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...
I've had one of these for years and it hasn't failed. But it also isn't exactly useful for lighting anything but a cigarette due to how the electrodes actually are placed and function. It doesn't work very well trying to smoke weed from a pipe/bong and I am skeptical how I might use it to start a campfire even though it's supposed to be a camping tool.
My sister uses a variation of this closer to a traditional lighter with a long neck to light her candles. It's rechargeable, and she's been using the same one for over a decade.
Interesting. I can only guess that candle wax vapor must not conduct electricity as much as other things like nicotine or THC.. 🤷
Well, awesome for her, glad she's getting long life use out of her device 👍
Meh, aside from cigarettes and such, they can also be useful survival equipment tools, if you got a pack of toothpicks or even just some thin dry twigs available. Easy rechargeable fire starter ya know..
But yeah, I've had nothing but a pain in the ass with this thing, I've had to disassemble it to clean it every couple weeks or so, and have also had to replace 2 electrodes and resolder the lid safety switch twice and the charger port once.
I've probably serviced this thing like ~40 times since I got it. You'll know you got a problem when the lid safety switch gets too much crud in it and gets stuck in the ON position, and the damn thing starts lighting up on its own in your pocket.. 💀
I modified mine to where if that should ever happen again, I can literally snatch it apart and snatch the battery out in less than 2 seconds without tools.
Could probably light some tinder with it, like thin twigs or dry grass...
Yes, and confirmed, it'll easily ignite toothpicks or dry twigs with a flame.
You can use it to light kindling for a campfire
For bongs, may i recommend hemp wick
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. 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.
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?
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.
When you smoke as much as Bill Hicks.
"What do you smoke? 2 packs a day? Pussy. I go through two lighters a day!"
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..