I don't know if it's because of the price of the Exotac or if Bic fans are just more passionate than I expected, but the comments below are pretty interesting. So many people focused on my admittedly extreme ice test and how ignorant I am about easily thawing and drying a Bic lighter yet completely ignored the results of the 2nd test, which I think may be the more useful of the 2. And, after I said MULTIPLE TIMES that I like Bic lighters, I carry Bic Lighters, I think everybody should have lots of Bic lighters... some folks still accused me of somehow rigged the testing against Bic lighters. OK, I'll admit, I did get one thing wrong: I said both lighters are made in the USA. That was wrong and I stand corrected. Bic lighters are made in France (it says so right on the lighter). Only the Exotac is made in the USA.
You have it the compete opposite. Classic Bics and regular ones we get here are made in USA. The special ones are made in France. Mini bics are all made in France. Occasionally we’ll get regular classics made in France but it’s fairly rare. I collect lighters and know exactly which ones and colors are usa or France as it says right on the metal guard. Mini bics though are becoming more common so they have always been made in France.
@@joshuadocter2277 people just see Bics as American, even though they are not all made here like anywhere else so act like he should pick BIC. Lol. It’s just a lighter to make fire. There’s lots of ways to make fire. Lol. Just don’t put a BIC flint in a metal flint wheel! And if so get a needle and push the pin out or you’ll break it.
Good test. What folks forget about or are not aware of is the boiling point of butane: -2 degrees Celsius (28.4 Fahrenheit). When the ambient temperature reaches that degree butane will not boil providing vapors to light. Propane's boiling point is -42.04 Celsius (-43.672 Fahrenheit).
I found a metal box while hunting inside it was a hunting license, candy wrappers, a bic lighter, a knife and a few other odds and ends that I can't remember...however the license was 12 years old and guess what the Bic still worked ....
I've been out in the woods and found a bic lighter buried in the ground and rusted. Once it dried off a bit it lit no problem. It's amazing how they can make such a good product for so cheap
I dug up a “corner store” branded lighter while digging a post hole and it similarly lit as soon as I was able to get the dirt out of the flame guard + get the wheel to spin. I was shocked. Never had that experience with any other lighter except a bic
I found a bic in a toolbox that was last used in 1993-1994. Multiple temperature/humidity swings as it has been stored in an outdoor shed. It still worked perfectly. Bic or clipper all the way.
Can't count the number of times ive washed a bic in my pants pocket .I'm very hesitant to spend $60 dollars on any lighter. As I can get several ferro rods stick matches, UCO matches , and bic lighters for that money. Great video keep them coming.
Those of us who live in severe wintry conditions know how to handle a Bic lighter in cold weather. The Bic isn't working because the gas in it is too cold. All you have to do is warm up the plastic gas reservoir is hold it in your hand for a few minutrd. They're amazing tools for the price. I generally carry two compasses when I go in the woods and three or more Bics.
It needs to be above about 31°F to evaporate at standard pressure (14.7 psi at sea level on a standard day). The BIC isn't lighting because the flint/striker wheel are wet. He could have put it in a bag and then froze it. When it was above 31°F it would light.
Did a river crossing in the winter in Germany whilst in the army, bic lighter still lit in seconds after landing. In 40 plus years of carrying bic and clipper lighters I’ve never had one frozen solid or fail. A wet bic or clipper will light within seconds after being dunked I do prefer clipper lighters, the castellated wheel on a clipper can be operated with thick winter gloves.
You can get a cheap hemp wick case for Bic lighters. That allows you to save on lighter fuel, by lighten the wick that is attached to the case. The wick wraps around the base of the lighter and runs up the back through a metal tube. Handy case to have for your Bics.
ive purchased many survival lighters that have failed me so I went back to cheap old bic, I use a 2 dollar waterproof case for the bic. That would have been a better test you could likely buy 4 bics with waterproof case for what the exotac cost. That might be a better comparison,,,,,, 25 bic lighters with waterproof case vs one exotac. I like the exotac also and it maybe much better than what ive had. Im interested in the arc lighters. some thoughts good review
I have the "TACAMO H2 RECHARGEABLE TESLA ARC LIGHTER!" I have one for every kit bag I use and edc one all the time. No fuel to carry, wind proof, water resistant and is rechargable with my solar power bank. Nice video review.
I've had the flints in BIC lighters rot away with a full tank of fuel. Some environments can cause corrosion very rapidly. You can store extra flints inside the TITAN lighter. I actually carry both. The Exotac Firesleeve is fantastic.
don't mean it in a bad way but you should remove the child safety guard you'll be able to dry it quicker and if you put the Bic under you arm or even rub between your palms you would be surprised how quickly it will light. Other than that you still produce great videos that I learn much from.
for my bags i get the mini M&M containers to put my bic in + there is room for some cotton balls for tender.i do like the Titan but just not in my price range. great demo
I have been carrying and using my Exotac for the past 4 years. The reality is that you need to occasionally maintain the fluid level. A note on that is to not overfill it ( follow the directions) or you might get a little overflow and extra fire when you light it.
Thanks, Bryan. I carry Clipper lighters because they're plastic and cheaper, but they are refillable. I also carry a micro ferro rod and some vaselined cotton balls, which I've found to work well after years of storage.
Part of my issue with the Bic is the stupid steel strap over the wheel which is a "Safety" feature. I ALWAYS remove them because it makes it 100 times easier to light, AND with that out of the way, the wheel can be dried instant to get it to work. All you need to do is roll the wheel over some dry cloth a few times and it will be dry and ready to light. Obviously, the Titan Light is superior for your stated reasons which I agree with. I suggest you also try the Piezo Electric versions of the Bic lighter because those are great and in some ways superior to the wheel and flint versions. Finally, they do make cheap waterproof sleeves for the Bic which would alleviate the wetness issue completely.
While I carry a BIC lighter with spark wheel most of the time.(mini Bic ).. there's another disposable butane lighter I like even more it's called the DJEEP brand .. fairly large and flat compared to a Bic it holds more butane than a standard Bic lighter and it has an adjustable flame that can be adjusted up pretty high...
I am not convinced yet. With a zippo you can put it on a high wick and it keeps burning, but then the lighter heats up, and the fuel leaks and causes a torch difficult and dangerous to put out. Is that happening with the Titan? Because I noticed in my experiments the wheel and flint got super heated in the Zippo and the lighter disintegrated in function quickly. Is that in reality happening to the Titan? A good feature on a lighter is to be able to see through the shell to know how much fuel is left, and of course to be able to refill it
You should never use any lighter as a candle, I don't care who makes it. The heat cannot dissipate fast enough to prevent damaging your lighter. You will damage springs, flint wheels, o rings etc. Carry a candle or a simple fire wick made from jute or cotton or hemp rope dipped in wax with a,small metal tube on it to help extinguish the flame you lit with your lighter
Exotac says do not leave the Titan light lit for longer than one minute in the instructions and online Any lighter you leave lit also heats the fuel inside
@@tikkidaddy The only one I saw able to do it was not a lighter, it was a tiny brass cylinder from China with a wick. They were £1 when the first appeared, so I bought 10+ realising they were a super bargain, then they shot up in price
believe the science LOL here in the UK the bic's are easily available but i prefer my semi disposable Clipper lighter, i think you done a video on the clipper lighter a while ago that a UK fan sent you. to check out.
@@SurvivalOnPurpose both are excellent very reliable lighters that are dirt cheap. i feel the same as yourself about how it feels in your pocket and hand, i am so used to the clipper (used one daily for 40yrs) anything else doesnt feel right.
I’ve had a bic lose all of the lighter fluid because the thumb tab got pressed while in my pocket. I too carry an Exotac and love it. No issues whatsoever with it. Totally trust it.
little trick to avoid that is a rubber band around the thumb tab or a zip tie that you can slide back around it i've had some stored in my pack for over a year and no fuel loss.
An empty Bic can still light a fire by removing the metal fire guard, holding it inverted and rolling the thumbwheel along a surface to create great sparks from its micro ferro rod. By holding something like a piece of tissue with my thumb near the sparks, I've had great success easily creating a flame. I learned this from David West's excellent TH-cam fire making channel.
You can keep a mini-Bic dry and safe, sitting in your pocket, or pack, etc. By putting it in an empty Tic-Tac plastic container. You can store some tinder with the Bic and you will be ready no matter where you are. And to better making the Tic-Tac vault waterproof. You can put it in one or more of those small Zip-loc bags or simply use some tape. I used some small piece of Glad Wrap to seal mine and you can add an elastic band. There's no doubt about the quality of that $60. lighter but I have never had a Bic fail me. And for the dollar each that I buy them at, I can carry more than one. I carry at least one with me. I carry also a small Maxpedition Pocket Organizer, one of the small ones. There's a Bic in there. And on the topside of my Sunvisor in my truck, there's another Bic. I'm in pretty good shape if I need to start a fire.
Not sure it could burn long enough to make a difference in his outcome, trees don't grow on icesheets. maybe 2 Zippo hand warmers could have made the difference!
Excellent review - you sold me!!!!! I do realize that it is very very expensive for a lighter but it looks like it is pretty much flawless. Thank you for an excellent review.
I've had some big lighters that were laying around for a long time and the mini Ferro rod flints inside disintegrated!! I don't know why but if you have a survival kit or bug out bag or get home bag change out the lighter... I only use Bic lighters with the spark wheel! . I also take a tiny zip tie and put it under the button. Zip tied around the lighter so the button cannot be depressed and accidentally exhaust the gas. ..
If you take the wet Bic and aggressively roll the flint wheel on the log it'll start sparking again without having to wait to dry. Something about giving the flint a good scraping.
Butane boils at 30.2°F. Any appliance that causes a pressurized gas to evaporate by releasing pressure, also causes the temperature of the remaining fuel to drop. This is less of an issue with a lighter, but with a stove, the useful time that the appliance can be used is directly related to a feedback loop where the environment warms the fuel tank to prevent the temperature of the fuel from dropping below its boiling point. In cold conditions, liquid fuel has always been the answer. Be it your exotac or a naphtha coleman suitcase stove. Btw… coleman fuel will work fine… an MSR bottle will refill one of those lighters for a looong time.
A zippo with a ranger band to seal it and waterproof it as well prevent fuel evaporation, a pack of Bics, a few Clipper lighters, as well as stormproof matches and a ferro rod with a combined price is a lot cheaper than that exotac lighter.
Get a Clipper lighter. They're refillable and easy to maintain as the whole spark wheel mechanism pulls out making it easy to replace the flint, and you can even find replacement parts.
To keep a Bic lighter burning, candle like, consider putting a ranger band around it. Put it up against the underside of the red lever to prevent inadvertent gas leak in your pocket. Pull it up over the lever to keep flame burning and your finger safe.
This $60 titanium (just why?!) lighter is a swag item mostly. It's lid doesn't seal properly, so it's bound to get wet when you fall into the river for example. It's a wick type lighter too, so expect less fire from it compared to a butane lighter of similar volume. My biggest gripe with it is how unpocketable it is. It's round, it has this bulge on the lid, it's very big too... You also need two hands to operate it properly and this lid can easily get lost. I don't think it was designed by a person who has any idea what a lighter should be. I guess you can pack something into this lid or use it to heat something up but that's about it. Buy a small butane lighter, pack it into two zip bags to make it essentially waterproof, and put it into your pocket or a boot. Bam! Now you have a backup lighter that's cheap, reliable, and can light a fire as long as you have some dry fuel. You can even pack some tiny compressed cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly in an outer zip bag, to have some emergency firestarter on hand. This solution fits flawlessly even into tiny "lighter pockets" found on jeans. ...And it costs $2 at most.
The very youtuber you're watching towed his exotac behind a canoe for quite some time and it worked flawlessly. Not sure where you're getting it from that it doesn't seal properly, it does. It also isn't titanium, it's aluminum. Also, you seem to believe that wick lighters are inherently inferior to butane ones. You're wrong. Butane lighters have a hard time in the cold and can be filled ONLY with butane. Wick lighters are effectively immune to the cold and and can be filled with most any flammable fluid. As far as flame volume, you are again mistaken. My zippo is, what, twice the size of a bic? Idk, but the flame volume is easily twice as much as well. As far as the exotac not being pocket able, it's a survival lighter. You aren't really meant to carry it around every day in your pocket. All in all... You don't understand the exotac at all lol. I don't have one and won't be buying one, but it's appeal is that it's a reliable lighter that will last a lifetime. You buy it once, and you have a single device that will give you fire for the rest of your life. To me, that's actually pretty cool for $60.
@@mcnuggatron2129 yeah. I don't understand the concept of a "survival" lighter that isn't designed to be pocketable to be on you when said survival situation actually happens. I judged it's lid sealing by this video alone, yes. After all, there was a bunch of water inside when he unscrewed it after taking it out of ice. No, butane lighters work fine in the cold weather. You just need to hold them in your hand for a bit. Just a dozen of seconds is enough. They have a bit of trouble getting a spark when wet but it can be said about any magnesium lighter. And you can dry them under 10 minutes if you know how to. By flame volume I meant energy density. So once again, no, liquid butane is much more energy dense than filament soaked in flammable liquid. Yes, butane lighters can be recharged with butane only. But one can easily last a couple of years on one charge and ones made from clear plastic have pretty pronounced indication of the remaining fuel. Any refillable lighter can last a lifetime if you take care of it. ...Or if you have a short lifetime. Yeah. My mistake about it being made out of titanium. I think this company actually makes the same lighter out of titanium though. But it's probably double the price of this one.
@@romant1127 Thats fair. Butane definitely does win in energy density from what I've read. Regarding it not being pocketable, it can be pocketed, it just wouldn't be the most comfortable thing in the world. I don't think pocketing it occasionally would pose much of a problem, I think edc with it would just be annoying. Regarding the cold, I know that they work once you heat them up a bit but in my personal experience, they are enemies with the cold in multiple ways. I had one (I don't remember what they're called but it was one of those classic silver ones) that just would not work in the cold even after warming it up enough taht it should have. My theory was that it had some o rings that contracted from the cold or something, sorta like what happened to space shuttle challenger. I guess the thing I'm really preaching here is simplicity. A high quality wick lighter will always last longer because there are very few moving parts, no seals to fail, and no pressure. I think as such that a wick lighter can justify an expensive price tag. Plenty of butane lighters *might* last the rest of your life, but they're too complex to say that they almost definitely will. Some wick lighters, even zippos, are very unlikely to ever fail. (Though I had 1 zippo that was problematic from day 1. Bit of a lemon)
@@mcnuggatron2129 amusingly enough, I decided to go for butane lighters after I had my share of troubles with wick lighters ha-ha. The ones I owned always had an issue of being completely dry when I really needed to light a fire. It was probably due to highly evaporative mixture I refueled them with, or because of wick pincher not working properly, hard to tell. On the other hand, my cheap backup butane lighter always helped me out in those moments. Never failed on me even in -40C (As long as I carried it under the jacket or warmed it up in a palm for a moment, of course). And the amount of remaining fuel was never an issue since clear plastic and all that jazz. In the end I settled on a piece of magnesium and aforementioned earlier zip bagged butane lighter. Even if I'm not into the whole survival craze and EDC gear, I always have a cheap butane lighter on me. Very handy when hanging out with people who smoke or for stopping synthetic fabric from unraveling, for example.
@@romant1127 lol I guess maybe butane lighters just don't like me, and wick lighter don't like you. The name that was escaping me was ronson. I figured ronsons were probably of pretty decent quality because they're one of the more popular jet type butane lighters, but upon looking them up just a few minutes ago, it turns out that their reviews are pretty bad and a lot of people struggle with them not wanting to light at random times. My problem might not be with butane after all, maybe ronsons are just finicky. In actual use, I prefer jet lighters, so I'll have to buy some more and see what I think of them nowadays. Alternatively, I just ordered one of those electric lighters, maybe that'll fit my use case for awhile
Bryan, You might be interested in testing a Maratac Peanut lighter against the Exotac. The main difference is the wind screen on the Exotac, but the Peanuts are less expensive depending on size and materials.
I'm a forgetful person and tend to stick a lighter in just about every other pocket I have so I can have at least one. Cheap lighters are great for that. They're not great for winter camping, though. One thing is, trying to light damp wood by holding the flame under the wood for half a minute can hurt. Another is, they give up if you hold them out in the cold for any length of time. Then you have to stick it in your pocket, find another lighter and go at it all over again. Not that you won't get it to work, eventually, but it's a hassle. So I carry both matches and a fuel lighter. And a ferro rod or two.
As a hardcore cone head that's used Bic lighters for thirty odd years I can say they are faultless and the best you can get when it comes to disposable lighters.✌️
Ive found that Bics wont light even if its cold outside ........ you have to put them in your pocket to warn them back up before they will light. I happen to have an exotac that I bought for the pure enjoyment of falling for all the hype on them and never used mine , just put it away in a drawer , I got it out about 8 months later and it still lit up....... not much of a test but my findings
I have this lighter and while it works great in perfect conditions ,I used it to light up fireworks on New Year’s Eve and the thing will not light up enough because it was like 6 Celsius and windy, I was disappointed.
I don't know. I had to go back and watch that part again, it's been a year. Maybe I didn't have it closed tight enough. But it worked right away anyway, didn't it.
I use multiple bic lighters, but my primary lighter is Explore waterproof plasma light for 15.99 at Amazon. the advantage is that it will light tinder in heavy winds.
Put your Bic lighter in a waterproof container, like a snack size zip-lock bag, and save yourself a few dollars. Stick a little kindling, jute, or dryer lint in the bag as well for kindling. I use an old prescription bottle. Works fine!
My limited income does not allow me to buy a $60 lighter. But for $6 at Wally world i can get 5 bic lighters. I like your testing these scientifically, Bryan.. Great video
My first wife was a smoker, I bought 100;s of Bic's then got her a nice Dupont and then 100's of bics. She never learned to refill it and i was working 18 hours a day back then. One day after getting a minor heat stroke and her asking if I brought her some cigarettes home it came to an end. One thing that stayed the same is my Zippo.
All you have to do it run the Bic on your pants a couple passes. I've soaked them to test also, and just a couple passes on your jeans and it dries enough to light pretty quickly.
I get it. But what if your clothes are all soaked and it's cold and wet and you need a fire NOW? Like I said, I ALWAYS carry a Bic. But there is no question that the Exotac has some advantages over a Bic as a survival tool.
Can’t beat the Exotac it’s made of high quality aluminum, water proof plus you have a storage for parts/flint/ tinder/ cotton it’s very durable … bonus is its mad in USA!!! I love it… Tip to get that Bic lighter going is hold down the gas and take it to a flame it will lite right up 🔥 then hold for a min as it’s lit it will dry very quickly and should be good as new… great video if can always buy MADE IN THE USA…stay safe and blessed… Aloha…💯🤙🏾
My go to cheat is a dedicated fire starter kits In an small tin that could a good old reliable ferro rod and and wax coated cotton wool fire starters as kindling and a few other bits and bobs as alternative ways to start a fire in an emergency but being old school I carry a Zippo as my go to lighter
Carry multiple lighter types. I have had brand new Bics dies in a year or two of in house storage. Exotac is 20% over prices...as they always offer 20% off. lol
I carry a exotac fire rod on my leatherman and a cheap waterproof butane torch in my pocket. Why cuz the torch helps melt bank like and light other things very fast. And the fero rod, because its fool proof with the tinder in the handle.
I carried a Bic on a dummy cord in my pocket for years, but I’ve switched to the Exotac for reliability. I still carry a Bic in my ruck for back up, but Exotac is my go to EDC. I also carry a mini Bic in my PSK along with an Exotec mini ferro rod. I stay away from the Chinese made ferro rods because of the poor quality.
BREAKING NEWS: Bic now sells the Classic Bic lighter with an electronic ignition. Both the mini and standard size. Walmart sells the mini in a 2 pack. You can submerge the lighter in a bucket of water. Take it out of the water and give it a good blow to clear any water off the igniter and you are good to go. Yes they cost a bit more than the classic. But it is insignificant.
love the bic mini's and the neon green one is my fav color too but i dont always find em and opt for the black instead , never seen the cool looking purple colored ones like they got on there website being sold at the gas stations? i also found this strange looking one on the floor in my elevator its a reg size neon green bic but its top looks like a bbq lighter with a long black striker flame nozzle or wand about 1.25" long and uses piezo electric push down button ignitor ,trying to find ways to refill them myself but i recently been gifted a jet flame lighter and i love those the first one i ever had was back in 2000 it was an asg pocket torch and i had lot of fun with it
Clipper lighters are better than bic imo and I think it's even cheaper. With the Clipper you can replace the spark wheel, flint, butane. You can use flints and spark wheels off of other lighter brands such as bic. I've used a 2 dollar Clipper lighter for 5 years now. The material of the lighter is less likely to melt when hot as well. Clipper lighters dry faster after getting wet because the entire spark wheel housing comes out. Every bic ends up in the garbage after 1 use unlike Clippers
The Titan Light is nothing more than a waterproof Zippo in a different case. Just buy a $11 Zippo off the shelf and find a small waterproof case for it. As for the disposable lighter style, I prefer Clipper lighters. You can remove the striker assembly from them, and most are also refillable.
Butane will freeze in extreme low teperatures. Another test worth doing would be to get one of the cheap waterproof BIC cases and then repeat the test. My guess is the BIC still won't work.
There is another pro to the Bic and con to the Exotac. If you drop the Bic, it WILL go out. The Exotac, maybe, maybe not. That's the trade-off for not having to keep the gas lever depressed when using the Exotac.
on the Bic you remove the metal windshield, blow the head out, and put the shield back on. takes 15 seconds. works. edit: if it is too wet to get a spark just roll it over your jeans until it sparks. the jeans dries it while rolling. takes five seconds. the Bic doesn't work when there is not gas coming out of course.
I know this is a year old vid, but I watch all your stuff sometimes twice. Thanks for the content! Don't you know the trick with a Bic where if it is wet, you run it hard down the side of your pants multiple times to spark the flint and dry out the ignition area? I have down that many times... and it eventually works. Titanlights are sweet, but damn, $60 these days, a Bic and more ignition in other forms is the way to go for me unless I get a free Titanlight. I agree on the value of being able to light it and set it down, that is a huge bonus. :)
I think these are cool but IMO they are just for the cool factor. Lighters are the first and easiest form of fire starting but I wouldn’t call it an emergency starter, you don’t know how much fuel you have in it. UCO storm proof matches are more reliable and you know exactly how many chances to start a fire you have left. For the money and capability you’re better off buying a Bayite ferro rod, bic, UCO Stormproof matches, and cotton balls with Vaseline and still be around $20 total for a full fire kit.
ya im sold on exotac titan light once you learn how to use it properly and it does take a bit of learning on how to use it right its the king of lighters !!!
may as well add 2 tips learn to fill it with right amount a fuel ... 2nd when flint feels weak not much resistance replace it so pin wont fall out ...carry spare flints inside the cotton and if possible which i do a spare brass pin ...
Yes, and for the love of Pete folks, please wipe your hands and the lighter DRY before you strike it. Also there is no law written that says you cannot turn it upside down to contain any fuel that may migrate in the system, then pour that back into the TitanLight or on your fire lay. I still have my first Exotac, added fuel out the bottle, a few drops 3 times in 4 years . Carry a pin, a couple rings, a few flints and a Zippo fuel canister. Weighs zero extra
An important rule to follow making survival/fire videos. Do not disrespect the Bic. Ha. My must have gear in a fire kit. 100 percent reliable for years and years. A ferro rod and a stick of fatwood. Never fail combination.
I may not have worded my comment correctly. If I, in any of my videos, seem to dis a Bic lighter, I get a lot of bad comments. No. You certainly did not say anything bad about the lighter. I also carry several Bics. Take care.
You have to be aware that lighters that require liquid fuels like this one and Zippos will eventually dry out. Fill a Zippo then leave it on a desk for 1 month and it wont light, leave a Bic on a desk for 1 year and it will still light. Buy a pack of Bic lighters, leave them in the pack in a zip lock bag and they will be good for majority of the situations you will ever encounter. $10 vs $60 lighter + $7 fuel bottle that will probably end up leaking or smelling up your bag.
You have to realize this lighter uses #35 orings that keep the fluid from evaporating like a Zippo. You also have to realize the Orings are dirt cheap, easy to replace, and you need to make sure that the lid is properly screwed down when you close it. 😆
Ive used bic lighters for 30+ years in the harshest conditions you can imagine. Never had one fail. Even in negative 20 degree weather. Just keep it in an inside pocket warm and it works fine. Dont know if the price is worth it but any advantage in the real world is worth its weight in gold.
I get it. But actual survival situations are usually the result of a lot of things going wrong. In my opinion, the ability to make fire if you wind up soaking wet in freezing temps could be priceless.
my long term experience with BIC lighters is that the flint goes to crap WARNING! flint oxidizes and turns to dust, I had some really old ones in my emergency gear that flint on the end of a military surplus match case, dust, that's why you never see them with flint the Exotac is interesting with that screw on lid keeping it dry & the fuel from evaporating I find Zippo lighters dry out over time, good for that one outing looked up the Exotac and not a fan of how to replace the flint might be a bit fiddly on getting it back together but I guess the only sure way to have fire in the wilderness is to rub two sticks together
A Zippo would light that easily wind proof and I saw a test underwater for 2 min and it lit I like the high polish brass ones Armor and Pipe lighter Zippos Solid brass !
Lighter FLUID is mostly hydrophobic, it is a petroleum product. A ZIPPO will crackle and spit but should light if your flint isn't corroded. The flint tube in a ZIPPO can be blocked, and may need to be cleared with a 3/32 drill bit VERY CAREFULLY. Exotac has a much shorter and easier to access tube
I don't know if it's because of the price of the Exotac or if Bic fans are just more passionate than I expected, but the comments below are pretty interesting. So many people focused on my admittedly extreme ice test and how ignorant I am about easily thawing and drying a Bic lighter yet completely ignored the results of the 2nd test, which I think may be the more useful of the 2. And, after I said MULTIPLE TIMES that I like Bic lighters, I carry Bic Lighters, I think everybody should have lots of Bic lighters... some folks still accused me of somehow rigged the testing against Bic lighters. OK, I'll admit, I did get one thing wrong: I said both lighters are made in the USA. That was wrong and I stand corrected. Bic lighters are made in France (it says so right on the lighter). Only the Exotac is made in the USA.
You have it the compete opposite. Classic Bics and regular ones we get here are made in USA. The special ones are made in France. Mini bics are all made in France. Occasionally we’ll get regular classics made in France but it’s fairly rare. I collect lighters and know exactly which ones and colors are usa or France as it says right on the metal guard. Mini bics though are becoming more common so they have always been made in France.
Don't sweat the haters man. Keep doing your work. I enjoyed the review. Was the ice test extreme? Maybe... but isn't SURVIVAL extreme??? 👍👍
@@joshuadocter2277 people just see Bics as American, even though they are not all made here like anywhere else so act like he should pick BIC. Lol. It’s just a lighter to make fire. There’s lots of ways to make fire. Lol. Just don’t put a BIC flint in a metal flint wheel! And if so get a needle and push the pin out or you’ll break it.
I agree, it was good info!
A five year old TH-cam video by the Bic company says they have factories in France, Spain, Brazil and the U.S..
Good test. What folks forget about or are not aware of is the boiling point of butane: -2 degrees Celsius (28.4 Fahrenheit). When the ambient temperature reaches that degree butane will not boil providing vapors to light. Propane's boiling point is -42.04 Celsius (-43.672 Fahrenheit).
I found a metal box while hunting inside it was a hunting license, candy wrappers, a bic lighter, a knife and a few other odds and ends that I can't remember...however the license was 12 years old and guess what the Bic still worked ....
I've been out in the woods and found a bic lighter buried in the ground and rusted. Once it dried off a bit it lit no problem. It's amazing how they can make such a good product for so cheap
I dug up a “corner store” branded lighter while digging a post hole and it similarly lit as soon as I was able to get the dirt out of the flame guard + get the wheel to spin. I was shocked. Never had that experience with any other lighter except a bic
Unlike Exotac.
I want to find a exotac lighter in the woods. Then I will have one.
I found a bic in a toolbox that was last used in 1993-1994. Multiple temperature/humidity swings as it has been stored in an outdoor shed. It still worked perfectly. Bic or clipper all the way.
Can't count the number of times ive washed a bic in my pants pocket .I'm very hesitant to spend $60 dollars on any lighter. As I can get several ferro rods stick matches, UCO matches , and bic lighters for that money. Great video keep them coming.
I just found a Bic lighter from 10 years ago in the toolbox in the bed of my truck. It still worked.
Those of us who live in severe wintry conditions know how to handle a Bic lighter in cold weather. The Bic isn't working because the gas in it is too cold. All you have to do is warm up the plastic gas reservoir is hold it in your hand for a few minutrd. They're amazing tools for the price. I generally carry two compasses when I go in the woods and three or more Bics.
Yep, I hold mine between my hands and blow into them. It will usually light within a few seconds in cold weather.
It needs to be above about 31°F to evaporate at standard pressure (14.7 psi at sea level on a standard day). The BIC isn't lighting because the flint/striker wheel are wet. He could have put it in a bag and then froze it. When it was above 31°F it would light.
Did a river crossing in the winter in Germany whilst in the army, bic lighter still lit in seconds after landing. In 40 plus years of carrying bic and clipper lighters I’ve never had one frozen solid or fail.
A wet bic or clipper will light within seconds after being dunked
I do prefer clipper lighters, the castellated wheel on a clipper can be operated with thick winter gloves.
it is incredible how BIC makes 2 of the most versatile tools for dirt cheap (BIC lighters and crystal pens) while being so freaking good
An overlooked but important edc item, the Bic. Very nice presentation.
Exotac also makes a waterproof holder for the Bic lighter for those who want to carry the Bic.
Yep. I have one in my truck
You can get a cheap hemp wick case for Bic lighters. That allows you to save on lighter fuel, by lighten the wick that is attached to the case. The wick wraps around the base of the lighter and runs up the back through a metal tube. Handy case to have for your Bics.
ive purchased many survival lighters that have failed me so I went back to cheap old bic, I use a 2 dollar waterproof case for the bic. That would have been a better test you could likely buy 4 bics with waterproof case for what the exotac cost. That might be a better comparison,,,,,, 25 bic lighters with waterproof case vs one exotac. I like the exotac also and it maybe much better than what ive had. Im interested in the arc lighters. some thoughts good review
I have the "TACAMO H2 RECHARGEABLE TESLA ARC LIGHTER!" I have one for every kit bag I use and edc one all the time. No fuel to carry, wind proof, water resistant and is rechargable with my solar power bank. Nice video review.
I've had the flints in BIC lighters rot away with a full tank of fuel. Some environments can cause corrosion very rapidly. You can store extra flints inside the TITAN lighter. I actually carry both. The Exotac Firesleeve is fantastic.
don't mean it in a bad way but you should remove the child safety guard you'll be able to dry it quicker and if you put the Bic under you arm or even rub between your palms you would be surprised how quickly it will light. Other than that you still produce great videos that I learn much from.
I've found one statement that usually gets rid of gear controversy. Use the tools that fit your mission.
for my bags i get the mini M&M containers to put my bic in + there is room for some cotton balls for tender.i do like the Titan but just not in my price range. great demo
I have been carrying and using my Exotac for the past 4 years. The reality is that you need to occasionally maintain the fluid level. A note on that is to not overfill it ( follow the directions) or you might get a little overflow and extra fire when you light it.
I usually have a combination of BIC, Clipper and storm matches. As a backup i have a Ferro rod and the Firelight on my keychain.
Thanks, Bryan. I carry Clipper lighters because they're plastic and cheaper, but they are refillable. I also carry a micro ferro rod and some vaselined cotton balls, which I've found to work well after years of storage.
I like Clipper lighters too. But you have to keep holding the gas lever down on those too.
Part of my issue with the Bic is the stupid steel strap over the wheel which is a "Safety" feature. I ALWAYS remove them because it makes it 100 times easier to light, AND with that out of the way, the wheel can be dried instant to get it to work. All you need to do is roll the wheel over some dry cloth a few times and it will be dry and ready to light. Obviously, the Titan Light is superior for your stated reasons which I agree with. I suggest you also try the Piezo Electric versions of the Bic lighter because those are great and in some ways superior to the wheel and flint versions. Finally, they do make cheap waterproof sleeves for the Bic which would alleviate the wetness issue completely.
While I carry a BIC lighter with spark wheel most of the time.(mini Bic ).. there's another disposable butane lighter I like even more it's called the DJEEP brand .. fairly large and flat compared to a Bic it holds more butane than a standard Bic lighter and it has an adjustable flame that can be adjusted up pretty high...
I am not convinced yet. With a zippo you can put it on a high wick and it keeps burning, but then the lighter heats up, and the fuel leaks and causes a torch difficult and dangerous to put out. Is that happening with the Titan? Because I noticed in my experiments the wheel and flint got super heated in the Zippo and the lighter disintegrated in function quickly. Is that in reality happening to the Titan?
A good feature on a lighter is to be able to see through the shell to know how much fuel is left, and of course to be able to refill it
I'm not trying to convince anyone about anything, just doing some testing and sharing my conclusions..
You should never use any lighter as a candle, I don't care who makes it. The heat cannot dissipate fast enough to prevent damaging your lighter. You will damage springs, flint wheels, o rings etc. Carry a candle or a simple fire wick made from jute or cotton or hemp rope dipped in wax with a,small metal tube on it to help extinguish the flame you lit with your lighter
Exotac says do not leave the Titan light lit for longer than one minute in the instructions and online Any lighter you leave lit also heats the fuel inside
@@tikkidaddy The only one I saw able to do it was not a lighter, it was a tiny brass cylinder from China with a wick. They were £1 when the first appeared, so I bought 10+ realising they were a super bargain, then they shot up in price
My favorite is the butane jet flame insert for a zippo. Plus it's in a sterling silver zippo, it's also a family heirloom.
Love the Bic. A ranger band around a Zippo lighter hinge/seam helps with evaporation and getting wet.
believe the science LOL here in the UK the bic's are easily available but i prefer my semi disposable Clipper lighter, i think you done a video on the clipper lighter a while ago that a UK fan sent you. to check out.
I bought some Clipper lighters . And I like them. But the Bic is more comfortable in my pocket b
@@SurvivalOnPurpose both are excellent very reliable lighters that are dirt cheap.
i feel the same as yourself about how it feels in your pocket and hand, i am so used to the clipper (used one daily for 40yrs) anything else doesnt feel right.
I’ve had a bic lose all of the lighter fluid because the thumb tab got pressed while in my pocket. I too carry an Exotac and love it. No issues whatsoever with it. Totally trust it.
little trick to avoid that is a rubber band around the thumb tab or a zip tie that you can slide back around it i've had some stored in my pack for over a year and no fuel loss.
An empty Bic can still light a fire by removing the metal fire guard, holding it inverted and rolling the thumbwheel along a surface to create great sparks from its micro ferro rod. By holding something like a piece of tissue with my thumb near the sparks, I've had great success easily creating a flame. I learned this from David West's excellent TH-cam fire making channel.
@@motrock93b Good point and you’re right. It sure could be used in that manner.
@@Horde334 Cool idea!
You can keep a mini-Bic dry and safe, sitting in your pocket, or pack, etc. By putting it in an empty Tic-Tac plastic container. You can store some tinder with the Bic and you will be ready no matter where you are. And to better making the Tic-Tac vault waterproof. You can put it in one or more of those small Zip-loc bags or simply use some tape. I used some small piece of Glad Wrap to seal mine and you can add an elastic band. There's no doubt about the quality of that $60. lighter but I have never had a Bic fail me. And for the dollar each that I buy them at, I can carry more than one. I carry at least one with me. I carry also a small Maxpedition Pocket Organizer, one of the small ones. There's a Bic in there. And on the topside of my Sunvisor in my truck, there's another Bic. I'm in pretty good shape if I need to start a fire.
I like your idea
Otzi the Iceman wished he had a Exotac Titanlight 🥶
Not sure it could burn long enough to make a difference in his outcome, trees don't grow on icesheets. maybe 2 Zippo hand warmers could have made the difference!
Old adjustable flame bic lighter dug out last month works great just lots of rust
I like your down to earth science experiments. Keep up the common sense gear reviews. Thank you.
Excellent review - you sold me!!!!! I do realize that it is very very expensive for a lighter but it looks like it is pretty much flawless. Thank you for an excellent review.
Glorified zippo.
I had a Bic run through the washer by accident. It was lucky that I found it before the dryer. It had to dry for a little bit but it worked later.
I've had some big lighters that were laying around for a long time and the mini Ferro rod flints inside disintegrated!! I don't know why but if you have a survival kit or bug out bag or get home bag change out the lighter... I only use Bic lighters with the spark wheel! . I also take a tiny zip tie and put it under the button. Zip tied around the lighter so the button cannot be depressed and accidentally exhaust the gas. ..
Flint & steel. Works wet. Carry wax/Vaseline soaked cotton balls. Works.
If you take the wet Bic and aggressively roll the flint wheel on the log it'll start sparking again without having to wait to dry. Something about giving the flint a good scraping.
Butane boils at 30.2°F. Any appliance that causes a pressurized gas to evaporate by releasing pressure, also causes the temperature of the remaining fuel to drop. This is less of an issue with a lighter, but with a stove, the useful time that the appliance can be used is directly related to a feedback loop where the environment warms the fuel tank to prevent the temperature of the fuel from dropping below its boiling point.
In cold conditions, liquid fuel has always been the answer. Be it your exotac or a naphtha coleman suitcase stove. Btw… coleman fuel will work fine… an MSR bottle will refill one of those lighters for a looong time.
A zippo with a ranger band to seal it and waterproof it as well prevent fuel evaporation, a pack of Bics, a few Clipper lighters, as well as stormproof matches and a ferro rod with a combined price is a lot cheaper than that exotac lighter.
I could just get a nice warm, dry motel room for less than that lighter lol.
Get a Clipper lighter. They're refillable and easy to maintain as the whole spark wheel mechanism pulls out making it easy to replace the flint, and you can even find replacement parts.
This video is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you.
What's the longest you've noticed the exotac to hold fluid? My zippo holds fuel less than 2 mo.; then, needs a refill just sitting in a coat pocket.
Almost 2 years. ;-)
To keep a Bic lighter burning, candle like, consider putting a ranger band around it. Put it up against the underside of the red lever to prevent inadvertent gas leak in your pocket. Pull it up over the lever to keep flame burning and your finger safe.
Good idea
If you hold down the gas button on the wet lighter put it near a flame you can revive it. it takes 3 to 4 times but it will work.
This $60 titanium (just why?!) lighter is a swag item mostly. It's lid doesn't seal properly, so it's bound to get wet when you fall into the river for example. It's a wick type lighter too, so expect less fire from it compared to a butane lighter of similar volume. My biggest gripe with it is how unpocketable it is. It's round, it has this bulge on the lid, it's very big too... You also need two hands to operate it properly and this lid can easily get lost. I don't think it was designed by a person who has any idea what a lighter should be. I guess you can pack something into this lid or use it to heat something up but that's about it.
Buy a small butane lighter, pack it into two zip bags to make it essentially waterproof, and put it into your pocket or a boot. Bam! Now you have a backup lighter that's cheap, reliable, and can light a fire as long as you have some dry fuel. You can even pack some tiny compressed cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly in an outer zip bag, to have some emergency firestarter on hand. This solution fits flawlessly even into tiny "lighter pockets" found on jeans. ...And it costs $2 at most.
The very youtuber you're watching towed his exotac behind a canoe for quite some time and it worked flawlessly. Not sure where you're getting it from that it doesn't seal properly, it does.
It also isn't titanium, it's aluminum.
Also, you seem to believe that wick lighters are inherently inferior to butane ones. You're wrong. Butane lighters have a hard time in the cold and can be filled ONLY with butane. Wick lighters are effectively immune to the cold and and can be filled with most any flammable fluid.
As far as flame volume, you are again mistaken. My zippo is, what, twice the size of a bic? Idk, but the flame volume is easily twice as much as well.
As far as the exotac not being pocket able, it's a survival lighter. You aren't really meant to carry it around every day in your pocket.
All in all... You don't understand the exotac at all lol. I don't have one and won't be buying one, but it's appeal is that it's a reliable lighter that will last a lifetime. You buy it once, and you have a single device that will give you fire for the rest of your life. To me, that's actually pretty cool for $60.
@@mcnuggatron2129 yeah. I don't understand the concept of a "survival" lighter that isn't designed to be pocketable to be on you when said survival situation actually happens.
I judged it's lid sealing by this video alone, yes. After all, there was a bunch of water inside when he unscrewed it after taking it out of ice.
No, butane lighters work fine in the cold weather. You just need to hold them in your hand for a bit. Just a dozen of seconds is enough. They have a bit of trouble getting a spark when wet but it can be said about any magnesium lighter. And you can dry them under 10 minutes if you know how to.
By flame volume I meant energy density. So once again, no, liquid butane is much more energy dense than filament soaked in flammable liquid.
Yes, butane lighters can be recharged with butane only. But one can easily last a couple of years on one charge and ones made from clear plastic have pretty pronounced indication of the remaining fuel.
Any refillable lighter can last a lifetime if you take care of it. ...Or if you have a short lifetime.
Yeah. My mistake about it being made out of titanium. I think this company actually makes the same lighter out of titanium though. But it's probably double the price of this one.
@@romant1127 Thats fair. Butane definitely does win in energy density from what I've read.
Regarding it not being pocketable, it can be pocketed, it just wouldn't be the most comfortable thing in the world. I don't think pocketing it occasionally would pose much of a problem, I think edc with it would just be annoying.
Regarding the cold, I know that they work once you heat them up a bit but in my personal experience, they are enemies with the cold in multiple ways. I had one (I don't remember what they're called but it was one of those classic silver ones) that just would not work in the cold even after warming it up enough taht it should have. My theory was that it had some o rings that contracted from the cold or something, sorta like what happened to space shuttle challenger.
I guess the thing I'm really preaching here is simplicity. A high quality wick lighter will always last longer because there are very few moving parts, no seals to fail, and no pressure. I think as such that a wick lighter can justify an expensive price tag.
Plenty of butane lighters *might* last the rest of your life, but they're too complex to say that they almost definitely will. Some wick lighters, even zippos, are very unlikely to ever fail. (Though I had 1 zippo that was problematic from day 1. Bit of a lemon)
@@mcnuggatron2129 amusingly enough, I decided to go for butane lighters after I had my share of troubles with wick lighters ha-ha. The ones I owned always had an issue of being completely dry when I really needed to light a fire. It was probably due to highly evaporative mixture I refueled them with, or because of wick pincher not working properly, hard to tell. On the other hand, my cheap backup butane lighter always helped me out in those moments. Never failed on me even in -40C (As long as I carried it under the jacket or warmed it up in a palm for a moment, of course). And the amount of remaining fuel was never an issue since clear plastic and all that jazz.
In the end I settled on a piece of magnesium and aforementioned earlier zip bagged butane lighter. Even if I'm not into the whole survival craze and EDC gear, I always have a cheap butane lighter on me. Very handy when hanging out with people who smoke or for stopping synthetic fabric from unraveling, for example.
@@romant1127 lol I guess maybe butane lighters just don't like me, and wick lighter don't like you.
The name that was escaping me was ronson. I figured ronsons were probably of pretty decent quality because they're one of the more popular jet type butane lighters, but upon looking them up just a few minutes ago, it turns out that their reviews are pretty bad and a lot of people struggle with them not wanting to light at random times.
My problem might not be with butane after all, maybe ronsons are just finicky. In actual use, I prefer jet lighters, so I'll have to buy some more and see what I think of them nowadays. Alternatively, I just ordered one of those electric lighters, maybe that'll fit my use case for awhile
Did this bic lighter work afterward?
Eventually
I had no doubt)@@SurvivalOnPurpose
Which one is better balanced?
Bryan,
You might be interested in testing a Maratac Peanut lighter against the Exotac. The main difference is the wind screen on the Exotac, but the Peanuts are less expensive depending on size and materials.
Good point, I have a peanut from county comm, great little lighter.
Get a bunch of Bics and the Exotac. Why not. As for a ferro rod the Lightning Strike is high priced but it's amazing
Yep
Whenever he says he isn't anti Bic take a drink
no, don't
Your back yard looks like Tarzan rents a tree house from you. Cool place to test survival equipment. Great video, as usual.
When you're working around cold water try to use the buddy system,if you're alone build a fire before you go on the ice,and watch for undercut banks.
I'm a forgetful person and tend to stick a lighter in just about every other pocket I have so I can have at least one. Cheap lighters are great for that. They're not great for winter camping, though. One thing is, trying to light damp wood by holding the flame under the wood for half a minute can hurt. Another is, they give up if you hold them out in the cold for any length of time. Then you have to stick it in your pocket, find another lighter and go at it all over again. Not that you won't get it to work, eventually, but it's a hassle. So I carry both matches and a fuel lighter. And a ferro rod or two.
As a hardcore cone head that's used Bic lighters for thirty odd years I can say they are faultless and the best you can get when it comes to disposable lighters.✌️
Do you know about cricket? What you think?
The spring is froze. Try that bic tomorrow. Im a bic fan,but I'll have 1 of the other,where do you get fuel. I can't find it anywhere.
Hard to say. It’s been a while since I tried to buy any. Have you tried Walmart? They probably keep it behind bars with the tobacco products.
Ive found that Bics wont light even if its cold outside ........ you have to put them in your pocket to warn them back up before they will light.
I happen to have an exotac that I bought for the pure enjoyment of falling for all the hype on them and never used mine , just put it away in a drawer , I got it out about 8 months later and it still lit up....... not much of a test but my findings
Great point
I have this lighter and while it works great in perfect conditions ,I used it to light up fireworks on New Year’s Eve and the thing will not light up enough because it was like 6 Celsius and windy, I was disappointed.
Why would there be water in the exotac if its waterproof?
I don't know. I had to go back and watch that part again, it's been a year. Maybe I didn't have it closed tight enough. But it worked right away anyway, didn't it.
Does anyone remember those Bic lighter sheaths or whatever they were?
I use multiple bic lighters, but my primary lighter is Explore waterproof plasma light for 15.99 at Amazon. the advantage is that it will light tinder in heavy winds.
Those bics with the extended pipe on the end are supper nice for lighting fires because they don't get hot, and you can stick it under things easier.
Put your Bic lighter in a waterproof container, like a snack size zip-lock bag, and save yourself a few dollars. Stick a little kindling, jute, or dryer lint in the bag as well for kindling. I use an old prescription bottle. Works fine!
It’s amazing how your thumb slides right over gas valve .
There is no need to hold the gas down if it sparking. The problem wasn’t the gas, it was the spark.
I got a unopened pack of 5 bic’s in my bugout bag , plus a Ferro rod , it probably won’t freeze here in Florida
My limited income does not allow me to buy a $60 lighter. But for $6 at Wally world i can get 5 bic lighters.
I like your testing these scientifically, Bryan..
Great video
My first wife was a smoker, I bought 100;s of Bic's then got her a nice Dupont and then 100's of bics. She never learned to refill it and i was working 18 hours a day back then. One day after getting a minor heat stroke and her asking if I brought her some cigarettes home it came to an end. One thing that stayed the same is my Zippo.
Have you tried the soto torch? You should do this test with that
All you have to do it run the Bic on your pants a couple passes. I've soaked them to test also, and just a couple passes on your jeans and it dries enough to light pretty quickly.
I get it. But what if your clothes are all soaked and it's cold and wet and you need a fire NOW? Like I said, I ALWAYS carry a Bic. But there is no question that the Exotac has some advantages over a Bic as a survival tool.
Can’t beat the Exotac it’s made of high quality aluminum, water proof plus you have a storage for parts/flint/ tinder/ cotton it’s very durable … bonus is its mad in USA!!! I love it… Tip to get that Bic lighter going is hold down the gas and take it to a flame it will lite right up 🔥 then hold for a min as it’s lit it will dry very quickly and should be good as new… great video if can always buy MADE IN THE USA…stay safe and blessed… Aloha…💯🤙🏾
Science......gotta love it !
My go to cheat is a dedicated fire starter kits
In an small tin that could a good old reliable ferro rod and and wax coated cotton wool fire starters as kindling and a few other bits and bobs as alternative ways to start a fire in an emergency but being old school I carry a Zippo as my go to lighter
Carry multiple lighter types. I have had brand new Bics dies in a year or two of in house storage. Exotac is 20% over prices...as they always offer 20% off. lol
I carry a exotac fire rod on my leatherman and a cheap waterproof butane torch in my pocket. Why cuz the torch helps melt bank like and light other things very fast. And the fero rod, because its fool proof with the tinder in the handle.
I carried a Bic on a dummy cord in my pocket for years, but I’ve switched to the Exotac for reliability. I still carry a Bic in my ruck for back up, but Exotac is my go to EDC. I also carry a mini Bic in my PSK along with an Exotec mini ferro rod. I stay away from the Chinese made ferro rods because of the poor quality.
There’s a mini Bic in my pocket every day but an Exotac in my kit
BREAKING NEWS: Bic now sells the Classic Bic lighter with an electronic ignition. Both the mini and standard size. Walmart sells the mini in a 2 pack. You can submerge the lighter in a bucket of water. Take it out of the water and give it a good blow to clear any water off the igniter and you are good to go. Yes they cost a bit more than the classic. But it is insignificant.
love the bic mini's and the neon green one is my fav color too but i dont always find em and opt for the black instead , never seen the cool looking purple colored ones like they got on there website being sold at the gas stations? i also found this strange looking one on the floor in my elevator its a reg size neon green bic but its top looks like a bbq lighter with a long black striker flame nozzle or wand about 1.25" long and uses piezo electric push down button ignitor ,trying to find ways to refill them myself but i recently been gifted a jet flame lighter and i love those the first one i ever had was back in 2000 it was an asg pocket torch and i had lot of fun with it
Clipper lighters are better than bic imo and I think it's even cheaper. With the Clipper you can replace the spark wheel, flint, butane. You can use flints and spark wheels off of other lighter brands such as bic. I've used a 2 dollar Clipper lighter for 5 years now. The material of the lighter is less likely to melt when hot as well. Clipper lighters dry faster after getting wet because the entire spark wheel housing comes out. Every bic ends up in the garbage after 1 use unlike Clippers
The Titan Light is nothing more than a waterproof Zippo in a different case. Just buy a $11 Zippo off the shelf and find a small waterproof case for it. As for the disposable lighter style, I prefer Clipper lighters. You can remove the striker assembly from them, and most are also refillable.
Hello Brian it has been along time. Exotac has a sleeve for the bic. Can you please review the case. I really like there products awesome video.
Thanks for posting.
Nice test!
Bic is from France..
I like Zippo🔥
Butane will freeze in extreme low teperatures. Another test worth doing would be to get one of the cheap waterproof BIC cases and then repeat the test. My guess is the BIC still won't work.
There is another pro to the Bic and con to the Exotac. If you drop the Bic, it WILL go out. The Exotac, maybe, maybe not. That's the trade-off for not having to keep the gas lever depressed when using the Exotac.
I think a fairer comparison would be a bit lighter with an Exotac Bic waterproof holder and your 69 dollar lighter with its cover.
on the Bic you remove the metal windshield, blow the head out, and put the shield back on. takes 15 seconds. works.
edit: if it is too wet to get a spark just roll it over your jeans until it sparks. the jeans dries it while rolling. takes five seconds. the Bic doesn't work when there is not gas coming out of course.
Tell us about your watch ?is that a mudmaster?
I know this is a year old vid, but I watch all your stuff sometimes twice. Thanks for the content! Don't you know the trick with a Bic where if it is wet, you run it hard down the side of your pants multiple times to spark the flint and dry out the ignition area? I have down that many times... and it eventually works. Titanlights are sweet, but damn, $60 these days, a Bic and more ignition in other forms is the way to go for me unless I get a free Titanlight. I agree on the value of being able to light it and set it down, that is a huge bonus. :)
I hear you but what if your pants are soaking wet and it’s 10 degrees F and you need fire RIGHT NOW?
True indeed... @@SurvivalOnPurpose
I haven’t smoked in over 20 years
and BIC always goes in my pocket.. I try to carry a bright colored one ..
Good video Brian , thanks for sharing , God bless !
Great test I am a Zippo fan.
I think these are cool but IMO they are just for the cool factor. Lighters are the first and easiest form of fire starting but I wouldn’t call it an emergency starter, you don’t know how much fuel you have in it. UCO storm proof matches are more reliable and you know exactly how many chances to start a fire you have left. For the money and capability you’re better off buying a Bayite ferro rod, bic, UCO Stormproof matches, and cotton balls with Vaseline and still be around $20 total for a full fire kit.
ya im sold on exotac titan light once you learn how to use it properly and it does take a bit of learning on how to use it right its the king of lighters !!!
may as well add 2 tips
learn to fill it with right amount a fuel ...
2nd when flint feels weak not much resistance replace it so pin wont fall out ...carry spare flints inside the cotton and if possible which i do a spare brass pin ...
Yes, and for the love of Pete folks, please wipe your hands and the lighter DRY before you strike it. Also there is no law written that says you cannot turn it upside down to contain any fuel that may migrate in the system, then pour that back into the TitanLight or on your fire lay. I still have my first Exotac, added fuel out the bottle, a few drops 3 times in 4 years . Carry a pin, a couple rings, a few flints and a Zippo fuel canister. Weighs zero extra
I like your shirt... solid motto / theme of life for sure. Are they available for purchase? If so where?
www.ballisticink.com/survival-on-purpose/
An important rule to follow making survival/fire videos. Do not disrespect the Bic. Ha. My must have gear in a fire kit. 100 percent reliable for years and years. A ferro rod and a stick of fatwood. Never fail combination.
I don’t disrespect it. I have one in my pocket every day. But I don’t worship it either. Everything has limitations.
I may not have worded my comment correctly. If I, in any of my videos, seem to dis a Bic lighter, I get a lot of bad comments. No. You certainly did not say anything bad about the lighter. I also carry several Bics. Take care.
You have to be aware that lighters that require liquid fuels like this one and Zippos will eventually dry out. Fill a Zippo then leave it on a desk for 1 month and it wont light, leave a Bic on a desk for 1 year and it will still light. Buy a pack of Bic lighters, leave them in the pack in a zip lock bag and they will be good for majority of the situations you will ever encounter. $10 vs $60 lighter + $7 fuel bottle that will probably end up leaking or smelling up your bag.
You have to realize this lighter uses #35 orings that keep the fluid from evaporating like a Zippo. You also have to realize the Orings are dirt cheap, easy to replace, and you need to make sure that the lid is properly screwed down when you close it. 😆
i have exotac titanlight very good lighter.. i wish they made it in titanium..
Ive used bic lighters for 30+ years in the harshest conditions you can imagine. Never had one fail. Even in negative 20 degree weather. Just keep it in an inside pocket warm and it works fine. Dont know if the price is worth it but any advantage in the real world is worth its weight in gold.
I get it. But actual survival situations are usually the result of a lot of things going wrong. In my opinion, the ability to make fire if you wind up soaking wet in freezing temps could be priceless.
my long term experience with BIC lighters is that the flint goes to crap
WARNING! flint oxidizes and turns to dust, I had some really old ones in my emergency gear
that flint on the end of a military surplus match case, dust, that's why you never see them with flint
the Exotac is interesting with that screw on lid keeping it dry & the fuel from evaporating
I find Zippo lighters dry out over time, good for that one outing
looked up the Exotac and not a fan of how to replace the flint
might be a bit fiddly on getting it back together
but I guess the only sure way to have fire in the wilderness is to rub two sticks together
A Zippo would light that easily wind proof and I saw a test underwater for 2 min and it lit I like the high polish brass ones Armor and Pipe lighter Zippos
Solid brass !
A Zippo won’t hold fuel for months without evaporation. Which is important in a lighter for a survival kit.
Lighter FLUID is mostly hydrophobic, it is a petroleum product. A ZIPPO will crackle and spit but should light if your flint isn't corroded. The flint tube in a ZIPPO can be blocked, and may need to be cleared with a 3/32 drill bit VERY CAREFULLY. Exotac has a much shorter and easier to access tube