>>2782438Skill issue. I wrap the lighter in such a way that when I take it out of my pocket, I just need to grab the baggy by the lip, and then let it drop from my hand. The whole package unfurls itself trough sheer force of gravity very quickly, and then I just need to reach into the bag and bring out the lighter. There, deployed. Takes all of three-to-four seconds. The only part that's a slight hassle is re-wrapping the Zippo after starting whatever fires I need, but I've gotten better at that too and have managed to shave off seconds from that process trough practice. I will keep doing this, because like stated earlier, the plastic wrap around the lighter is also an additional layer of protection against water, and being able to use the Zippo 6 weeks instead of 2 with a single top up brings me savings in lighter fluid, and actually makes it worth it to bring the lighter with me to /out/, since I now know I can rely on it longer.
>cheaper alternativesI actually do enjoy those chink shit torches because of the 1300 C turbo flame, but they're brittle plastic by way of being chink shit, and I don't expect any of the ones I own now to be working 30 years from now. Unlike my first Zippo from 1994, which still sings and dances and burns shit up like a motherfucker. That lighter is now probably older than most users here. And probably in better shape too.
>imco lighterI inherited an Imco from my late gramps. He used it so hard, it's useless to me because the flint tube has become bent so badly the flint no longer sparks because it always becomes dislodged by the motion of the flint wheel trying to scrape it. Imcos, fine as they are, are built more complicated, making them more likely to mechanically fail vs. the simpler Zippo.
