I see BPL are featuring their Firelite fire starting kits.

Now my question is: Why would anyone go to the trouble of starting a fire using this bit of gear when it can be done much more easily and quickly using a normal lighter?

It has long puzzled me - this fascination with fire starting kits. To me it's a retrograde step. Why go back to the flint and steel days when a gas lighters, or even a box of matches, is so much easier. Technology has marched on!

A brand spanking new mini Bic lighter weighs 12g (less than 0.4oz) which is half the weight of the BPL Firelite Kit. So not only is the Bic better technology, it also weighs less. Bic: The lighter lighter.

So all you fire starter kit aficionados, tell us the reasons why we should throw away the Bics and go back to the Iron Age.

On a weekend hike I just bring a Mini Bic---But on long distance hike-say 7-10 days I would bring a fire kit just as back-up (Just in case).. I think it has to do with your duration of time on trail: 2 days 1 night out or A Thru Hike in very remote places....

Edited by Creachen on 07/22/2010 18:41:50 MDT.

For my 3-season hikes, I bring 2 mini BIC lighters -- one for backup.

OTOH, I've read in truly cold climes, the BIC mechanism may fail...

Edited by ben2world on 07/22/2010 18:41:27 MDT.

Two bics will light hundreds of fires, so length of trip is a non-issue. You can carry multiple bics/ matches and some soaked cotton balls as a back up... it's what I do.

I may be mistaken, but for many people the use of various fire starting devices/techniques is not really about efficiency or emergency preparedness (despite what they say) but rather about nostalgia and aesthetics. They are not recapturing the iron age, but rather the frontier mentality/techniques that are reflected in many "bushcraft" practices.
For many people, they find starting a fire with sparks (even though the devices used to make them are as modern as a lighter) speaks to a kind of primitivism that they go into the woods to construct. Again, it's not necessarily about efficiency.
It's the same reason I use a map and compass instead if GPS- we go into the wilds to create out own experience that is often defined by what we are leaving behind, including technology.

Looks like next month the Japanese government is going to outlaw Bic-style lighters in Japan because of young children getting hurt by them. Great. Next they'll be outlawing Lego because they have hard edges.

>Looks like next month the Japanese government is going to outlaw Bic-style lighters in Japan because of young children getting hurt by them. Great. Next they'll be outlawing Lego because they have hard edges.

Yeah, this trend is depressing. When I was a kid, my parents let me have knives, ropes, sharp sticks, lighters, etc.....to a degree. My parents were certainly not derelict or neglectful, but they let me learn the hard way sometimes. I'm better off for it.

Just to play "devil's advocate" for a second.

I also use mini bics, but can tell you with certainty that they are not fail proof.

As an example: I was backpacking/fly fishing this past weekend and our hike in required some deep stream crossings(deep enough to submerge part of my pack). Due to my mistake my bic got flooded and was unable to light. Having backup like an old school fire starter saved dinner/breakfast.

Now I know that you would not make the same mistake, but fail safe backups are sometimes packed for good reason.

Good point, Frederic.

I did an experiment with my mini BIC lighter once. I dunked it into a full glass of water for a few seconds, then fished it out, wiped it dry -- and it still worked flawlessly!

I then repeated the experiment, but this time leaving the lighter in for 10 minutes. Lighter failed! However, it worked again after 30 minutes or so.

A 30-minute wait time is fine for a run-of-the-mill three season hike, but might just be the difference between life and death out in the cold.

Yes, I always carry stormproof matches as well as my Bic. REI's matches are pretty cool actually. Not only are they "stormproof," but you can fully submerge them in water and they'll burn until the match is used up.

A firesteel is easier if your hands are cold or wet. A soaked or sand-filled lighter might work, but a firesteel probably will. It's less likely to break than matches or a lighter, and it will last much longer.

Don't consider the weight of the tinder. That can be gathered along the trail, although it would be a good idea to carry a small amount for an emergency.

The weaknesses of the firesteel are:

1. skill of the user
2. availability of tinder to catch a spark and sustain a flame
3. availability of a suitable striker

because they're waterproof and they harken back to the days of yore.. and matches suck.

One mini Bic with my cooking kit, one in the waterproof bag for my emergency kit. That has some Vaseline impregnated cotton balls in it.
Franco
Oh, yes I do have several of those fire starting thingos . I play with those at home.

Edited by Franco on 07/22/2010 19:51:53 MDT.

Last year on a trip, I used my Light My Fire Firesteel Scout Firestarter to light my alcohol stove because I thought it was really cool until the rod flew off into the dirt never to be found.

However, quick recovery: a flick of my Bic and all was well.

It's a mini-bic for me over any other method, especially fire steels. Simple, reliable, effective and light.

Yeah I carry a Bic. But a fire starter is something I know will work is the worst happens. So I carry one hooked to my whistle. I rarely use it now, just carry it on every hike.

http://tinyurl.com/2eb7uoq

Bic's are a PITA when it's windy.

I'm only doing 1-3 night trips, but I use a regular pack of matches such as you can grab at many restaurants with 5 REI stormproof matches as my inclement weather back-up. Alcohol stove in spring-summer-fall and whisperlite in winter. I guess I'd use a mini Bic if I ever stopped to pick one up.

Firesteels are inert, waterproof and safe to carry. I carry one as a backup, with a mini Bic for general use. I also carry a "spy capsule" full of Tinder Quick tabs.

they both weigh sweet f.a so i carry both. the firesteel along with a swiss army classic knife, photon torch & fox 40 whistle i carry on lanyard, the mini bic goes in with my cook set. just covering both bases, those mini bics are mini, maybe they should call them fiddly bics

Bics are great, but I don't carry one.

I wear a lanyard with a firesteel, whistle, and Photon freedom microlight.

It's worked for me for years with the same firesteel; I'm very competent lighting fires with it and can use natural tinder or stuff I carry. It's always on me, it doesn't run out, it doesn't break. I don't have to think about keeping it dry, where it is, etc.

I also simply have fun using it- I'm into the bushcraft/survival thing. Firesteels make more sense to me in that context due to their reliability and near unlimited use.

Nothing wrong with a Bic though- I'm sure many people that buy firesteels would be better off with lighters.