Mine I got from Home Depot or Lowes lasted one start, the second one the plastic handle came completely off, and third use the entire handle rivets or welds popped and almost spilled coals everywhere near a mulch flower bed just off of the concrete. Never used one for 4-5 years when I got my Kamado and just use tumbleweeds as starters in the charcoal pile already in the grill or smoker.
Now I have a BBQ Dragon chimney and fan for the past 2-3 years or so, and I love those things. The chimney has lasted a few years with weekly use, but the handle came off of it a year or so ago, so now I just use a grilling glove to grab the metal handle and dump the coals with. It's rusting so I need to get a new one, but then I see these Chuds type chimneys and think about how long those would last, but need to find one that uses the fan. Once you use the fan to start the coals (if they don't spark too bad) in just 5-10 mins or less, and then use the fan to stoke the smoker or grill, you don't want to waste time on coals any longer. If I do have to prep my meat and such because I forgot or something, then I just let the chimney go as normal and it's ready when I get done.
I recently used my fish/turkey cooker to lite some briquettes and it worked ok but did take longer than the fan. I imagine with lump I'd of had a yard fire in a hurry.
