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Sparkr Mini Plasma Lighter — For Ski Touring Survival?

by Lou Dawson January 16, 2020
written by Lou Dawson January 16, 2020
Sparkr Mini plasma lighter, works after a dip in the snow.

Sparkr Mini plasma lighter, works after a dip in the snow.

The Sparkr Mini is a worthy addition to your kit

Campfires have saved my life. More than once. Since constructing my first “survival kit” as a fresh faced Boy Scout, I’ve always carried fire starting items in my backcountry kit. Not much: a bit of tinder (lint balls soaked in petrol jelly), a pair of butane lighters, perhaps a flint sparker if I’m headed for multi-days in the boondocks. The butane lighters are the weak link, here’s why:

— Don’t work well when wet.
— Difficult to operate with cold numbed hands.
— May not work at all in the slightest wind.
— Tend to accidental triggering unless they’re secured with rubber bands and packed carefully.
— Hassle to refill, even if possible.

I’ve thus been intrigued by the evolution and ostensible improvement of lighters — especially the electrical ones that produce small plasma sparks and are easily activated with a button press. I acquired a Sparkr brand Mini of this persuasion and did a few tests.

First test, ignition.

First test, ignition.

Ignition test

Plasma lighters don’t produce a flame, just a small hot electrical arc. Thus, you can’t project the heat to tinder material as you can with a butane lighter or match. Instead, you have to shape the tinder material such that a bit of it fits between the lighter electrodes. For tinder, I carry dryer lint wadded up with petroleum jelly. No problem with ignition as the lint is easily pinched into a shape that the lighter can touch.

Using a urethane accessory strap for tinder is a standard trick.

Using a urethane accessory strap for tinder.

Using a urethane accessory strap for tinder is a standard backcountry fire starting trick. The Sparkr worked fine for this as I could slice off a chunk that was sized for the lighter, or ignite the edge of the strap. I found something interesting during this test: Not all plastic accessory straps ignite equally — one brand acted as if flame retardant. (I’d advise cutting a slice of material off the end of a strap and testing yourself.) Starting a fire with natural tinder such as small twigs could be difficult with a plasma lighter. In testing I found it necessary to use dry wood shavings, preferably from a conifer with sap content. That said, lighting a natural-tinder fire with a butane lighter or matches can also be a challenge. Conclusion: as always, carry your preferred artificial tinder.

Immersion test.

Immersion test.

Immersion test

This is where Sparkr plasma lighter shined compared to matches or butane lighters. I stuffed snow into the electrodes, blew it away with a breath, and the unit worked perfectly. Same thing with a splash of water. No problem with wind either.

Subarctic testing.

Subarctic testing.

Subarctic test

As with most electronic equipment, Sparkr is officially rated down to zero centigrade. And as with much electronic equipment, I had no doubt it would work at temperatures somewhat below that. But how low? I cold soaked the Sparkr in our chest freezer to negative 4 degrees Fahrenheit. With a fully charged battery the unit worked fine. With battery partially charged it soon died. That’s understandable, as rechargeable lithium-ion batteries loose lots of capacity when chilled. I don’t see this as a big deal. If you need the lighter during a cold day, put it in your pocket for ten minutes before use. On the other hand, I wouldn’t advise using the Sparkr plasma lighter in deep-cold environments such as Denali high camps (perhaps other plasma lighter brands or models have larger, or user replaceable batteries. Comments?

Other considerations

I like having a secondary light source in my repair/emergency kit, normally a mini-flashlight or something of that nature. Sparkr includes an LED light that’s invoked by pressing a button three times in succession, to prevent accidental switching. The button (yellow in photos above) is level with the unit’s housing, but accidental activation of the light could still occur in the dark, mysterious confines of your repair kit. So while I like the flashlight feature, I’m not convinced it’s a good thing. A bit of thin plastic taped over the button would probably secure it. (Most plasma lighters do not have flashlights; I tested Sparkr specifically because it does.) Accidental activation of the ignition element is virtually impossible. It has a safety lock that’s integrated with the hood, as well as the usual thumb button.

Conclusion

Plasma lighters are a viable addition to any fire starting kit, but as with any other flame source you should have at least one backup of a different type. As to the Sparkr specifically, it feels nice in the hand and tested well. If the flashlight doesn’t activate accidentally, then I’m happy with it. Note the limitations of lithium-ion rechargeable battery (cold sensitive, gradually looses charge while stored). Most “lighters,” be they butane, electrical or whatever, are of course designed for igniting cigarettes and things of that nature. In that sense, they’re not ideal for fire starting, but you work around the limitations in return for advantages such as easy ignition and wind resistance. As with all fire starting solutions, test at home. Also note that Li-ion batteries lose charge over time, so you’ll need to top off the charge now and then.

Specs for Sparkr, Mini model plasma lighter and flashlight
— Lithium-ion power 300 mAh: 3.7v (rechargeable via USB, sensitive to cold)
— Recharge source: micro USB
— Flashlight output: 25 lumens
— Weight: 42 grams
— Dimensions: 6.8x4x1.5 cm
— Specified operating temperature: 0-40 Centigrade (worked while cold soaked to negative 4 degrees Fahrenheit).

Amazon ran out of these, it appears they’re available on the Power Practical website. If not, then consider any of the hundreds of other plasma lighters available per our embedded Amazon links. Be sure to torture test at home, then add to your kit.

This is WildSnow dot com, so we took it apart.

This is WildSnow dot com, so we took it apart.

Commentators, please share suggestions for good quality plasma lighters that might work well for a repair-emergency kit.

10 comments
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10 comments

Alex January 16, 2020 - 8:42 am

Thanks for the write up Lou. Any thoughts or issues with using this as a primary ignition source for a backcountry stove?

DJ January 16, 2020 - 9:26 am

I think the reviewer missed the most obvious question for 85% of snow sliders – will this lighter ignite flower or do we still need to carry a butane one for safety meetings?

Lou Dawson 2 January 16, 2020 - 9:42 am

Alex, I have no doubt it’ll ignite petrol, but you bring up a good point, as perhaps lighting a stove is easier with a projected flame as with butane. Let’s see if anyone else here has some experience lighting stoves with a plasma lighter. If not, I fire mine up. Lou

Rod Georgiu January 16, 2020 - 11:54 am

I tried one of these a few years ago and it didn’t work at elevation, 10000 ft. Does this one?

OMR January 16, 2020 - 3:04 pm

The elephant in the blog, can any lighter ignite damp wood?Damp wood is what we have while backcountry skiing and the best lighter I have found for lighting damp fuel is a road flare. Everything in a winter mountain landscape is damp to a degree. Even if it looks dry, if it has snowed in the last week you can count on it being damp and thus tough to ignite. A flare will first dry then ignite your fuel: light it, hold it to your fuel and with time the fuel will ignite. Road flares burn hot and long and won’t go out due to wind or a tired thumb. If you’re worried about weight cut the flare in half, just be careful to not ignite it in the process.

XXX_er January 16, 2020 - 5:22 pm

I liked the cheap refiable butane ronson lighters but they stopped working at an altitude where a cheap BIC was still lighting so you wana check for that kind of thing IME. I found a propane torch on a seakayak trip, kinda bulky but it sure got the fire going

Jonathan L January 16, 2020 - 6:53 pm

My fancy waterproof jet butane lighter doesn’t work at 10,000′. My old school 35mm can of matches works fine. I’m a fan of carrying multiple sources of light and fire. And I still have a half oz magnesium strike rod that really is from my days as a Boy Scout. Only useful with dry tinder, but at least it doesn’t take fuel or batteries or care if it’s wet. It sits next to a compass and a paper map which I’ll probably end up having to tear up and burn.

Darren Jakal January 16, 2020 - 8:08 pm

I’ve had great luck with a good old BIC. I keep it in my pants pocket and it stays warm and dry and works at 3k+ metres. I also have an IMCO Austrian Army lighter that uses lighter fluid. I can pull the fuel cell out and use it as a candle. I’ve have good luck with finding dry wood where I hang out in the Rockies and Interior Ranges of Western Canada (the dead lower branches of live conifers are usually protected from the weather and stays dry).

Just a web sample of IMCO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcTmKRPqL3E

VtVolk January 17, 2020 - 10:26 am

While not dealing with altitude in the Northeast, we do deal with wet, cold, and wind. I find a classic Zippo is the most reliable, although it does need to be filled periodically. In terms of finding dry wood, a old trick is to whittle away the wet/frozen outside of an otherwise dry stick with your knife. It’s always dry on the inside! Little shavings are excellent for getting a fire started and hot enough to burn otherwise mostly dry twigs.

Jack January 24, 2020 - 9:06 pm

I guess I’m old school. Ferro Rod and container of cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly. Lights in all conditions! And I can use the ferro rod to light my reactor stove.

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