Don't buy cheap disposable lighters.

Aloha · **on:** March 02, 2016, 07:30:00 PM

Thats my opinion of course. I use lighters in my home for candles, paracord, grill, burning loose threads and whatever else. I don't rely on it necessarily so I tend to buy cheap $1 store multi packs. If one fails then into the trash and no harm just grab another. Well these cheap lighters tend to fail often in my experience and aren't cheap in the long run.

I was thinking of those who EDC a lighter when posting this. If you are going to rely on a lighter then spend a few bucks to get a "good" one. I don't know if Bic is that much better but there has to be better ones than this piece of poo.

They always fail in the same place. The part that release the fuel ( black part ) wont spring back up. It wont release fuel for some reason. It just flops around. The other lighter is better and so far has not failed.

Steinar · **Reply #1 on:** March 02, 2016, 07:48:52 PM

I buy Djeep lighters, never had one fall apart yet. Then again, I'm not a heavy user. (Mainly use lighters for paracord.)

powernoodle · **Reply #2 on:** March 02, 2016, 07:58:57 PM

It just burns me up when those cheap lighters don't work.

Humppa · **Reply #3 on:** March 02, 2016, 08:00:24 PM

I don´t smoke anymore. Except some pipes or cigars during summer as a process of relaxing. On this part I highly prefer matches over lighters. No fuel lighters as they seem to spoil the taste somehow (IMHO).

I use lighters to fire the stove and the grill. For candles and sometimes for paracord. I have mostly Bic there. They work well, at least for me. I have a stove lighter I got about several years ago from a hardware store - Bic it is - and it still works just amazingly well. We lighten the stove every single day during the cold months. So it gets used almost daily and there was refiling required, yet.

Tomcat_81 · **Reply #4 on:** March 02, 2016, 08:47:55 PM

It's incredible how many dead lighters you can find on the beach- I guess one beloved Zippo, high maintenance it may be, saves a lot of plastic trash. I still love and use matches a lot, but I'm pure pathetic nostalgia.

Tomcat

Toolslinger · **Reply #5 on:** March 02, 2016, 09:01:02 PM

I have a handful of Bics that get thrown into my kits and around the house. Never had one fail yet. In fact, I use them so infrequently that I still have my first Bic that has got to be about 10 years old at this point and it still works.

That being said, I EDC a Zippo, well alternating between 2 different ones actually), that both have butane torch inserts. Not sure how long the insert will hold up though as I've heard mixed reviews about the brand (Z-Plus). So far so good. The case should last forever though.

jerseydevil · **Reply #6 on:** March 02, 2016, 10:38:33 PM

I've never liked disposables. I've been a Zippo guy for over 20 years. This one's my current EDC.

Fortytwo · **Reply #7 on:** March 03, 2016, 12:17:40 AM

The sad fact is that for many of us non-smokers (who won't be using a lighter everyday) a Bic is probably more reliable than a Zippo because you'll quite possibly forget about refilling it. Same goes for some of the other classical models like the Ronson Varaflame I bought. The rubber gaskets are dried out by now. (be aware of this if you ever think of buying one, they can be restored but time or money will have to be spent)

I do miss decent lighters in the lower non-disposable price range. They are usually either big and clumsy or really low quality to the point where a Bic is a better lighter. Or else you have to enter the 50$ range (and don't forget that some people have a tendency to pocket any and all lighters they get in their hands

).

parnass · **Reply #8 on:** March 03, 2016, 02:25:19 AM

Quote from: Tomcat_81 on March 02, 2016, 08:47:55 PM

It's incredible how many dead lighters you can find on the beach-...

While out for a walk, I often find disposable lighters which contain fuel and still work. Here are some of them.

clown · **Reply #9 on:** March 03, 2016, 03:07:35 AM

Funny to see this thread. Just today my coworker and I were having this same discussion. He was complaining about one of those cheap clear lighters because it wasn't working and was still half full of fuel. I handed him my Bic.

I'm a Zippo guy a lot of the time but when it comes to disposable lights I only get Bics. Never had one quit one me and they last a loooong time if you can manage not to lose them. I've got em stashed all over.

jerseydevil · **Reply #10 on:** March 03, 2016, 03:10:51 AM

True, Bics are the best of the disposables. But I'm a through and through Zippo guy, a small can of fluid and a pack of flints lives in my bag. And no, you can't hold it. I'll light that smoke for you.....

Singh · **Reply #11 on:** March 03, 2016, 04:03:12 AM

The fuel in a Zippo will evaporate in a week.

I have two Bics that are a decade old and still going.

jerseydevil · **Reply #12 on:** March 03, 2016, 04:08:54 AM

So you refill it. It's part of the ritual of running a classic design. I have no problem with that. You do have to be careful not to overfill, the chemical burns from overflowing fluid can hurt like a sonofabitch.

SAK Guy · **Reply #13 on:** March 03, 2016, 04:17:59 AM

Quote from: shamus on March 03, 2016, 04:03:12 AM

The fuel in a Zippo will evaporate in a week.

I have two Bics that are a decade old and still going.

+1!! I love playing with Zippos but they taint a fine cigar and when I was ready for my occasional stogie, they were always dry. Bics are fine and refillable butane lighters work fine too.

Grathr · **Reply #14 on:** March 03, 2016, 06:39:10 AM

I dont use lighters that often, but I carry one anyway. I tried to carry a zippo, but it was always out of fuel when I needed it. Instead I got som butane zippo look alikes that work well.
Recently I found this one, that use disposable lighters as cartridges.

Poncho65 · **Reply #15 on:** March 03, 2016, 03:42:19 PM

I just like the flame of any lighter

I love my Zippos but I like a Bic lighter as well

I have bought a few butane torch lighters over the years but seems that they always burn out on me and those were the $20 ones $:-\$ I may look into that Soto torch you have there Grathr. I like the look of it

I have had most types of lighters fail at one time or another. Bic and similar have had striker wheels to break and Zippos have either ran out of fluid or flint worn away. I also have some peanut lighter but they have mostly the same pros an cons of zippos

I just like fire I guess

Fortytwo · **Reply #16 on:** March 03, 2016, 04:32:44 PM

I've had trouble with a couple of butane torches not lighting despite having plenty of gas and producing sparks.

Poncho65 · **Reply #17 on:** March 03, 2016, 05:03:33 PM

Quote from: Fortytwo on March 03, 2016, 04:32:44 PM

I've had trouble with a couple of butane torches not lighting despite having plenty of gas and producing sparks.

That has been my experience with butane torch lighters as well $:-\$

styx · **Reply #18 on:** March 03, 2016, 05:06:17 PM

emm Zippo evaporation has a fairly easy fix - butane insert

and yes I'm a Zippo lover that currently doesn't carry one for dumb reasons

Weasel · **Reply #19 on:** March 03, 2016, 05:07:09 PM

I always have a couple of lighters on me incase one breaks. I've had a turbo flame lighter for a few years now but even that is temperamental. I've been thinking of getting a good peanut lighter for my keys as a backup backup.
Here's my turboflame

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wilfried · **Reply #20 on:** March 03, 2016, 11:14:56 PM

As far as gas lighters are concerned I use BIC and CRICKET only. They never fail me.

When I go outdoors I use my ZIPPO since the place where I live is very windy and gas lighters will not do the job.

Gerhard Gerber · **Reply #21 on:** March 04, 2016, 08:01:13 AM

What I hate about BIC, the best disposable lighter out there.
1. When it runs out there is very little warning, it's working, next moment it's not and the best part of the flint is still left.
2. They are not refillable. Corporate greed I guess.

I used Clipper almost exclusively for the years I smoked cigarettes.

There is a certain kind of dirt-cheap refillable electronic lighter that I always buy when I see them. I get the impression the leak a little when older, but otherwise one of the more durable lighters I've used.

Djeep is no longer available locally, but seeing that name brought back memories......

There was a certain model Djeep that became my Buck Rodgers ray gun once my dad had emptied it

Steinar · **Reply #22 on:** March 04, 2016, 09:17:19 AM

Quote from: Gerhard Gerber on March 04, 2016, 08:01:13 AM

Djeep is no longer available locally, but seeing that name brought back memories......
There was a certain model Djeep that became my Buck Rodgers ray gun once my dad had emptied it

Gah, I'd totally forgotten that. I did the same thing!

anditsgone · **Reply #23 on:** March 04, 2016, 05:29:42 PM

I've never really liked products with the word disposable in it. Waste of environment and materials in my opinion.

Zippo, can be used to unfreeze frozen locks, warm up cold hands, has been used for lighting a room, has been used as a small stove, runs on every fluid that can be ignited by a spark. I have even refilled my Zippo at a car fuel station.

Best of all, they last a lifetime and cost 5 Euros used. I keep 5 extra flints under the filt in the lighter case and the refilling one time a week doesnt bother me. It takes 30 seconds and i have the Zippo and fuel canister besides my bed so every Friday before i get out of bed i refill it.

If you have a bit of a prep mindset you have to have a Zippo.

N_N_R · **Reply #24 on:** March 04, 2016, 05:59:10 PM

Well, before reading the rest of the thread and referring to Aloha's first post, I must say I may disagree. Of course, there might be different brands and so on, but my father's always been a heavy smoker. He's got a low pension and can't afford fancy stuff. So he buys the cheapest possible lighters for 0.25 cents and trust me, they light up about 30-40 cigarettes a day and work for many months on end. He's got a bottle of gas to refill them and hasn't bought a new lighter for probably over a half a year. On the other hand, I'm not a smoker, don't use lighters a lot if not at all, and my BIC failed me after almost no use, it was still half full and just wouldn't strike anymore