Semi-disposable Butane Lighter

[theonew]

I found this lighter a couple of months ago in the grass in Central Park. It was a little dirty but had a third of a tank of gas and lit right up. So I threw it in my pack figuring it might be useful as a backup at some point. Well a week or so later I realized I had left my lighter in the car and was too lazy to go out and get it, so I pulled out this one, cleaned it up a little and it worked fine. While it's sitting on my desk I look a little closer and notice a slide switch on the side. Hmmm, what could that be for? Sure enough it lights up a pretty darn bright LED on the bottom of the lighter with quite a useful level of white light, much brighter than the little LED on a Midnight Manager. Pretty cool. Then as I examine it closer I realize that it is refillable. Again pretty cool. So far I have refilled it about four times and it still works well. I believe the ignition source is piezoelectric so at some point I expect that to fail but so far it has been very reliable, lighting up on the first try almost every time. It doesn't seem to have any active child safety features, though the amount of thumb force required to light it does seem like it would be beyond the capabilites of most small children.





One of the only markings on it said "5-Flags" so I googled that and found I could buy 10 from a seller on Amazon for $10 delivered. Not a bad deal, in the corner store a Bic lighter here costs no less than $1.50.




Here's a link if anyone is interested.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005IDN3DK/ref=pe_175190_21431760_M2T1_ST1_3p_dp_1

[nuphoria]

I never buy disposables if I can avoid - just no need!

They're are nice, but I'd swap you my silver zippo right now to be hanging out in Central Park

[enki_ck]

Those have been around for ages, some come with coloured leds too, some with UV light. I never was able to refill one of those, well they never held fuel for long after. The only downside is they use 3 of those coin cell batteries.

There are other variations of it, I have a few that have a retractable pen instaid of the flashlight.

[Gareth]

I picked up a pack of 4 similar lighters a while back when I was in need of a light.  I will admit I didn't notice the LEDs at the time either, I really just needed a flame.  LED's on mine are very blue though.

[theonew]

I never was able to refill one of those, well they never held fuel for long after.

This post got me a little nervous. I've been using the lighter a lot and so if it was leaking fluid I wouldn't necessarily notice. I put a mark at the fuel level of the one that's been refilled four times and put it away. After nearly three days it doesn't appear to have lost any fluid. Maybe their manufacturing quality is better

Nuphoria, Zippos are very cool but aren't my first choice for lighting up a fine cigar. I do have a non-disposable butane torch type lighter which is in fact my first choice for lighting cigars but that thing sucks down butane at a ridiculous rate. But if you do find yourself in NYC for any reason give me a shout and I'll give you the grand tour of Central Park, it really is quite a beautiful and dramatic place

[theonew]

My wife just got back from a job in Hawaii and brought me this multitool.



She said they used it a lot on their days off The bottle opener works very well

[Gareth]

access to beers and cigarettes?  what more can you ask for?

[Flying Dutchman]

I have a variation of the version from the OP, bought it at a gas station with a pack of smokes one day. It's black and has a blue LED, which is still surprisingly bright. It's in the drawer now, I don't smoke often but it's there when I want it.