A Zippo in the pocket...

[Carl Levitian]

"I like my zippos. I never carry them. When it comes to lighting a fire, they suck. The fluid dries up without maintenance and they're only moderately windproof. Leave them be and the fluid just dries up. I just quit smoking, but when I did smoke...zippos made my cigarette taste like lighter fluid. If it turns upside down in your pocket, it leaks and leaves an irritating red mark on your thigh.

If you think they are cool and you like them...carry it all you want. But a $1 bic lighter or some safety matches are much better all purpose fire starters that will work when you need them.

That being said, I have several and I like them. "


That sums it up for me.

For over 30 years I carried a Zippo, and can't count the times it ran out of fuel on me with no warning. Or left a big red chemical burn on me leg where it leaked through my pocket lining. It was heavy, unrealiable, and it stunk, literally.

I finally lost patience with it, and started using a Bic. I was amazed, my pipe tobacco tasted better when I lit my pipe. The Bic was so light in the pocket I could forget it, I can hold it up to the light and see how much fuel is left, and it I keep it in my inside pocket in cold weather, always works. Plus I can store a Bic for years in the factory plastic wrapper and it's good. A zippo is dry after a week if it makes it that long. It's been a number of years now that a Bic has been my lighter, and I don't forsee anything that would make me go back to a smelly finicky Zippo. It was like having to deal with a cap and ball revolver, and graduating to a Glock.

Carl.

 

[hso]

Lots of tradition in a Zippo, but as noted there are "better" tools for lighting a fire. Windmills and the other Delta lighters have the advantage of not drying out and starts fires faster and reduces the potential for burning yourself. Bics are cheap and reliable and don't suffer from drying out or leaking. Some of the more expensive jet lighters have provide a 2200+ offset flame. The coolest combo is an Outdoor Magazine "Editor's Choice" butane torch that runs on inexpensive Scripto type disposable lighters. The SOTO torch just takes a cheap lighter inserted into it to provide an offset 2200+ butane torch with a piezo lighter. They run about $20 and the lighters can be had for 5/$2.50! I got one and was so impressed I gave several as presents.

That said there were some old WWII OSS techniques for using a Zippo as a striking tool that you probably won't find for a miniBic.

 

[JShirley]

...which was part of the reason I left this thread open.

 

[hso]

Yeah, I was waiting for someone to bring it up too. Gear threads are cool and all, but lighters are pretty much out of scope unless you tie back to the hand defensive tool uses developed by the OSS.

 

[451 Detonics]

Yes...but who can argue that fire itself cannot be used as a weapon.

As I said earlier, the Z-Plus inserts for the Zippo's work great giving you a jet flame in a classic styling, I have been using one for about 3 years now. I don't rely on a pocket lighter for starting fires...I have much better methods available.

To me using a Zippo is like using a traditional slipjoint...it is a refinement in a world that has become a disposable society.

 

[hso]

Yeah, but then the topic is using fire as a weapon instead of lighters.

One thing the jet lighters have as an advantage over "candle" flame lighters is their ability to be pressed into use defensively since 2200+ degree flames make for nasty wounds and quality piezo ignition systems make for more reliable lighting. The Windmills and Deltas are sturdy enough to use in the old OSS hand load method with the hot jet flame and instant piezo ignition making for an added heat tool.

 

[CollinLeon]

If I need to start a fire when I'm in the woods, I carry some firestarter blocks that I make up -- basically a dixie cup filled with sawdust with a natural fiber rope as a wick and then filled with melted paraffin. Wrap it in aluminum foil to keep the paraffin from running off as it burns and it lasts for a long time. I used to have this type of lighter that made from a plastic block with a long flint on the side where you unscrewed a fueled striker from the end of it. Kind of difficult to describe and my memory's a bit cloudy after all these years, but I do remember that I liked it better than a Zippo lighter since it didn't leak and leave a red spot on my leg. The Bic type lighters seemed to also leak on me when they got their button pressed by other stuff that was in my pocket...

Something like this:



http://www.origami-kids.com/shoppin...-box-refillable-cigarette-lighter-gadget.html

 

[kingpin008]

So, since a few of ya'll have seen fit to mention these OSS fighting methods but not describe them or provide a link to somewhere that will, how about filling the rest of us in and quit teasing?

 

[Piraticalbob]

Zippo actually makes a firestarter.

Small, water-resistant, no liquid fuel problems; it seems to address all of the faults of the Zippo lighter while making for a very compact firestarter package.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Fire Starter

Here's the item on Zippo's own page.

Have you actually tried one of these things?

 

[451 Detonics]

I ordered a couple and will let you know how well they light.

 

[walking arsenal]

I like my zippos. I never carry them. When it comes to lighting a fire, they suck. The fluid dries up without maintenance and they're only moderately windproof. Leave them be and the fluid just dries up. I just quit smoking, but when I did smoke...zippos made my cigarette taste like lighter fluid. If it turns upside down in your pocket, it leaks and leaves an irritating red mark on your thigh.

That's why I stopped carrying mine. I bought a hand full of magnesium blocks for the same price as a zippo and tossed one in everything I carry.

 

[Piraticalbob]

That's why I used the qualifier "seems to." I don't have personal experience with these Zippo firestarters. I plan to buy one, though.

 

[451 Detonics]

I keep seeing a common complaint about Zippos, they run out of fuel...makes me wonder if the same people let their car run dry before buying gas. I have been using a Zippo for about 35 years, I know every couple of days to add a couple squirts of fluid. As for over filling...well...if you watch as you fill it you won't overflow it and if you do then dump out the excess fluid and let it burn some off before putting it in your pocket.

To me it is just daily maintenance, like wiping down the blades of the knives I carried that day, or wiping down my carry guns.

 

[Onward Allusion]

hso
Yeah, I was waiting for someone to bring it up too. Gear threads are cool and all, but lighters are pretty much out of scope unless you tie back to the hand defensive tool uses developed by the OSS.

A Zippo and a flat of lighter fluid can be a handy deterrent/weapon if necessary. Anything flammable liquid for that matter can be used as a deterrent. A lady I knew was accosted at the gas station one night while she was pumping gas. She doused the BG with gas and took out her lighter (not Zippo).

From what she related, the guy ran like he was already on fire.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

As far as EDC in deep cover, be careful with a Zippo. If you overfill it, and keep it too close to the skin, it will give you a hell of a rash.........

 

[speaksoftly]

I like my zippos. I never carry them. When it comes to lighting a fire, they suck. The fluid dries up without maintenance and they're only moderately windproof. Leave them be and the fluid just dries up.

I agree 100%. That's why if I do carry a lighter, it's a Tribeca II.



I, however, used to carry a Zippo but it required constant maintenance. It wasn't bad when I was smoking because I used it numerous times every day but when I quit, the most time I spent with them was refilling them because they had gone dry. Glad I quit smoking though. Carrying a gun for self defense didn't make much sense if I was simultaneously killing myself one C-stick at a time. Ha

 

[p35]

IMHO IMCO (like that alliteration?) makes a far better flint/wick lighter. Easier to maintain, doesn't dry out as fast, easier to use since you aren't directly touching the wheel. I recall reading one Vietnam memoir where the author commented that they had to carry a glove to use with their Zippo since their skin softened from being constantly wet (in the Delta IIRC) and if they tried to spin the wheel barehanded they just left skin all over it.

Ronson puts out a nice little refillable/piezo ignition butane lighter for about a buck and a half. For pure utility I like those a lot. They also put out a metal jet lighter that goes for around $4 and works really well. I've carried one of those backpacking and was glad to have it.

 

[REAPER4206969]

They also put out a metal jet lighter that goes for around $4 and works really well.

Ronson Jetlite $2.94 at Wal-Mart.

Zippo owns Ronson now too.

 

[CollinLeon]

Here's a fire starter... Not exactly pocket size though...



Especially once you add the 20 lb propane tank to it...

 

[country boy marksman]

YES!!

CollinLeon's post = awesome!!- I have one, and yes, great firestarter... its almost a flamethrower! it's surprisingly loud though. I've thought about getting a smaller tank and putting it on an ALICE pack frame, then it would really look like a flamethrower! On a serious note, however, I carry one disposable lighter modified to have a 3-4 inch flame, one of my 2 zippo's, and at least one alternative fire starting method at all times. But, I'm in boy scouts and am an obsessive "survivalist", or whatever it's called!

 

[zxcvbob]

I still have a Zippo pipe lighter around here somewhere (I haven't smoked a pipe in about 25 years) but from what I remember it ran out of fuel pretty regularly, whether I used it or not. I bought a couple of IMCO Triplex lighters last year. They dry out too, but they last *much* longer between fills than the Zippo -- and they look cool.

How about the old metal Ronson lighters? Do they still make those?

 

[Weevil]

I went through my Zippo phase in my younger days, but eventually I got tired of dropping them out of my pocket, not working because I forgot to fill it, nasty chemical burns from leaks, buying flints and fluid and the rest of the nuisance.

If you like doing things the hard way to prove something to youself they're a nice little ritual in your life, but anymore I just carry a Bic.

 

[451 Detonics]

I fail to see how carrying a Zippo is doing things the hard way or trying to "prove" anything. If you can't remember to add a little fuel every few days you probably are the type who forgets to wipe your bum after using the head. If you are the type who overflows filling the lighter and is then dumb enough to put it in your pocket you are just getting what you deserve. If grabbing a can of fluid and flints occasionally while at the grocery store is to difficult you probably need someone to do your grocery shopping for you.

If you don't like the Zippo lighters that's fine...but don't put down those of us who do like them and know how to use them. Those of use who do like them just aren't part of the "disposable, use it and lose it" crowd that seems to be prevalent today. We appreciate well made things that will last for generations. Of course I guess you can pass along that Bic lighter to your Grandson but....not a lot of class in that.

 

[rust collector]

If you enjoy puttering with things (we all have this need to be needed) Zippos are very satisfying. If you just want no fuss flame, there are Bics and jetlights. If want to veer off the beaten track, check out http://www.bewild.com/funlighters.html
or http://www.colibrimall.com/ I have no experience with these companies but there are a world of lighters out there.

I have my dad's old Zippo, an Imco or two, and an old John-E warmer, but there is no denying the stank of a liquid fuel lighter. To some, that probably triggers fond memories just as Hoppe's #9 does for me. I do now have magnesium matches is my car kits, but now I'm going to have to see if I can find some of those metal match units that were common 30 years ago.

Thanks for reigniting some fond memories.