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Xikar lighters worth it?
CAcigarguy007
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I love their cutters and found a deal for Xikar Tactical Triple torch Lighter over on a certain cigar page for $29.99. Been eyeing this for a while and the price fluctuations from $49-$99 but this is the lowest price I've seen. Worth it? Anyone have any complaints about them or their longevity? I usually just buy cheap large Eagle torch lighters but the price on them keeps going up and I bought some Ronson butane to refill them but it doesn't work so I'm looking for something new. Any feedback would be appreciated.
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No not worth it, generally speaking. I have a whole drawer full of $100 xikar lighters I have a whole smoking table full of $9 vertigo and lotus and firebird lighters they get used everyday. I mean the xicar looks nice, mostly works indoors or with no wind, is fragile AF, and will generally impress your cigar smoking friends. I've also completely destroyed a couple by just fumbling them and dropping them and sent them back to xikar and have gotten a new one No problem no questions asked.
On the downside, I haven't found one that works good with any kind of outdoor breeze or in temps below 50°. Not even the quad torch table lighter will work with a five mile an hour breeze outside. 30 bucks there's not an outrageous price to pay for a high quality lighter, so if you buy it, you'll probably be satisfied. I have a dual flame alume that I got from auctioneer for 28 bucks that I really like, but I only take it with me to the shop because of the wind thing.
Oh and I really like their cutters too. The XI X2 and X3 are all really nice. Haven't gotten a chance to try the XO yet.
I like mine. Its a single flame that’s 10 years old. I use it the least tho. I use my Vertigo quad the most. It’s reliable and I can light a cigar on low flame.
Tell you what that's one hell of a deal on it though. Hard to go wrong.
I used an Alume for about 3 years until I melted the sparker one day. I am beginning to think that Patrick's Bic lighters are a wise choice.
I really like my Xikar 5x64 Turrim dual flame lighter I got off of an auction site for $44 all-in two and a half years ago after using @IndustMech's to light all my cigars at the 2018 Excellent Herf.
It does have a bit of trouble lighting in the cold so I keep it in my pocket, but it works in the wind, has an oversized flame adjustments and a large tank. It seems rugged enough, but the reviews on Amazon are mixed so I may have gotten lucky with mine.
Before this I was a big fan of the Bugatti CEO lighters, but the spring mechanism on the trigger is prone to malfunction after you drop that lighter. I've managed to repair these several times but my Turrim seems more durable and lights more reliably. I keep the CEO and a Zippo with a dual jet insert as a backup. The Zippo inserts are fun but need refilling too often, the Turrim's large tank means longer times between refills.
I use a Black Ops single torch lighter that I got for 12.00 almost a decade ago, and an amazing lighter that Calvin got me. I however still flic my Bic on just about about every cigar I light up. Nothing is more reliable, multi functional, and cost effective than a Bic.
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They are great lighters and that is a great deal on it. If you were going to pay $100, I would say buy a cheap triple flame. For that price, pull the trigger
Thanks for the insight folks. It helped my decision. Trigger pulled.
My formerly perfect xikar has decided to go wonky this morning, thanks for the thread.
Don't let the wife know what you spend on guns, ammo or cigars.
My go-to lighter these days is a beer/tobacco/hooka pipe store $9.99 quad jet (refillable). I got a half-dozen already and they do the job and I won't worry if they ever don't. But that Xikar triple for $29 is a deal. I'm thinkin' about it even though I don't need it.
I also picked up a Cain Daytona branded Lotus T3 from this one cigar place on clearance for $25. I stumbled upon it looking for reviews and have always wanted one. Reviews are always stellar and this is the lowest price I've ever seen. I should probably buy a few more actually 🤔. Anyway, I'll use them both and it will be a good head-to-head comparison.
I like the t3 lighters. Reliable and pretty wind resistant. I have a couple. The skinny guys and their skinny jeans Don't like them cuz they're not a pocket lighter, but for a husky feller like me, it fits in my pocket just fine. I'll also probably grab this deal if it's still around tomorrow or the next day.
Xikar has gone down the tubes real fast after they were acquired by "Quality" Imports. The only $100 lighter that impressed me as a daily carry for the past year is the Prometheus flat flame as it always lights the first time.
With that said, when it comes to lighters, you just can't beat the Vertigo line. They offer a no hassle lifetime warranty. They're $15 - $20 and if anyone has a problem that can't be fixed, they get swapped out for a new one.
Stay away from those fancy Bughatti! Most of those $100 lighters were returned at our local cigar shop. Biggest waste of time and refills.
One big complaint about the cheaper Vertigo lighters are that the warranty is essentially useless because you have to pay for shipping there and include $10 for return shipping. It ends up being not worth it for a large percentage of the lower priced lighters. That said, the reviews are good for many of them with the warranty being the biggest gripe. Lotus is the parent company.
Love my xikar double turismo, but the only complaint is how quickly the butane runs out. Seems like I can light only 3-4 cigars before it’s empty. Unless that’s normal I guess
You may need to purge the air out of the lighter before you refill to get more lights out of your lighter. You do this by pressing down on the fill valve after it's empty until it's depressurized. It also helps fill a lighter with more butane if you put the lighter in the freezer for a bit before filling.
Yeah did it prior, familiar with torches but this tank seems small ( bought it just last week). Also use it for golf and I’m outside, so probably just answered my own question
At my local B&M, the Vertigo lighters (purchased there) that can't be fixed are swapped out for new ones. I believe the manager told me that they don't even ship the broken lighters back -- Vertigo just credits the store on future orders.
I assume that this is the same at most local cigar shops.
Xikar Neo Forte single flame torch and soft flame, zero problems with both. They have been great lighters for me.
Edit: I only use the Purofine Butane Xikar recommends. They have a new High Performance Purofine Butane out that burns hotter and cleans and rejuvenate's the jets in old and new lighters.
The Neo Forte Soft Flame works great in breezier conditions, have lit under a ceiling fan with zero problems, was as if the fan wasn't even there.
Did the 25 click challenge after filling and it fired every time. I also tested both on different flame settings and it seems both don't like lower settings. It will work but intermittently not fire if there is even a slight air jump in the flame stream. Never happens when the flame stream is solid. They definitely prefer med+ on the settings. It uses more fuel but it's much more consistent. I like both very much.
Feel like a putz. I didn't think to bleed out the Eagle torch lighters (smacks forehead). Bled it and it filled right up and works like new. Even removed a few screws very easily (you tube video) and adjusted the ones that wouldn't fire up one cycle and now have a crap-ton of lighters agian. Glad I saved all my old ones in a basket!
I was thinking that might be it, anytime you see the flame blow out on a lower setting it's usually a sign of too much trapped air in the chamber that needs to be bled out.
What's the strategy?
That just for these ones pictured. I managed to fix them all. The two new ones I just got will not work at a lower flame setting, rather they will work intermittently at lower than med+ setting. Actually, even the Eagle torches work better at the higher settings.
I removed a couple screws and lifted the cover enough to lift the flame selector lever up and off the cogg and then reset at the beginning (like the old school cheap ones to make a large flame) and they fire every time now. I left some in the original configuration to compare and it's definitely more reliable at the slightly higher setting; for initial ignition anyway. The lower setting ones have a failure to ignite and requires multiple clicks sometimes. The higher adjustment always fires on each click.
Shouldn't need any lighters for a long time.
For about 5.00 those Eagle single flame work really well! ^^^
Try putting the lighter in the refrigerator for 30 minutes instead of purging before refills.
Cheap butane will cause problems.Vector 14 times filtered works for me even at this altitude.
After using both of these torches many times, to light a variety of cigars, I've come to some conclusions. The Xikar is a monster butane eating machine that is overkill for most cigars but the fat ring gauge sticks. 58 ring and up is not even a slight challenge for the Xikar. For "normal" size cigars, 46-56 ring, the Xikar is actually a bit too hot and can cause scorching, even if moved half a foot away.
The Lotus T3 works better for this application, as it has a softer flame that doesn't over scorch the foot face. For the smallest ring gauge cigars, the single flame Eagle works best. Precision being key for smaller rings, the single tortch shines.
It's nice to have all three options but if I were going to pick one, the Lotus T3 seems to be the perfect middle of the road option that will work across the spectrum. Of course portability could be an issue and in that case I'd go with the Eagle due to light weight and large capacity.
Since this post started, I have one Xikar on warranty back order and another I think is going to have to go back. Both are less than 6 months old. Damn glad I didn't pay near full price for them. Very disappointed, Bics it is
Don't let the wife know what you spend on guns, ammo or cigars.