Zippos, Bics, and Other Lighters & Portable Sources of Fire

[obijohn]

Can you ignite anything else other than char cloth in it?

I've had mixed luck with natural tinder in a fire piston. I do, however, have char clothe and the fixin's to make more in all of my fire kits. The fire piston is cool, but it has to be
almost perfect to work reliably. In a reasonably dry environment, a bow drill set works just fine.

 

[rhino]

I've had mixed luck with natural tinder in a fire piston. I do, however, have char clothe and the fixin's to make more in all of my fire kits. The fire piston is cool, but it has to be
almost perfect to work reliably. In a reasonably dry environment, a bow drill set works just fine.

We've discussed bow drills several times in the past and I gather that one of most important (and perhaps challenging) aspects is selection of the wood to construct your set. You have know which woods are better for which parts and be able to identify them readily. I assume the same is true, perhaps more so, for hand drills and fire plows since they lack the mechanical advantages of the bow drill.

And what about magnifiers? A lot of the bushcraft guys always keep a fairly powerful magnifying lens in their fire kits. I keep a Fresnel lens in my wallet and I always have an SAK Explorer with a magnifier on my person as well. Char cloth is going to be the ideal material to ignite, but you can use other tinder if the sun is bright and you have patience.

Farsighted people can use their eyeglasses (converging lenses) to ignite tinder, whereas nearsighted people cannot (diverging lenses). Conventional bifocal should work using the little section for close vision. Has anyone ever tried using progressive "bifocal" lenses to ignite something?

 

[obijohn]

We've discussed bow drills several times in the past and I gather that one of most important (and perhaps challenging) aspects is selection of the wood to construct your set. You have know which woods are better for which parts and be able to identify them readily. I assume the same is true, perhaps more so, for hand drills and fire plows since they lack the mechanical advantages of the bow drill.

And what about magnifiers? A lot of the bushcraft guys always keep a fairly powerful magnifying lens in their fire kits. I keep a Fresnel lens in my wallet and I always have an SAK Explorer with a magnifier on my person as well. Char cloth is going to be the ideal material to ignite, but you can use other tinder if the sun is bright and you have patience.

Farsighted people can use their eyeglasses (converging lenses) to ignite tinder, whereas nearsighted people cannot (diverging lenses). Conventional bifocal should work using the little section for close vision. Has anyone ever tried using progressive "bifocal" lenses to ignite something?

You are correct in your statement about bow drills. Material choice is key. As to the magnifier, it can be a good choice, but you do need direct sunlight. Given direct sunlight, ignition is fairly easy using a variety of tinders. Char clothe is all a part of the "next fire" mentality.

 

[Hop]

I actually have a Swedish "scout sized" fire steel hanging on my day pack.

Slow and hard she says:
[video=youtube_share;UZeABvojaMU]http://youtu.be/UZeABvojaMU[/video]

 

[JayPea]

Never carry a lighter or any fire starter on me. In mine, and the wife’s car, there are multiple ways to make fire from lighters, storm proof matches to magnesium fire starter which the wife has never tried . When traveling by plane I have lighters and pla8n old matches. Would love to practice more bushcraft methods like the bow drill.

 

[rhino]

Never carry a lighter or any fire starter on me. In mine, and the wife’s car, there are multiple ways to make fire from lighters, storm proof matches to magnesium fire starter which the wife has never tried . When traveling by plane I have lighters and pla8n old matches. Would love to practice more bushcraft methods like the bow drill.

What if you're not with your vehicle?

 

[JayPea]

What if you're not with your vehicle?

Great question. And you’ve got me thinking.

When working I’m usually not more than a few blocks from my car (hotels, businesses, etc) unless I fly out. At home many fire sources. If the family and I are on vacation or out riding bikes or something we almost always carry a backpack which has a small Bic lighter. Camping or something like that I would have most of what’s in my car already in my camping gear. Don’t do long distance hiking but would certainly pack accordingly if I was planning on it. In my day to day life there’s not many scenarios I’m not too far from my house or car or my luggage.

 

[rhino]

Great question. And you’ve got me thinking.

When working I’m usually not more than a few blocks from my car (hotels, businesses, etc) unless I fly out. At home many fire sources. If the family and I are on vacation or out riding bikes or something we almost always carry a backpack which has a small Bic lighter. Camping or something like that I would have most of what’s in my car already in my camping gear. Don’t do long distance hiking but would certainly pack accordingly if I was planning on it. In my day to day life there’s not many scenarios I’m not too far from my house or car or my luggage.

Mini Bic lighters don't weigh much in your pocket!

 

[LtScott14]

I keep a military issue pistol belt in my trunk. I have a M16 Ammo pouch with basic stuff, canteen with cup mounted/pouch, and Kabar style knife. Added military FAK. Compass /map in compass pouch too. Have lighter, flint/striker, faro rod, some cotton bals with Vaseline, whistle, poncho, emerg. blanket. Add some more M16 ammo pouches if needed. canshoulder carry or clip on waist to hump it home.
I will add a magnifier, seems like good idea! Always keep 3 firestarters!

 

[Sylvain]

Mini Bic lighters don't weigh much in your pocket!

I was looking for a lighter the other day.
I couldn't find one in my jacket pockets so I had to take one from a bag.
Later I found out I had a Mini Bic in my jacket's pocket but missed it because it was so light and small.

 

[rhino]

I keep a military issue pistol belt in my trunk. I have a M16 Ammo pouch with basic stuff, canteen with cup mounted/pouch, and Kabar style knife. Added military FAK. Compass /map in compass pouch too. Have lighter, flint/striker, faro rod, some cotton bals with Vaseline, whistle, poncho, emerg. blanket. Add some more M16 ammo pouches if needed. canshoulder carry or clip on waist to hump it home.
I will add a magnifier, seems like good idea! Always keep 3 firestarters!

Utility belts are cool!

I can't really wear one, though, because I already have so much stuff on my regular belt. Wait! I'm wearing a utility belt!

I was looking for a lighter the other day.
I couldn't find one in my jacket pockets so I had to take one from a bag.
Later I found out I had a Mini Bic in my jacket's pocket but missed it because it was so light and small.

Hah! I hate it when that happens.

 

[JayPea]

Mini Bic lighters don't weigh much in your pocket!

I know!

Most of the time I really prefer not to have my pockets full of stuff so I normally offload everything to my briefcase. I fly enough that I keep my briefcase TSA carry-on compliant (learned that the hard way) and didn't actually realize until today that lighters are allowed on carry on bags. I also didn't realize that you couldn't add lighters to your checked luggage, so I'm going to have to re-do my bags! Hundreds of flights with a lighter in my checked bag and always there.