Is there a good durable, reliable, refillable lighter for a decent price? Not a zippo. Thanks.

Zippo does do butane now FWIW

http://www.zippo.com/lighters.aspx?id=1227

I have one of those original zippo blus and it's a piece of junk. Very fiddly and not something I would rely on outside of civilization. Maybe they improved with the second generation, but mine seems to require the purest of pure butane and only then will it occasionally work with any modicum of consistency.

That's too bad. :(

I gave up on finding a refillable for myself years ago. I found that the element in the windproof refillable ones burned out in relatively short order. Dunhill ones leaked. None did well when wet.

Still have the butane fuel bottles to store/dispose of.

A Bic could be more recycle friendly if handled properly.

I do use a fire steel(trendy I know, but really I have been using them for a long time)to light my stove.

A Bic, while not a perfect solution works. It works at altitude better than any refillable I have ever come across. Most won't work above 7500 feet has been my experience.

Matches, especially wooden ones are not as good as they once were. Those UCO Storm matches are overkill for most usage.

So I see Brett's dilemma

Hope you find a solution you can live with. Not easy some times.

Thanks. I use a firesteel also and mainly carry a Bic as a backup or to light alcohol stoves when I can't get the spark to hit correctly. One Bic will probably last me years and years but I tought it would be best to possibly work out a better solution.

Behold, the titanium peanut lighter:

http://www.countycomm.com/tipeanutlighter.html

> A Bic, while not a perfect solution works. It works at altitude better than any refillable
> I have ever come across. Most won't work above 7500 feet has been my experience.
My Bic seems to work first time and reliably anywhere up to 3,000 m. I keep it warm and dry.

Cheers

I would be carefull about storing the Bic lighters. I have found that dampness in the air can cause the spring on the flint to rust...no spark. I left a couple in my shop, in a drawer for a year and they were dead because they would NOT spark.

Have had same problem with Bic, but most don't seem to mention it. I moved to Cricket lighters.

I've used the same Windmill for about 20 years now. It's "decent" as you say, definitely not perfect. They go for about $25 new.

Calibri makes some great refillable lighters. But for backpacking I have been using Bics for decades and never had on fail.

A Master Microtorch MT-5 is probably overkill-- about 1.8oz with fuel, but the visible flame is 1.5" tall and you can lock it on. It is fully adjustable too. I use one in my shop and hike with a Bic, firesteel and matches.



The Windmill and similar windproof lighters have an element that stays hot and keeps them going. They are nice, but you could pack a couple Bic's and still save weight and no doubt a lot of money. Bic is making a piezoelectric model that I tried and found it took a lot of thumb pressure to keep it going. Cricket has made tall thin piezoelectric lighters that I like and was surprised they haven't been more in favor in UL circles. The longer body is much easier to grip and I think the small weight difference is negligible in a tool that is used so often.