I’ve had this one for a little over 2 years, but I suspect it wouldn’t last the average person 2 months before it outright fails and they just throw it away.
Why? Well, electronics don’t exactly like smoke of any form, whether it be nicotine, weed, wood, paper, etc. But that’s exactly what these lighters do, literally light things on fire, which of course generates smoke and dirties the electrodes, up until the point they start shorting out, if not other issues first.
I happen to be an electronics technician that knows how to safely disassemble, service and clean this thing occasionally, but its highly suggested that nobody ever try to service them, as they generate thousands of volts for the electric arc, which absolutely will burn the piss out of your fingers, if not worse.
I’m actually glad to have it, it was a cheap late Christmas gift from my mom back in January 2024, but I figure basically 99% of average consumers would end up having issues with it and throwing it away within ~2 months or less.
Sigh, e-waste…
Lol, the idea what a battery powered device is a camping to for starting fires is just funny to me. Of all the ways we have to start fires one that requires a battery is the last thing I’m wasting weight and space on when camping.
Makes it a helluva lot easier to “refuel” it when you have a car and can just plug it in as opposed to a disposable BIC or a zippo. It also keeps a charge for a very long time. And it’s faster than rubbing sticks together.
Flint and steel… Matches… No battery required.
Those are also comsumable and need to be replaced when you run out of matches or wear away all the flint, which costs more money than charging a battery.
My concern isn’t money, it’s the reliability. If you store those things correctly they will always light. If you store a batter powered device correctly, no matter what it must be recharged even if it hasn’t been used. I don’t want to have to think about whether I charged my firestarter. The checklist is long enough when you are going camping. It’s just one more thing to forget.
You know what else isn’t consumable? A credit card sized Freznel Lens magnifier, I keep one in my wallet, and they’re stupid cheap by the dozen…
Yeah, if there’s a need to start a fire, I’ll find a way… 🔥
I got a flint and magnesium fire starter as well for emergency backup, and fully know how to use it. Well, except for lighting a bong… 😂
Probably easier to use a magnifying glass to light the bong than one of those things. Hell, a friend of mine had bought a pipe with a magnifying glass attached to it that was intended to be a “solar lighter.” It worked surprisingly well, but only on a clear sunny day.
LOL, see my other response, already prepared 👍
You light about a thousand fires with a bic lighter and then pull out the second one you got for 89 cents. How many times do you have to do that before you wish you brought an arc lighter instead?
When you smoke as much as Bill Hicks.
“What do you smoke? 2 packs a day? Pussy. I go through two lighters a day!”
89 cents for a Bic? Shit, the cheapest Bic lighters I can find around my area are more like $2. Where you at home, we could use some cheap Bic lighters around here…
I dunno, but even if I didn’t have electricity access, I still have an almost pocket sized solar panel that’ll charge my lighter from empty to full in around 5 hours of good sunlight, which gives me anywhere from ~20 to 30 uses before needing another recharge.
Bleh, I got a modded almost pocket sized solar panel that’ll recharge it from empty to full within about 5 hours. And that gives me anywhere from ~20 to 30 uses or so before it needs recharge.
Sure I usually just use a wall wart USB charger, but its nice to have the backup solar panel as well.
Somewhat random…
You can also use a 9V battery and steel wool to start a fire. Hell, the way steel wool burns, you might actually find that easier to help start a campfire than many other solutions…