Back 50+ years ago, the BIC lighters had adjustable flames, no strip of curved metal over the thumb wheel (that intentionally heats to burn your thumb), and no warning label stuck to each one. The modern ones arrived after a few young kids burned down their homes. It took me a bit of practice to do the long, slow lighting needed for cigars and pipes, using the newly handicapped BIC. Prior to figuring out the new BICs, I would attack each new one with a pair of needle nose pliers, and yank out that curved metal finger burner.
As for a source of fire to keep within a survival kit, nothing beats a BIC. They remain useable for years and years. You can freeze them within a puddle of water, but once they're thawed and dried, they light right up. Strike-anywhere matches are a hazard to carry around. Typical, little boxes of matches are ruined by exposure to water, as is the striking strip outside the box. (And any type of match produces toxic fumes, until the striking head is completely burned away.) Although I do have a little flint and steel sparking set, I never bothered to carry it with me when backpacking—just a BIC.
Zippo lighters got our military through WW2, the Korean War, and Viet Nam. After the arrival of the BIC, a Zippo is best considered a nostalgic work of art.
Bob
