2025-05-03 Rescue cache cigarette lighters

This service trip to the rescue cache at the breakdown pile in upper Thunder River really brings home the fact that cigarette lighters have a very limited life in a cave. The photos below show one of the cigarette lighters that we brought out of the cave. It is completely non-functional.

The rescue cache at the breakdown pile was originally placed in July 2021, so has been in place just a bit less than four years. It is in a 30 liter roll-top bag. The cigarette lighters and matches were in vacuum-sealed bags along with desiccant packs. The lighters were BIC brand, which I have been told is the only reliable brand to get.

After almost four years, both cigarette lighters did not work. We disassembled one, which I took photos of. The sriker wheel has a spot on it which is probably the top of the flint. The valve assembly has some obvious corrosion. Before we took it apart, the striker wheel would not spin.

The striker wheel on the other lighter will spin, but it does not produce any sparks. That lighter will still light if another flame source is applied.

The waterproof matches were in a pill bottle which was in a vacuum-sealed bag along with a desiccant pack. The matches will not light. They just disintegrate when scraped along their friction surface.

Back in March we had similar results with a rescue cache located at Jerry’s Cairn in downstream Thunder River. It had been in place longer. We had some hope that the upper Thunder River cache would fare better. It did not.

I think the big take-away from checking these rescue caches is that cigarette lighters cannot be packaged in a way that will survive a cave. Each rescue cache in the cave needs to be visited at least every two years and preferrably every year. At each visit the cigarette lighters must be replaced regardless of their condition.

Every caver should carry their own heat tent, candle and flame source. Those flame sources should be checked at least once per year.

Bill Gee