Why are most lighters junk

T

Trouthead

Newbie in the jungle
Been smoking cigars and buying lighters since the early 90's. All seem to break or cease to work sooner or later. The first blazer's lasted less than a year, Colibris, had one final gave up and threw it away. All kinds of cheap china imports, lucky to last a week. Cheap chinese table torchs, working the best but the ignitor ceased to function. Zippo utility lighters aren't bad, but they have such a ridiculous safety feature, I hesitate to ever use it.

Now picked up 3 Ronson Jetlites. So far so good, but I'd like a three or two jet flame. Been looking at Xikar Enigma's and they have a great warrenty, but I'd like to not have to worry about sending it back. Are Duponts really any better??

Could it be my altitude here in Wyoming (5400 ft above sea level) that causes the malfunction?? Mostly either the ignitors die, or the jet flame "flames out" , with no amount of purging or adjusting making a difference.

Have a buddy with a Brunton Helios that seems to work well, but I heard from the local store that carries them that they have problems with altitude also. Fine here at 5300 ft, but for backpackers at 9000 or 11000 ft. they also have difficulty.

Any thoughts especially from high altitude residents???:cb
 
I have one of these.
Ebay Micro Torch
It was part of a lottery, that I won here on club stogie.
It is not a triple flame but it is a super strong single flame..Table top type, too big for the pocket.
I hear good things about the Blazer. I won't buy one though because the Ronsons work great here in Kansas at a elevation 900 ft.
 
You didn't mention what kind of fuel you use. If you don't use Colibri or another quadruple refined fuel they will plug up. Sometimes they still have problems with good fuel.

If it's a Colibri send it back and they will fix it for free usually.

I have a Dupont mini extend and never had a single problem, so yes they are better IMO.
 
I am going to go out on a limb here and ask a question is it the lighter or is it the fuel?

I have several...........maybe 10 lighters ranging in age from 20 years (back to my cig smoking days) to a few months. I have always used top quality fuel and always purged them prior to refilling and I have yet to have a lighter break that I didn't drop or put through the wash etc.

I have Colibra, Xikar, Ronsons, dupont, no name, Rhino's etc and have zero problems with my torches or soft flames. Maybe I am just lucky but I often wonder when I see these lighter threads if it is a care and maintenance thing.

Maybe not just my :2
 
I don't know about high altitude, but I have a Xikar single windproof torch that I love. It's my 2nd lighter and they make a great product. I use LAVA premium butane, supposedly the cleanest on the market.

A friend of mine has a triple torch Prometheus that he likes but it uses a ton of fuel.
 
After reading a couple other threads about the problems you guys are having at high altitudes I stumbled on the Colibri Quantum Xtreme2 High-Altitude Lighter. I saw it in a Cabela's catalog for about $50. I'm not sure how good it is, but I figured I'd pass it along since it is made for high altitudes. I'd post the link but it is gigantic. Check out www.cabelas.com and search for "lighter"
 
I think Xikar dealers just give you a new lighter now. You don't to send them in. It's that way with the cutters anyway.
 
fuel

I have two huge bottle of BLAZER fuel from when I had a blazer. Can't seem to go through it. Also used up a can of Colibri over the years because my B&M shop said to use it with the Colibri. Used it in various lighters including the dead and in the landfill Colibri.Now I have some Zippo fuel that came with the utility lighter. Seems to work fine in the Zippo, but I haven't filled up the Ronsons yet. Just came back from golfing in a breeze. The Ronson worked just fine. Maybe it will be the go to lighter.
 
ive gone threw tons of sparkers.........

i trashed lost had stolen them all, best butane etc....
then i went to & pulled a bernzomatic out of toolbox.... awsome, cant kill... wish i had done it years ago... looks similar to the crem brulee' lighter posted above.. i went ro home depot bought a shiny one (24bux) & pulled the labels off, i think it looks cool. (also harbor frieght has one for about 7$ buyer beware)


& nobody will have the balls to rip this one off:gn
 
Fistville said:
True, but I find myself using it less and less. It has so little fuel reserve and heats up so damn fast.
Click to expand...

Not the biggest reserve, but my mini extend is good for at least 2-3 cigars before refilling. Use it all the time. I really don't have the heating up problem either. Lights every time perfect.
 
ThreeSheets said:
I think Xikar dealers just give you a new lighter now. You don't to send them in. It's that way with the cutters anyway.
Click to expand...
yah i read that on a thread here somewhere that xikar warranty is very good, although i think you have to send your broken lighter back, then they just send you a new one
 
I have a Solo dual-flame that works great. Lifetime warranty - when it goes out, I just take it to the B&M and they just give me a new one. Quality conistency seems a littly shifty though - I bought one that didn't work, took it and traded for a second one that didn't work, repeated one more time and the B&M just gave me the one the employees use, haha.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top