Best lighter?

D

drjones

Joined
Sep 6, 2000
Messages
913
Hi. I'm looking for a good lighter. NO, not a zippo. I want something more durable, more weatherproof.

I have NO idea what's out there...educate me!

This is going to be for EDC (I obviously don't smoke) But will also be part of my SURVIVAL kit, which is why I want it so durable.

Thanks!
drjones
 
No question about it, the Busse of lighters!

Seriously, check them out, they aren't cheap but they rock if you need portable, dependable fire.

The Delta model is a ruggedized, O-Ring sealed version of the standard Windmill Stormproof butane/piezo-ceramic lighter.

:cool:
 
I had a similar application. Windproof lighters weren't enough for me. Problem with most of them is that they don't have a duty cycle of more than a few seconds. If you try to keep them lit, they eventually over-heat. I wanted a real torch. I went with these people...

http://www.hill.u-net.com/

Also expensive, but this puppy really works! I've had no problem lighting it in a wind, but be careful... This is <b><i>not your ordinary lighter</i></b>. I tried to be helpful and light a person's cigarett when I first got it (I don't smoke either). Basically burned away the first half of the cigarett just by touching it with this flame!
 
I've gone through 4 Windmill lighters in the past 4 years. They somehow get fouled up inside to the point that when I try to use them, the flame keeps going in a somewhat diminished state after I've released the plunger. The Brunton Helios supposedly has the same innards as the Windmills. There has to be a better design out there.
 
In the past 5+ years I've been reading the occasional thread about the Brunton/Windmill/etc big robust lighters, I've read of so many problems that I'm pretty convinced lighter technology pretty much blows. Everyone knows not to depend on just one source of fire, but if you carry one of these lighters, you'd better really internalize that!

Joe
 
I agree with Joe Talmadge. I have a Windmill in anodized aluminum, but I can't say I'm very impressed with it. The lighter worked fine for a while, but now will NOT stay lit in even mildly windy conditions. Now all I carry are disposable lighters.

Matthew - I remember reading your post when you bought the pocket torch. How's it holding up for you? I'd be tempted to get one myself, but I'm afraid I'd seriously burn myself trying to light a cigar. I'm only kind of kidding here, because I know those suckers throw up a mean flame. How safe do you consider it to be?
 
For camping, I usually have a few packs of matches, a bic or two and a magnesium firestarter.

I would like a nicer refillable lighter but I have never found one I really liked.

Besides, as Bobby Hill said:

"My Dad says butane is a bastard gas."
 
Interesting comments, one more reason forums like this are so useful. I've been using two Deltas, one for about two years and the other is a new blaze orange I keep in the truck.

I keep them in their storage tin most of the time, but I use them maybe once a week pretty regularly and they seem to work well- with a much more robust flame than a disposable, more like a torch, and when adjusted properly they will stay lit in a pretty strong wind.

I've noticed you have to fiddle with the adjustment a little until you get the flame right, and they don't work as well when they're low on fuel. The issue of the continued flaming after release is supposedly adjustable, mine did that when new and after some tweaking work consistently well.

I would agree on the backup fire, no lighter is worth betting the farm on. My backups include a Gerber StrikeForce and good old strike anywhere waterproof matches in a sealed plastic tube, but I have yet to be disappointed by the Delta as long as I keep "bastard gas" LOL in it.

Of course, having read these comments, I will now be super critical of the lighters and they'll probably break.
 
Matthew - I remember reading your post when you bought the pocket torch. How's it holding up for you? I'd be tempted to get one myself, but I'm afraid I'd seriously burn myself trying to light a cigar. I'm only kind of kidding here, because I know those suckers throw up a mean flame. How safe do you consider it to be?
Click to expand...

Nathan... Its holding up just fine. Now mind you I don't do a lot of heavy duty soldering or other heating with it, just a fire start here and there (almost every day come to think of it). It throws a very hot tongue of flame and will stay lit if necessary. I confess that some days ago I got really sloppy about setting up a camping fire, had kindling (cardboard) that was treated with something so that it wouldn't burn well (don't you hate that?). There is no way I could have gotten this stuff going with a match, spark, or bic lighter, but the Blaze got it going eventually.

It seems perfectly safe to the user so long as you don't point the flame at your face or other body parts. The lever that starts it can be locked down so that you don't have to hold it if your application calls for that, but even if you do, it is well away from the flame and does not heat up at all. Indeed, there is very little heat put out to the sides. Most goes where it should, straight out the tip of the flame. That makes it a poor lighter for things like cigars, but even more so for pipes. When I smoke a pipe, I put a flame out across the top of the bowl and suck it down into the tobacco (I don't smoke any more, but I used to). You can't do that with this lighter. For cigars/cigaretts, you can bring a vertical flame to the tip, but you have to be careful not to cross under what you are trying to light, or what ever is there will be instantly incinerated!

My concern is the eventual clogging of the gas port. I don't know what to do about that, but so far (about 1/2 the original fuel used) I've had no problem.
 
My concern is the eventual clogging of the gas port. I don't know what to do about that, but so far (about 1/2 the original fuel used) I've had no problem.
Click to expand...

Matthew, the Blazer Pocket Micro Torch can be dismantled all the way down to the minute filtering screen in the gas port. Careful not to lose the parts.
 
Matthew - Thanks for the info. I'm curious as to how well the pocket torch will perform over time. Keep us updated!
 
Matthew, the Blazer Pocket Micro Torch can be dismantled all the way down to the minute filtering screen in the gas port. Careful not to lose the parts.
Click to expand...
That is interesting thank you, and I'll bet there are quite a few of those parts to loose too. The web site makes no mention of this. Are any special tools required? Can the filter screen be cleaned or must it be replaced? I don't suppose you would know of any exploded views lieing around the web would you?

Thanks though for that info.
 
Can the filter screen be cleaned or must it be replaced?
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The filter screen can be cleaned. It looks like it's made of very fine brass. No special tools needed, just a small Phillips screwdriver to detach the gas port head from the body and a flat head to disassemble the gas port. Take careful note of where everything fits. It's like you're reverse-engineering the torch. Sorry but I don't know of any site that may have an exploded view/diagram. The gas port disassembles from the point of the brass cylinder opposite where the flame shoots out. The tricky part during reassembly is getting the little Piezo ignition wire back into place.
 
My KGM Vector Gear lighter is not waterproof, but otherwise it seems to be just about perfect. It resists wind, operates well at high altitudes, and gets twice the flame out of its butane (by using a catalytic reaction) of any normal lighter. I've used it regularly for several years (although I do not smoke) and it has never given me any trouble.

Has anyone else tried one of these?

--Bob Q
 
Ive found more lighter HYPE than true claims over the years. Ive owned a few high end lighters and must say that most didnt live up to the HYPE claimed about them. Save yourself the bucks and get a good old BIC. Although i do have a RONSON EURO butane that i purched some months ago that has been pretty realible, use it for dressy occasions.Check it out at the RONSON WEB SITE IF INTRESTED.
 
BIC is what I am thinking and don't mind spending the cash on a good lighter. If a BIC don't work I will grab another no biggie. If a $30+ lighter does not work I would be pi$$ed.
 
Yeah, you guys are right. These high-end lighters seem too unreliable... I'm just gonna stick a couple bics in a ziploc for my survival kit...:D Thanks for saving me the money!!!

Thanks!
drjones
 
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