is way ahead of a bow-drill.<br><br>Just some things to watch out for when you do your hands-on testing. Good luck.

Are you sure that these lighters are way ahead of a bow drill?<br><br>Lighters need maintenance (refuling) sparking devices.... Sure they are fast and convenient, and I use them, but I also use a bow drill. What knowing the drill does for me is give me total freedom to have fire anyplace and time I want. Many years ago I decided I wanted a freedom from material things which are common to man. I wanted to go naked into the woods, with nothing at all. I learned and tried and failed and relearned and tried untill I got it right. With nothing I can go into the woods any time I want and come back fed dresssed, and be well....... One ting though.... I was never able to keep the best fashions from Paris.... seems the furs i was getting were not of the same quality somehow...and the bark clothing while functional was funny indeed to see! Mac

I’ve been carrying a Windmill for some months, and I have to say that I’m not all that impressed. I had hoped for better.<br><br>Despite the lid gasket, the lid doesn’t seem to bear on it with enough force to really seal it. Mine has been dunked twice (don’t ask), and both times it was full of water. Still worked with a little drying, but when I took it apart it was very, very wet inside. There doesn’t seem to be any gasket where the fill valve exits the bottom of the case. The hinge is narrow, wobbly, and inspires zero confidence when the case is open- seems vulnerable. The lid does swing pretty much out of the way, but I did have a problem not melting the cap once when trying to use it in tight quarters.<br><br>Taking the mechanism apart is easy, but it results in lots of delicate, tiny pieces, and it’s not obvious how they go back together again- not something you want to do in the field. It seems pretty reliable on full throttle, but it does use a lot of fuel pretty quickly, and though there’s a window to see the fuel level, it doesn’t hold very much. I have heard that it can be hard to light at high altitudes. It does heat up quickly- you don’t want to be doing much soldering with it.<br><br>On the plus side, it’s been abused, but it’s still working reliably, and it’s very windproof. I just feel that there must be something better available for the price range. It does come with a nice PSK tin…<br><br>The Brunton monster seems to be a Windmill inside a huge armored case.. it’s just too big.<br>

One thing I did not mention is that I usually carry mine in a twist wrap plastic bag which keeps water away from it in any sort of normal dunking situation - anything short of taking the lighter scuba diving. While I like the windmill fine and I have lit fires at elevaions up to 12,000 feet just fine, I would never depend upon it totally.<br><br>When you look at cost effectiveness, there is a lot to be said for a bunch of disposables tucked away everywhere.<br><br>In my scuba days, I often thought about a scenario in which I would come up from a dive around the Channel Islands with no boat in sight and have to swim about a mile or so to get to the beach. What kind of PSK should one carry diving that would serve in that sort of situation? About the only thing that I could come up with that would work for fire was a magnesium rod, although I should have taken a page from Mac Muz's book and considered a bow drill. One could probably be improvised from material found on the typical beach..

I carry a windmill in my daypack. My psk contains a $7 mag flint among other fire starters and my keychain sports a 3" by 3/8" cut down magflint. For lighting a candle or campstove, a lighter is the superior method. For lighting a campfire, however, I'll choose magnesium, vaseline cotton and a good spark every time!

Sorry to dredge this up again, but I've been surfing on the web looking for windproof lighter options and found a few that were not mentioned here.

Primarily, I'm trying to find one that is actually waterproof. So has anyone tried these:

Colibri Survivor
(says it floats)

Colibri Quantum Submersible lighter

Solo Storm Weatherproof lighter

Colibri Tempest

Colibri Seal
(says water resistant to 3 ATM)

Colibri Adventurer
(looks same as Seal sans compas)

Thanks,

-john

As for me, I use the Brunton Helios, and am very pleased. Also, a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for in most cases. The hinged lid flips open about 160 degrees, and I haven't had any problems so far. The button doesn't get "too hot" and flame is easily adjustable with a protective cover over the flame adjust / fill port.