I am attempting to resume periodic posts after my extended period of inactivity on the blog. My real job has been occupying much of my time over the past few months.
I'm resuming my series of posts on items I believe are necessry to have with you everyday or as frequently as possible (some locations prohibit some of these items). Please follow all applicable laws when it comes to carrying items like knives, blades, flashlights, and (as you will see today) lighters.
I've already posted on two items that I believe everyone should carry as freqquently as possible (and is legal); a knife or blade of some kind and a flightlight. The third item of importance is a means to make fire. In this case, I choose and recommend a lighter. As the title implies, I don't think it is practical to carry to sticks or a stick and small bow, since technology has allowed us to move past the days of the caveman. One may then ask, "why not matches?" Well, matches defeinitely have their place, but I personally find lighters more convenient and useful (unless you are trapped in an unpleasant smelling restroom).
Why fire? Chances are, you will not need to make a camp fire or a cooking fire, but what if? What if you need to make a fire for warmth because you are stranded in who knows where on a cold night with poor access or cell coverage? That is an extreme, of course, but having a way to solve an extreme, perhaps life threatening problem, regardless of how improbable, with something that can easily fit in the pocket seems prudent (at least to me). Also, flames can be used for several more mundane purposes, like burning strings off clothing (better than pullling on them), or to break the ice or start conversations - there are still people out there that smoke and "need a light".
The types and styles of lighters vary and you can spend anywhere from less than $1 on a lighter to hundreds of dollars. While the really expesnive lighters may look really nice, you can get by with a cheap $0.75 butane lighter. I prefer something a little different, myself.
Basically, there are essentially three types of lighters (remember, trying to keep things simple): disposable butane; refillable butane; and the classic naptha fluid Zippo (TM) type. Also, within the butane lighters, you can get a standard flame or the blue flame torch. The first picture has some examples of each type.
The next picture shows them open. The lighter on the far left is a cheap disposable butane lighter. This will work fine, but has very limited wind or breeze resistance, may or may not have a means to adjust the flame height, and useless for anything other than a spark when it runs out of fuel. Again, this will work fine, and if it is all you want or can afford, then it will be a good way to produce a flame.
However, I prefer something refillable. For this, I have two kinds - the traditional Zippo (TM), second to the left, and a Zippo (TM) with a "Z-Plus" butane torch insert. This way I can still do all the cool tricks with the traditional Zippo (TM), and many, but not all, of them with the butane insert. The biggest benefits I have found to the butane over the traditional is that the traditional type needs refilling even if not used, since the fluid eventually evaporates, and the blue torch butane gives me a more precise flame when doing paracord projects.
The last lighter pictured is a pocket lighter that takes traditional lighter fluid, but is kept in a sealed, airtight, capsule that prevents evaporation. Plus, it is small enough to add to my P-7 Suspension Clip in my pocket. These types of lighters are available from several places - I got mine from Lighthound, but they are also available at BladeHQ and County Comm, along with others like Amazon. Therefore, with the mini lighter, I will (almost) always have at least one lighter in my pocket. I try to have at least another Zippo (TM) with me, because of its wind resistance, and they are just plain cool (in my opinion).
I highly recommend having at least a keychain mini lighter, if nothing else. Again, we are no longer living in the caves, hunting saber-tooth tigers by day and finger painting by night, so we can take advantage of technology and have something much more compact, and reliable, to produce fire than two sticks. And one final note about matches - matches should be part of your overall kit, but not necessarily your EDC kit. They do have their uses, just make sure that they are either waterproofed or kept in a waterproofed container (or both for the suspenders and belt crowd out there).
