Starting fires is a huge prepping topic.
It’s so huge that, sometimes, I’m surprised at how crazy some of the comments and suggestions get.
My thoughts on the matter are not crazy, nor are they extensive.
When I want to start a fire, I pull out a butane lighter, flick it, and start the fire.
Starting Fires For $15 A Dozen
OK, my way of starting fires is really, really boring. I get that.
There’s absolutely nothing cool, nifty or sexy about pulling out a cheap butane lighter, flicking it, and lighting a bit of paper/leaf/kindling/etc.
But here’s the thing… I’ve been using cheap butane lighters for 35 years now, and they get the job done with no mess, no fuss, no matter the weather or conditions.
They are light to carry, are exceedingly safe to pack around and use, and they just plain work.
My favorite cheap lighters by Bic
Bic, the manufacture of these lighters, claims a 3000 light start for them, but when used for prepping purposes, they won’t get that many fires started. Still, if you get 700 fires started (assuming you need to start 2 fires a day) per lighter, that’s 2 years per lighter.
This one package is enough to start 24-years worth of fires at that pace.
You can find a link to Amazon for the above pictured lighter’s deal. NOTE: We are not affiliates, we get nothing from this link, we are not associated with Amazon or Bic in any way.
So how long will these lighters last?
I honestly don’t know how long one will last, but I do know that I have one in my desk drawer at the office that I bought brought in with me when I started working for my current company… I’ve used it a few times, but I keep it in the drawer in case of need.
I flicked it a couple of days ago just to make sure it was still working, and although it took until the second flick to burn, it burned just fine.
I started my current job in 1993, so that lighter is more than 25 years old.
What About The Long-Necked Lighters, Aren’t They Better For Prepping?
Well… yes and no.
We’ve got a BUNCH of those long necked lighters as well for starting fires in things like Kelly Kettle bases and hobo stoves. We keep one in every vehicle as part of our Get Home Bags. They are great for starting fires, better than just a standard Bic lighter, but they are MUCH bigger, bulkier and heavier.
The beauty of a standards sized Bic is that it weighs almost nothing,
So What About The Off-Brand Lighters?
You see these a lot in C-Stores and discount dollar stores, off-brand disposable lighters.
Do they work well starting fires? Yes, they do.
Are they as well made as the Bic lighters? No, they aren’t.
Would Salty & Spice include them in our storage preps? Yes… but…
They actually work well, but… they really aren’t as good as the Bic branded lighters, and I have no reason to think I will get nearly as many lights out of them, I also suspect that, since they are made with cheaper materials, their shelf life is not nearly as good.
I’ve got a case of them I bought off of “The Bay” and they work… but, honestly, they are in my preps more for something to barter or give away than as something I personally am depending on.
Search for “Disposable Classic Cigarette Lighters – Full Standard Size – Wholesale Case” and you will find them (as of this writing) for about $15 a case (50 lighters).
Cheap Lighters, Cotton Balls & Petroleum Jelly, A Great Super Cheap Combo Prep
Three of my very favorite cheap preps (cheap enough so that ANYBODY can afford to store at least SOME of everything) is the combination of cheap lighters, cotton balls and petroleum jelly. Starting fires then becomes a snap.
There’s several ways you can do this prep, including pre-soaking cotton balls in petroleum jelly or at least dividing up parts of a big inexpensive jar of petroleum jelly into used prescription medicine bottles to make it easy (and mess less) to carry.
Take a small plastic zip-lock bag, drop two lighters (never trust just one of anything mechanical), some cotton balls and a pill bottle full of petroleum jelly and you’ve now got a powerful system for starting fires that weighs very little and will work under the worst weather conditions!
What About All The Other Fire Starting Methods?
Should I ignore the other methods out there for starting fires? Absolutely not. Waterproof matches and all of the striking methods of starting fires are important to have and to learn how to do. You can never truely depend on any technology to not fail.
Conclusion
Bottom line, being able to get a fire started, in some situations, may be the difference between life and death.
Me, if I’m in the situation where I need to be starting fires as if my life depended upon it, I’m going to be flicking a Bic lighter.
Your mileage may vary.
I am a big fan of the petroleum jelly cotton balls. I used to keep them in a pill bottle, but I found it hard to separate one out when I had them stuffed in there too tight, and the the bottle clanked around with my fire steel in my cargo pocket. It wasn’t very stealthy. Now I wrap up a bunch of vas-cotton balls in wax paper then put them in the small snack size ziploc. When I run out of cotton balls the wax paper will be a good fire starter.
The only trouble I’ve had with Bic lighters is when they were stored in a hot environment. Lighters stored in the car or my garage (no climate control) would seem to fail prematurely.
Thanks for the comment and good to know! My storage of lighters has always been in a climate-controlled environment… i.e. the lighter in my desk draw I used as an example hasn’t been above 80 degrees in the last couple of decades…
UPDATE: I was going through some old camping stuff, looking for some old camping stuff, and I found a Bic lighter that had been out in the wild for at least 10 years, and probably more (could have been 20). IT WORKED!! I’m pretty sure it had been through a flooded basement too. So, I hereby modify my position about non-climate controlled storage of Bic lighters.
I am a smoker and I’ve tried many many lighters to include Zippos. Bic the big ones are the best they seem to last forever I have used one for 6 to 8 months at a time
Thanks for the comment, Ann, good to know!
Well salty here I go getting woodsy again lol. Have u tried the age old method of flint and steel. I know it takes as little practice to get the hang of it and a little more prepping ( char cloth) but as long as you can find flint, ( which there is an abundance of here) you can build a fire. I know it’s not as easy as a bic but sure is satisfying to use the age old tradition.
How about I make a video of you showing how to do the flint & steel sometime and post it? (Yes, Marcus is a real-life personal friend of Salty & Spice… we do have some, you know 🙂 )
Absolutely. I can even give as far as teaching an easy way to make char cloth.
I’ve had fun practicing with flint and steel, but when I Need a fire it always seems to be raining and/or my hands are half numb, so I try to prep for ‘as easy as possible’.