|
>>
|
No. 331
>>325
If you've ever tried to start a fire with a lighter on a cold windy morning, you'd know the disadvantage to lighters. When the fuel is cold, it is less volatile. The way around this is to keep the lighter close to your body so it stays warm, but then you still have to deal with the wind as well as using your cold fingers to operate a tiny wheel. Zippos are superior to Bic lighters with regards to dealing with wind and cold finger dexterity, but are still susceptible to the cold. All lighters have trouble making a flame if they are wet, although they tend to be just fine once they dry out.
With matches, you're limited to the number of fires and your ability to deal with wind. That's not a huge problem for backpacking, since matches themselves weigh almost nothing. Bringing a pack of 100 strike-anywhere's is no more trouble than a pack of 12 bar matches. The main problem is water. Once matches get wet, they are dead forever. You can keep them in a waterproof ziploc bag, but the chance of wetness entering into your gear still remains. Plus, they're not great with the wind.
A flint and steel does not perform poorly in the wind and won't stop working when wet. Vaseline-impregnated cotton balls are lightweight, catch a spark and are highly flammable, so if it's windy, they burn brighter rather than blow out. Of course you could always bring the vaseline/cotton, matches and leave the flint at home. That's not the point. The point is not having to depend on wind and cold to screw up your matches and lighter.
|