Windmill Trekker Stormproof Lighter

I’m all for bushcraft and survival skills. When I start a fire I try to use a fire steel or matches. That said, I know that in an emergency when I most need to light a fire, that will be the most challenging time. It’s hard to beat a good lighter, and the Windmill Trekker is certainly that and more.

Cold fingers and shivering can make a simple task like lighting a match incredibly difficult. The reality is that that’s when lighting a fire needs to be the easiest task you do. Add wind and wet and you’re in for a cold night.

The Trekker by Windmill is a high capacity Butane lighter with a lot of features:

• Piezo-Electric Ignition
• High capacity reservoir (1000 ignitions per fill)
• Windproof flame to 70-80 MPH
• Water Resistant (5 O-rings)
• Adjustable flow flame
• Refillable
• Rubberized case
• Dual locking case (external bale and trigger button)
• Lanyard
• Weight: 2.5 oz
• Size: 3.7″ x 1.5″
• Available in Blaze Orange, Clear, Matte Black, Smoke Black, and Smoke Green
• MRSP: $55
• $49.99 at www.buylighters.com

The first thing you’ll notice when you pick one of these up is that it is not your cheap gas station lighter. It’s a heavy duty piece of survival gear. I see this as a great resource for hunters, fishermen, backpackers and anyone that needs a reliable, practically bombproof method of starting a fire.

The windproof flame is incredibly impressive. Even in high winds the lighter springs to life in a split second and stays on. I can’t help thinking that it’s more of a torch than a lighter. My wife gives me that look as I too often snap it open and “test” it inside.

Finding the fuel flow adjust on the bottom was another treat for me. It quickly went from efficiency mode to look at how quickly I can burn this stump mode… where it has stayed.

The lighter 5 rubber O-rings to keep water out and all the insides moisture free. It’s a nice feature for me, considering that one of my lighters failed for half a day on a recent backpacking trip after I spilled a few drips from my water bottle on it.

The dual locking makes my wife and I feel more comfortable having it in the house. One has to flip the bale and then press the button underneath it to get access to the lighter. It’s a minor detail, but it will definitely keep moisture and little hands out.

The lanyard is another useful feature. It’s designed for one’s wrist, and I can’t help but think tha a neck sized lanyard would serve a bit better for this sort of device.

I really like the Orange Blaze colour. The olive colour may look cooler, but I like to have my gear easy to find and hard to lose.

Nothing has failed on me yet, but I’d like to see a bit of a sturdier hinge, as that’s probably going to take the most abuse.

Let’s get the biggest elephant out of the room, price. It’s $50 (only $45 with the coupon code BCSURVIVAL). That may seem a lot for a lighter, but it isn’t your typical throw away lighter. It’s a high capacity work horse that you can rely on in the back country and emergency situations where an easy to start flame makes the difference.

So, What do you take with you to light fires on your adventures? Have you ever had your ignition source fail on you for any reason? Please leave a comment down below.

 

I was given the aforementioned lighter to review by http://www.buylighters.com to get word out about their site, which offers a range of high quality lighters. They are offering a 10% discount on any purchase using the code: BCSURVIVAL. Check them out and check out the Windmill Trekker.