Looking for a Cigar Lighter

E

ednemo

Joined
Feb 12, 2004
Messages
968
Can anyone recommend a good cigar lighter? I have been using matches exclusively but as I only smoke outside, wind is a factor. There seems to be a ton of crappy lghters out there according to all of the reviews I have read, so I would like to hear what the cigar smokers on this forum use.
 
What's your price range? Makes a big difference.

Whatever you choose, get one that burns butane and not white gas (Zippo, Ronson) as they impart a taste to your stogie. Butane aftermarket inserts do work very well in Zippo.

As long as I'm writing about butane, try to get the highest level of filtered butane you can find for refills. Minimum is 3X filtration, but I suggest 5X filtration which is sold by Vektor. The higher the filtration, the less soot it generates so your lighter stays cleaner. When people have problems with their torch lighters functioning, it is typically because soot has built up inside the torch mechanism and is degrading proper function.
 
CWL said:
What's your price range? Makes a big difference.

Whatever you choose, get one that burns butane and not white gas (Zippo, Ronson) as they impart a taste to your stogie. Butane aftermarket inserts do work very well in Zippo.

As long as I'm writing about butane, try to get the highest level of filtered butane you can find for refills. Minimum is 3X filtration, but I suggest 5X filtration which is sold by Vektor. The higher the filtration, the less soot it generates so your lighter stays cleaner. When people have problems with their torch lighters functioning, it is typically because soot has built up inside the torch mechanism and is degrading proper function.
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Preferrably the $50 range but if something is good enough I might stretch my budget.

Thank you for the advice on the quality of butane I will definitely take it under advisement.
 
Look up lotus. A good quality lighter for 30 dollars. I have had mine since i was 18 (my 18th gift was a cuban and a lighter) and its been holding up well. Vertigo is the name
 
I used to smoke cigars pretty regularly. Maybe my palate is not as advanced but I never could taste anything wrong and I used a traditional Zippo. The Zippo insert works but as some have mentioned you need to use good butane or it will go kaput. I believe the affectionado's recommend lighting a cigar with a strip of cedar and even forgoing a match.

Sadly you will have a hard time finding a more reliable method than the lowly bic lighter. Even at one cigar a day, a bic will easily last months of trouble free lights. (I have bic lighters that I know are over ten years old still in use and working perfectly. American flag lighter I borrowed at a family barbeque when my son was seven or eight. still use it to light incense every once in awhile...here I'll test it now...yep, still lights!!)


If you are like me you will still probably buy a couple lighters, maybe a collibri or something. You will carry and use them, and then about the time you fill it for the fourth time or so you might notice that it has started leaking fuel, doesn't reliably light, or has some other problem. For the price of one nice butane lighter you could buy a lifetimes worth of Bics...or you could just look around parking lots and find fully working ones for free.

That said I still carry a Zippo. Yes, it will go empty in two weeks whether I use it or not. (I just fill it every Sunday night.) ...and yes, I could probably come up with twenty or more bic lighters if I was to search the house and car. And yes, next time I go camping I will probably still buy a three pack of bic lighters.

Grizz
 
I'd say stick with a wooden match. Depending on your cigar, you could possibly taste the butane or lighter fluid when using a lighter. Especially if you coke anything with a candella wrapper or anything with an oily wrapper (Acids come to mind). Just get a box of strike anywhere matches.
 
I've actually amassed a decent collection of lighters and knowledge about new and vintage ones recently. If we're limiting it to new butane lighters, there are actually a lot of misconceptions out there. Many of the popular brands aren't as good as you'd think; Colibri used to be good, for instance, but now it's one of the worst. The $500 S.T. Duponts or Dunhills offer no advantage in reliability compared to some cheaper brands. But as a general rule, go for soft-flame, flint lighters when you can. Piezo torch lighters WILL break, the difference in quality just accounts for how long it takes for this to happen. For torches the best are Blazer and Xikar (Xikar also has a lifetime guarantee). You could also get a bunch of cheap Ronson Jetlites and just replace them as they break. For soft-flame flint butane lighters, I can't recommend IM Corona enough. They are very high quality Japanese-made lighters, and are more reliable than any other butane lighter being made today (yes, more reliable than the $500 ones). I have two Double Coronas, which are intended for cigars (they have two nozzles that produce a wider flame). Very nicely made from solid brass with various platings, compact but has capacity, the flame size can be adjusted easily with a little flip-up knob on the bottom, and it has a lifetime warranty. They come with special carbon filters to prevent clogging, but you should still use at least triple filtered butane with any nice butane lighter. Prices are at most about $200 from dealers, but you can find them much more cheaply on ebay. They aren't as well-known, so you can get good deals from sellers, or if you wait around for an auction you can get a great deal. I got the gold-plated DC, which appears to be the most expensive model they have, for about $50 NIB. I have lighters with all kinds of interesting mechanisms, some from as far back as the 1920's. But out of all my lighters, the IM's are the only ones I've been using lately.
 
skylarhagler said:
There's also cigar specific butane that makes extra sure it won't impart any taste to your cigar.
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You really believe this? Who sold you into that?

Butane is butane, it is a gas. The only thing you an do is try and control the level of impurities by multiple filtration.
 
Those Double Corona look nice, I'll be getting one. I've sworn by the Blazers for years and my last one just quit. I went to Amazon and ordered a replacement, not inexpensive for a torch. They've added the "safety" since my last one and the lighter failed to seal after lighting, leaking all the gas out. Kudos to Amazon, it was non-returnable but they gave me credit for being a loyal customer.

Right now I'm stylin' with "strike anywhere" matches.
 
Win Heger said:
Those Double Corona look nice, I'll be getting one. I've sworn by the Blazers for years and my last one just quit. I went to Amazon and ordered a replacement, not inexpensive for a torch. They've added the "safety" since my last one and the lighter failed to seal after lighting, leaking all the gas out. Kudos to Amazon, it was non-returnable but they gave me credit for being a loyal customer.

Right now I'm stylin' with "strike anywhere" matches.
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Yeah that safety is quite annoying; I filed mine off. No problems with mine so far, but it seems that the quality of Blazers has gone down over the years. Most likely they haven't paid to update their machinery and recalibrate their tolerances for some time.
 
Black Ops Kilo Triple Flame Torch Lighter W/Built in Punch Cutter

Try putting that in google and see if you can find it. They sell for a reasonable price, and you won't have to worry about the wind.
 
I hate to be like this but I would be moritifed to be caught with something that says "Black Ops" on it. Maybe not if I had once been in some sort of black ops team or even had written a book about them. :D

I have checked out the Coronas, and while they are expensive, they seem like they may be worth the money. I will definitely be keeping an eye out on eBay.
 
emel said:
I really like these Dupont Mini Jet, also quite affordable.

http://www.st-dupont.com/en/catalogue/briquets/minijet-lighter-chrome-grey
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Neat lighter, but you're buying the name more than the quality. Reliability for ST Dupont doesn't justify the price, and the jet ones are less reliable than that. They'll charge you quite a bit to repair the lighter when it breaks, even though the quality and Chinese manufacture of the new line seem to suggest that it shouldn't cost them much to make. I haven't seen current jet lighters that beat Xikar for reliability, customer support, and price.
 
How very interesting.Don't smoke cigars or ciggies regularly myself but I do have a question about lighters.
I have one of those windproof yachtsman blowtorch lighters .
It has Chairman Mao on it and plays the Chinese national anthem when you operate it.
I'm just wondering what fuel it uses.
It is years old but still lights although I don't use it much other than to show people how it plays the Chinese National anthem.
The music is of the tinny synthetic chime variety and has begun to slur quite badly.
 
meako said:
How very interesting.Don't smoke cigars or ciggies regularly myself but I do have a question about lighters.
I have one of those windproof yachtsman blowtorch lighters .
It has Chairman Mao on it and plays the Chinese national anthem when you operate it.
I'm just wondering what fuel it uses.
It is years old but still lights although I don't use it much other than to show people how it plays the Chinese National anthem.
The music is of the tinny synthetic chime variety and has begun to slur quite badly.
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The bottom will usually have a refill hole along with a flame adjustment knob and flint refill tube. Refill hole is on left of this pic.

base.jpg


To refill, you jam the nozzle of your refill tank directly into the hole and hold tightly for 5 seconds. Sometimes you will need an adapter head, depending on the manufacturer of the lighter.

lighter%20refill.jpg
 
Speaking of windproof lighters, I like the Japanese brand Windmill. They make a variety of rugged torch lighters for under $50.
 
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