I don't make campfires or bring a stove when I go backpacking, but I
still occasionally want to burn something (or may need to start a fire
in an emergency). Strike-anywhere matches aren't bad, but I'd also like
to have a cigarette lighter as a backup. The problem I've had with the
cheap Bic lighters they sell in the checkout lane at the supermarket
is that they don't seem to want to light at high altitude when the
temperature is low.

My brother in law says there's something called a cigar lighter, which
makes a bigger, stronger flame. Anyone have any experience with these?
I'm visualizing something the size of an abridged dictionary, with
roughly the density of plutonium.

There's a whole set of specialized "super-bics" for the
outdoors. I've used an old Colibri pipe lighter, but
here's a whole page of choices:

http://www.elighters.com/colibri-lighters-high-altitude-outdoors-series.html

Usual disclaimer: I don't own, work for, buy from, or know
anything at all about elighters.com. I just thought the
examples on that page might be of interest.

I don't make campfires or bring a stove when I go backpacking, but I
still occasionally want to burn something (or may need to start a fire
in an emergency).

 If
tinder might be a problem in your hiking area, bring some vaseline
covered cotton balls, which work well.  You can easily put a dozen of
them into a small plastic prescription bottle, or an old 35mm film
canister.

Wolf Leverich wrote:

There's a whole set of specialized "super-bics" for the
outdoors. I've used an old Colibri pipe lighter, but
here's a whole page of choices:

http://www.elighters.com/colibri-lighters-high-altitude-outdoors-series.ht
ml

Usual disclaimer: I don't own, work for, buy from, or know
anything at all about elighters.com. I just thought the
examples on that page might be of interest.

Anybody have actual experience with those very cold weather? It says
they use butane which tends not to vaporize in the cold so I wonder
how they work. It's possible they have some additive that helps but
I'd like to know that before I'd trust my life to one.

Anyone with ANY Brains at all would simply put the butane lighter
in their armpit, for an hour, BEFORE, they stopped to camp, and that
would warm the butane to 98F, and will light easily for about ten
minutes even if it was -20F Air Temp.....  Duh......

Anyone with ANY Brains at all would simply put the butane lighter
in their armpit, for an hour, BEFORE, they stopped to camp, . . .

On Jul 20, 4:56=A0pm, jimbok <jimkelREM... at (no spam) frontiernet.net> wrote:
tinder might be a problem in your hiking area, bring some vaseline
covered cotton balls, which work well. =A0You can easily put a dozen of
them into a small plastic prescription bottle, or an old 35mm film
canister.

The biggest disadvantage of the move to digital photography is the
fact that those 35mm film containers are no longer readily available.
They had about a zillion uses.

Well there are better things than vaseline cotton balls. Just get a
candle.

Some OTC meds come in small bottles, you can use those.
Lactaid, Loratadine, and so on. And the Dollar Tree
vitamins, they come in good bottles.

If
tinder might be a problem in your hiking area, bring some
vaseline
covered cotton balls, which work well. You can easily put
a dozen of
them into a small plastic prescription bottle, or an old
35mm film
canister.

Anyone with ANY Brains at all would simply put the butane
lighter
in their armpit, for an hour, BEFORE, they stopped to
camp, and that
would warm the butane to 98F, and will light easily for
about ten
minutes even if it was -20F Air Temp..... Duh......

Well there are better things than vaseline cotton balls.
Just get a
candle.