Firestarting Challenge - short notice

[IMR4198]

    I always liked seeing the outdoor twig stove in action along with the other mini burners.  Best wishes.  G

[ReamerPunch]

Day 5
A clipper mini flat lighter..  This is not your typical Clipper lighter, as It is about the same size and shape as a Bic Mini.  It was used to light the stones of my  pill bottle stove for some outdoor coffee.

That's cool! I didn't know Clipper made those.

[ReamerPunch]

Day 3

According to Bic, their standard lighters are good for up to 3000 lights:

https://us.bic.com/en_us/lighters-faq

Assuming they are referring to one-second lights, this seems to be in line with other reports:

https://faroutguides.com/will-a-bic-full-sized-lighter-last-for-your-entire-thru-hike/

I love Bic lighters. Disposable but so reliable. Enjoying the cigars too!

[ReamerPunch]

Day 9
Zippo and some fire starting tape lit the twig stove

The Kodiak knife is back!

[nate j]

Love the variety of cigars

I love Bic lighters. Disposable but so reliable. Enjoying the cigars too!

[nate j]

Day 8

Here’s one of my Zippos…

[nate j]

Day 9

The back of the Zippo from Day 8…

[nate j]

Day 10

This particular Zippo has the Zippo single torch insert.

The Zippo single torch insert isn’t bad as such things go.  The main advantage over the Bic is really wind resistance.  However, it can be a bit finicky (i.e. less reliable), as torch lighters often are.

Another negative is that Zippo rates these inserts up to 100 5-second lights (or 500 seconds total burn time) per fill.  This might not seem terrible at first glance, but when compared to the 3000+ seconds of total burn time for a Bic, it’s not really in the same ballpark.  And if you start to also consider that you could carry multiple Bics for the weight of one Zippo, that tips the comparison even further…

[Sos24]

The Kodiak knife is back!

The Kodiak is a great knife.  It is one of my most used fixies.

Day 10

This particular Zippo has the Zippo single torch insert.

The Zippo single torch insert isn’t bad as such things go.  The main advantage over the Bic is really wind resistance.  However, it can be a bit finicky (i.e. less reliable), as torch lighters often are.

Another negative is that Zippo rates these inserts up to 100 5-second lights (or 500 seconds total burn time) per fill.  This might not seem terrible at first glance, but when compared to the 3000+ seconds of total burn time for a Bic, it’s not really in the same ballpark.  And if you start to also consider that you could carry multiple Bics for the weight of one Zippo, that tips the comparison even further…

Agree.  If planning on using the lighter a lot or counting ounces, then the Bic is the way to go. 

I just really love my Zippos from my days in the Navy.  Also, let’s be honest “flick my Bic” may be a saying, but the Zippo’s flick sounds cooler.  The butane insert adds a little more utility if I’m already carrying.

   I always liked seeing the outdoor twig stove in action along with the other mini burners.  Best wishes.  G

Thanks.  I have a few different twig stoves with the Nano being my favorite.  I also really like alcohol burners.

Day 10

Today’s use was using a Zippo to light a “Pill Bottle” stove

[Farmer X]

Those are some cool Zippos...but a Bic is more my pace these days. Great work, y'awl!

[Sos24]

Day 11
Another Zippo and a Procamptek fireplug.  The fireplug is not my favorite firestarter but it is waterproof and stays lit long enough to get a fire going, but it can be difficult to get pulled apart sufficiently to easily light.

[nate j]

Day 11

Here’s my preferred grip for lighting cigars.

It’s easy to avoid contact with the metal parts, which can get dangerously hot in the time it takes to properly light a big ring gauge cigar.

[nate j]

Day 12

This horizontal grip, operating the lighter with the index finger, is great for lighting things like candles and camp fires.

[Sos24]

Day 12
Used the Spark-Lite firestarter lit an alcohol stove

[Sos24]

Day 13
The Clipper Mini Flat lit the alcohol stove

[nate j]

Day 13

An old favorite college party trick…get an adjustable lighter and turn the flame waaaaaaayyyy up.

Disclaimer:  This is unsafe, and I don’t recommend anyone else try it.

[nate j]

Day 14

I had to get a Clipper at some point to try.  However, being refillable wasn’t a huge advantage for me.  I was also concerned about how close some of the plastic was to the flame.  And they are harder to find, at least here in the US.  So I went back to my Bics.

[Sos24]

Day 13

An old favorite college party trick…get an adjustable lighter and turn the flame waaaaaaayyyy up.

Disclaimer:  This is unsafe, and I don’t recommend anyone else try it.

I wonder if that is why many lighters don’t have flame adjusters nowadays

Day 14

I had to get a Clipper at some point to try.  However, being refillable wasn’t a huge advantage for me.  I was also concerned about how close some of the plastic was to the flame.  And they are harder to find, at least here in the US.  So I went back to my Bics.

I think Clipper is like the Bic of Europe and just don’t see much following in the US.  I do like the refill aspect and the replaceable flint.  I’m not a fan of how they change the wheel.  Also, Bics still end up being cheaper and easier to find.

[Sos24]

Day 14
No use due to rain, so just a picture of one of my favorite Bic.

[nate j]

I wonder if that is why many lighters don’t have flame adjusters nowadays

I always assumed it was a cost-cutting move, but perhaps you’re right.
 

No use due to rain, so just a picture of one of my favorite Bic.

That is the sad part about Bics being disposable.  You find one that really speaks to you, and then it eventually runs out of fuel.

[nate j]

Day 15

The mini Bic is about half the weight of the full size Bic, and delivers about half the burn time/lights as well.

While the mini may be popular with ultralight hikers and others who count every gram they carry, I personally prefer the full-size, as it seems to fit my hand better.  To me, the mini feels small and fiddly by comparison.

[Farmer X]

 

[Sos24]

Day 15

The mini Bic is about half the weight of the full size Bic, and delivers about half the burn time/lights as well.

While the mini may be popular with ultralight hikers and others who count every gram they carry, I personally prefer the full-size, as it seems to fit my hand better.  To me, the mini feels small and fiddly by comparison.

You are right about the mini being popular with ultralight hikers, but I prefer the full size (x2) when hiking/camping because the last thing I want is not to be able to light a fire/stove.  I do like the mini for my mini outdoor coffee kit, just as a space saver, but I usually have my edc lighter as a backup.  I also keep a mini in my paracord spool tool, because that is what fits, but even then I prefer a torch lighter for paracord.

[Sos24]

Day 15
A migraine had me down an out yesterday so I didn’t post.  Although, I did take a picture of a special butane cigar lighter that was a gift from some friends on one of my ships.

 I rarely smoked cigars but it was a joke to remind me of the “the signal bridge is now open for cigar smoking, sunset viewing and sea story swapping”.  The Commanding Officer of the ship was a big cigar smoker so when underway he would allow people to smoke on the signal bridge if nothing operational was going on.  It would sometimes impact the Operations Brief that I had to prepare and give which initially was frustrating, but then became a joke that the CO must be enjoying a real good cigar.

It is a double torch light with a cigar punch in the bottom.

Day 15
Tested out a new alcohol stove that was a gift using the Clipper mini tube lighter.

[nate j]

I rarely smoked cigars but it was a joke to remind me of the “the signal bridge is now open for cigar smoking, sunset viewing and sea story swapping”.  The Commanding Officer of the ship was a big cigar smoker so when underway he would allow people to smoke on the signal bridge if nothing operational was going on.

That’s fantastic!

Glad you are feeling better today.

[nate j]

Day 16

This plain Zippo has the classic Zippo insert.

I’m not a huge fan of these due to the need for frequent refills and the strong fuel odor.

[Sos24]

Day 16

This plain Zippo has the classic Zippo insert.

I’m not a huge fan of these due to the need for frequent refills and the strong fuel odor.

You highlight the exact reason I do like the butane answer.

Day 17
I too used a zippo with the original insert because it is a special gold one to make the exterior.  It is from the USS SACRAMENTO aka Golden Bear, which is the ship that had the cigar smoking.

[Farmer X]

  I seem to remember doing an UNREP with a Sacramento-class ship.

[Sos24]

I seem to remember doing an UNREP with a Sacramento-class ship.

I wouldn’t doubt it especially if on a west coast ship.  If it was between Jul 2001 and Jul 2003 then I was there.

[Farmer X]

I was aboard USS Lake Champlain between September 2002 and June 2003, and USS Peleliu between June 2003 and August 2006. Much of the time I spent on Lake Champlain was during work-ups.