ZIPPO BLU

[Ben]

Zippo have finally made a seemingly quality butane lighter! Anyone got one yet? Opinions?

[Colt45]

I'm waiting for this as well. When I last looked into it, they were not due to be released

until the end of August or some time in September.

[Ben]

Apparently they are out there in a very limited pre-release.

I've had mine on order for weeks and still no joy.

[Colt45]

» I've had mine on order for weeks and still no joy.

Ben, were you able to choose from a selection of cases? I'm hoping that they offer

more than just the plain, smooth case shown on the site. Some time back, I found a

site that showcased a variety of case styles, but I think this was before zippo pushed

back the release date.

[habanablue]

I hate to name drop here, but I interviewed Greg Booth (CEO of Zippo)on behalf of the RTDA in houston a few weeks ago.

Australia should see them hopefully by the end of the year. The lighters themselves look great. Complete with the zippo Click and flint wheel....it is hard to imagine the blue flame torch coming from them but it does...very impressive! Would post my story but is under wraps with RTDA.

Zippo launched the Blu for the American market at this year's RTDA (early August) so that may give some indication of timing...

[Ben]

Yeah Colt and to be honest I hated every design other than the traditional brushed aluminium look.

[Colt45]

Sam, thanks for the info - I'll keep an eye on your blog.

Ben, there were one or two more ornate styles I liked, but if I recall correctly, they

were silver filigree or something similar, and kind of pricey for a zippo.

[Ben]

Spoke with my Tobacconist mate (sorry Rob but we went to School together and his shop is within 200M of my front door!)

Anyhoo I'll be getting mine mid October apparently. Looks like our American friends get the entire first consignment.

[El Presidente]

» Spoke with my Tobacconist mate (sorry Rob but we went to School together

» and his shop is within 200M of my front door!)

Thanks for the update.

Ben is obviously short for Benedict Arnold ;-)

[Mindflux]

A number of fellows on another board got these free through Marlboro. The consensus seems to be that they aren't that great.

:-(

[tandblov]

» A number of fellows on another board got these free through Marlboro. The

» consensus seems to be that they aren't that great.

» :-(

I have heard the same thing.

However, Zippo makes a regular butane flame insert for the regular zippo (read - not slim). I haven't tried one out yet, but that is a road I want to go.

[Jimmy2]

Just get the blazzer Zippo insert and be done with it.:-)

[Ben]

Yeah I've just spent a troubling hour reading reports about this seemingly deeply flawed product. **** it seemed right up my ally too. I'll give it a go but it seems I'm in for a disappointment.

Rob do you stock these things Tanblov & Jimmy mentioned?

[Adric]

» Just get the blazzer Zippo insert and be done with it.:-)

I got one of the Zplus inserts and it's gone downhill, thing won't even keep a flame unless I shake the hell out of it and roll it around 3 times to get the butane in the right spot.

It made me sad, as I really liked having a butane torch in a zippo case, but it just stopped working.

[tandblov]

» Rob do you stock these things Tanblov & Jimmy mentioned?

They are the "Vector Thunderbird" insert. They are a soft butane flame lighter insert for your zippo. Supposedly, from the reviews, they have none of the smell that the normal zippo flames/fuel has, and are still somewhat windproof. I am looking forward to picking one up sometime soon.

I don't know if Rob carries them or not.

[tigger]

» I got one of the Zplus inserts and it's gone downhill...

I've had really bad luck with these. It's a shame, because it's a great idea, but I'm only willing to get burned (or not :-P ) a couple of times before I sour on the line (and the company) completely.

[jgros001]

» » Rob do you stock these things Tanblov & Jimmy mentioned?

»

» They are the "Vector Thunderbird" insert. They are a soft butane flame

» lighter insert for your zippo. Supposedly, from the reviews, they have

» none of the smell that the normal zippo flames/fuel has, and are still

» somewhat windproof. I am looking forward to picking one up sometime

» soon.

»

» I don't know if Rob carries them or not.

a great product....much better than the blazer insert that lights only when it feels like it (for me anyway)

the vector insert is windproof (as windproof as the zippo is) but it is very difficult to light a cigar with it in the wind unless you have the hand eye coordination of Mr. Miyagi and can follow the jumping flame

[El Presidente]

» Yeah I've just spent a troubling hour reading reports about this seemingly

» deeply flawed product. **** it seemed right up my ally too. I'll give it a

» go but it seems I'm in for a disappointment.

»

» Rob do you stock these things Tanblov & Jimmy mentioned?

Ben we have several Torch lighters but not the ones mentioned.

I like a few lighters but won't spend a fortune on any. I just don't believe a heavily used Torch lighter will last the test of time (5 years).

Has anyone had a torch lighter last 5 years which is worked say a minimum of 5 times a week?

[havanaclub7]

Rob,

I have a ST Dupont XTend torch lighter. I love it. I'm not sure how it will stand the test of time, but I've had it for several months and have no problems. It's a little pricey, but if you search, you can find some for under $100.

Mike's Cigars out of Florida has some on sale for like $95 (the MSRP is over $140) but I got mine from Mike's even cheaper this spring.

[fugwumpy]

» I got one of the Zplus inserts and it's gone downhill, thing won't even

» keep a flame unless I shake the hell out of it and roll it around 3 times

» to get the butane in the right spot.

»

» It made me sad, as I really liked having a butane torch in a zippo case,

» but it just stopped working.

I had the same problem. But I found that if I fully purged all the air out of the Zplus before I refilled it, it was a hell of a lot more reliable. Mine still gets finicky(sp?) on me when it gets low on fuel, tho. Oh, and I put mine in the freezer for a couple minutes then turn the flame adjustment all the way down before I refill it also. Have no idea what those do, but read on another site that they helped. ;-)

[Jimmy2]

My Blazer insert for Zippo light has never failed me ever.

Maybe you have to much air in your lighter let the air out or your jets are dirty or clogged.

If so get a Q-tip and some rubbing alcohol and clean it.

Also you are not supposed to put the flame on very high you will flood the jets .

Also a lower flame is better for lighting your cigar.

Maintenance is a must for any lighter well for me smoking 5 cigars a day.

[tigger]

» My Blazer insert for Zippo light has never failed me ever.

»

» Maybe you have to much air in your lighter let the air out or your jets

» are dirty or clogged.

»

» If so get a Q-tip and some rubbing alcohol and clean it.

»

» Also you are not supposed to put the flame on very high you will flood the

» jets .

»

» Also a lower flame is better for lighting your cigar.

»

» Maintenance is a must for any lighter well for me smoking 5 cigars a day.

The issues I've had have been with the ignition mechanism - gas systems worked fine on the ones I had.

That said, with regular maintenance, my Blazer Micro Torch has lasted a bunch of years.

Recently picked up a slightly used Dupont Xtend that I'm really happy with.

[tandblov]

I prefer the soft butane flame.

I am not a huge fan of torch lighters. For some reason, they just seem like overkill to me.

I have been using matches almost exclusively for the last year, and while sometime they can be less convenient, I prefer the softer flame.

That is why I am looking at the Ventor Thunderbird soft flame zippo insert.

I have been reading on another board about the new blu's and it seems that the consensus is that they suck.

[Ken Gargett]

» Zippo have finally made a seemingly quality butane lighter! Anyone got one

» yet? Opinions?

i saw that some bloke who collects lighters paid about $135k for an old one, i think a zippo, at auction, a record for lighters. any more info on that?

[habanablue]

» i saw that some bloke who collects lighters paid about $135k for an old

» one, i think a zippo, at auction, a record for lighters. any more info on

» that?

During my interview with Greg Booth at the RTDA, he mentioned that auctions do occur, predominantly attended by the lighter 'clubs' that exist around the world. I can't confirm the price tag but from my recollections, it may be in the ball park of what you have mentioned Ken.