Very useful in a bind. They're waterproof and provide a source of fire. I'll have mine forever.
The ones I've seen are sold as camping or survival gear rather than for general use.
this post was submitted on 09 Feb 2026
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Showerthoughts
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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.
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Assuming you have access to a power outlet but not a 7-11?
I'm just as likely to notice an electric lighter is out of juice as a Bic.
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I appreciate yyour perspective, but my experience has been better. I have used mine for 4 years now and it appears to be going strong. im not sure how many plastic disposables it has saved, but i would guess several. Lithium ion batteries are highly recyclable- if they made it so that you could swap the battery, i think it could be an improvement over disposable lighters. of course, you could say the same thing about refillable butane lighters.
I think the biggest flaw with mine in particular is that they put a chrome plated (electrically conductive) beauty cover cap over the ceramic insulator for the electrodes. ⚡🤦♂️
When everything is perfectly clean it works just fine. But over time, especially when used to light a pack of smokes a day, nicotine, tar and ash build up over the ceramic which ends up leading to electricity bleeding through the tar, shorting out to the chrome plating, leading to a short circuit, incorrect arcing, and pretty rapid failure of the electrodes.
If it had been designed without the chrome plated beauty cover cap, it would most likely last damn near forever without having to bother cleaning it all that much, but sigh, it's piss poor engineering to put a conductive cover over high voltage arcing electrodes.
Regardless, at least I know how to safely clean and maintain it, and indeed its already saved me countless disposable lighters. But for the average person, the moment it shorts out through the chrome and into the metal shell, and literally zaps the person holding it, most people would basically say fuck that and toss it the moment they get electrocuted.