Lighter Skills

A lighter is the most common tool used for starting a Fire.  But do you know how to use it to its full potential?

Butane Lighter Limitations

Lighters work great most of the time, but they have a few weaknesses that you should be aware of.

• Butane doesn't vaporize is freezing temperatures

• Lighters won't work if you get the wheel wet

• Lighters only have so much fuel in them and will eventually run out

• Most lighters come with a "child safety" device that makes use difficult with gloves or wet and cold fingers

Wet Lighter

It is easy to get a lighter wet in wet weather conditions.  You can drop it in a puddle, your pack or pocket can get wet, your hands may be wet and disable a lighter or you may get it wet trying to light a fire in the rain or under a dripping tree.

You must get your lighter dry to use it.

• Blow as hard as you can to blow out majority of water

• Turn lighter upside down and repeatedly bang it into dry clothing - such as a pant leg to remove more water

• Run wheel over dry clothing at high speed to dry out wheel - do so until you see sparks - This is called "Turbo Method"

  • Note: you MUST remove "child safety" device to use Turbo Method

• If your ligher fails to light, repeat sets

Cold Lighter

A really cold lighter will stop working.  This happens around the freezing point of water.  Releasing gas from a lighter also causes the temperature to drop in the lighter, so a light might work for a little bit and then stop.

Use your body temperature to heat up the lighter and store it next to your body to keep it warm.  Your hands might work if they are warm.  If your hands are cold, place lighter in dry armpits or in a pocket in an inner layer of clothing.  If your hands are so cold that they don't work well enough to start a fire, you may need to place hands in armpits to thaw them out before starting your fire.  

Remember to keep lighter dry while warming it up. 

If it is SO cold that you can't get your lighter to make a flame, you can use the Empty Lighter techniques to start a fire. 

Cold and Nonfunction Fingers

Your hands can get SO cold that your fingers just don't work.  If you can't start a fire with Nonfunctional Fingers, you might die.

• Use fist to grab your lighter

• Use Turbo Method to light lighter - but also make sure you are also depressing the gas lever

  • Your boot may work for a nice platform if it is dry and other options are not available 

• Keep gas lever depressed to hold flame

• Move tinder over flame to ignite it

Empty Lighter

An empty lighter still has the ability to start a fire as long as the "flint" hasn't completely run out.

Method One

• Ideally remove metal wind shield from lighter

• Place lighter as close to possible to very fine tinder such as cotton balls, fiber tabs or seed buff (such as dandelion heads)

• Be ready for a quick burst of flame 

Method Two - Turbo

• Remove metal wind shield from lighter

• Child Safety MUST be removed

• Hold extra fine tinder (fatwood fuzz, plant fibers, etc.) close to the back of the wheel

• Run wheel across dry wood, pant leg or boot to rapidly to create a lot of hot sparks (don't catch your leg or boot on fire doing this!)

• If tinder does not ignite - repeat

• Repetitive runs will slowly dry out tinder

Method Two - Turbo Stick

Similar to using a static stick or your leg, but instead, you run a stick across your wheel

• Remove metal wind shield from lighter

• Child Safety MUST be removed

• Hold extra fine tinder (fatwood fuzz, plant fibers, etc.) close to the back of the wheel

• Place wheel firmly against dry stick

• Pull stick rapidly on wheel to create a lot of sparks

• If tinder does not ignite - repeat

• Repetitive runs will slowly dry out tinder

Wilderness Lighter Setup

A lighter can be set up for for survival use.  The most important setup is Knowing How to Use a lighter.  If you know how to use the full potential of a Lighter, you are more likely to survive in the Wilderness.

Zippo Style Lighter

Zippo type Lighters are problematic since they tend to dry out around a week.  They are also larger and heavier than a butane lighter.  They do work better in subfreezing temperatures and are very popular likely due to nostalgia.  This fire starter's utility can be improved with Wilderness Mods.