[bizy]

Why would a person want 500 water proof matches? 1 bic lighter will give you 1,000s of lights and it is truley water proof..

[gregs887]

Bic lighters are a bitch to light in the wind and rain. Waterproof matches will generally hold up to strong winds as well.

[CA357]

I not only have lots of both, I also have flints and steels and different types of fire starters. Do I need all of them? To my way of thinking, I do. One is none, two is one, etc.

If you depend on a Bic lighter and it somehow leaks out its gas, matches will come in handy. Now obviously, it's just prudent to have more than one lighter. I have bunches of them and I keep them scattered about. However, I prefer the belt and suspenders approach. If necessary, I can go without food for quite a while. Heat and water, not so much.

Speaking of water, do you have good purification and storage setups?

[Trez]

Originally Posted by bizy

Why would a person want 500 water proof matches? 1 bic lighter will give you 1,000s of lights and it is truley water proof..

Everytime i get a lighter wet i gotta let it dry... the waterproof matches i have burn for 12 seconds no mater what (even underwater!)

[c3shooter]

Right now, take your BIC lighter. Go to the kitchen, and run a few drops of water over the flint. Now light it. They are FAR from waterproof, not windproof, and in VERY long storage, not highly reliable.

I have a small fishing boat- and keep an "Aw CRAP!" bag in the live well. It includes a magnesium fire starter, and a truly waterproof matchcase with waterproof, strike anywhere lifeboat matches. I also tuck a couple of pouches of the old ration heating tablets (Trioxane fuel) in there. I hope never to need them for anything beyond lighting a good cigar when fishing, and my lighter runs out.

However, I have a limited vocabulary. If I ever find myself crouched on a sandbar at night, after some IDIOT with a ski boat sank my little Jon boat, and I am headed for hypothermia, I don't think I have a sufficent amount of profanity to deal with a wet lighter and damp driftwood.

[jungleman]

Originally Posted by CA357

I not only have lots of both, I also have flints and steels and different types of fire starters. Do I need all of them? To my way of thinking, I do. One is none, two is one, etc.

If you depend on a Bic lighter and it somehow leaks out its gas, matches will come in handy. Now obviously, it's just prudent to have more than one lighter. I have bunches of them and I keep them scattered about. However, I prefer the belt and suspenders approach. If necessary, I can go without food for quite a while. Heat and water, not so much.

Speaking of water, do you have good purification and storage setups?

I won't say I carry more than half a dozen waterproof matches. As regards lighters, and able to get 500 lights out of one, it's when you have used it for 499 times, and you either run out of the gas, or your flint is worn out. Give me a knife with a fire steel built into the knife sheath. I have 2 knives, and both have the fire steel in the sheath. Fire steels, I have a couple of "C" shaped ones that produce a good reliable spark. I also have a plunger type firestarter that when depressed, concentrates a shower of sparks just where you want to. What happens to the guys who use a lighter, and the one that uses matches, when they both run out, I will still have my knives and fire steels and starter. I too am a firm believer of being a belt and braces man myself why?. it's called self preservation, How would you use 500 matches or a lighter to build a shelter cut wooden feathers for your fire etc.or skin any Game you may have caught.There is no MATCH for the good old fashioned way of Bushcraft.Trioxane is the usual way I start my fires like c3shooter.
Jungleman

[bkt]

Originally Posted by bizy

Why would a person want 500 water proof matches?

To barter with people who don't have a BIC lighter?

[Ploofy]

Originally Posted by bizy

Why would a person want 500 water proof matches? 1 bic lighter will give you 1,000s of lights and it is truley water proof..

Whenever I'm planning a long trek, I have 3 separate boxes of matches that contain a variety of waterproof matches and I generally have a box of ohio bluetips, too. Why? Because the first thing to get broken when you set your pack down, or fall into the water when you get a drink, will be your lighter. Once I even had the flint on a brand new lighter break off for it's first use. Though, a high quality Zippo one would be a decent investment. I also used to have a lighter that burned some high intensity gas, but I ran out of the refill, and forgot what the fuel was. Apart from that, the thing was indestructible and water tight.

[NitroxAZ]

A cheaper alternative to buying them is to dip regular strike matches clear nail polish to make them "waterproof"

[Seven]

Mini-Maglite, two staples, steel wool.