Side by Side Comparison of: GStar vs Xikar

This is the best lighter I ever bought in this price range. I have bad hands and it's not hard to light. The blue flame is about 1.5 inches and it holds three times as much fuel as other lighters in it's class. I highly recommend this lighter for cigars or pipes. It gets the job done with one flame which uses less fuel. It lasts a long time between refueling. I've used it for a month every day and I'm wondering how long the igniter will last. It seems very well built and sturdy for a plastic lighter.

Bought these for our 4th of July party. The long "wand" style lighters don't last nearly enough. We went through several of those last year. This year, I bought these and handed one to each of my adult children. I had extra butane on hand, but didn't need it. These hold a lot of fluid and work well, even after repetitive use, and work in wind, too. Now, we keep one in the kitchen, garage, and camper. It really is better to buy a quality product, rather than spending money on junk.

I use this to singe paracord, for which it works wonderfully. The size fits nicely in my hand, with easy access for my thumb to depress the ignition button. The construction is pretty great, and doesn't seem cheap at all.The plastic is beefy, and doesn't skimp on the thickness of the reservoir walls, in and out. The top plastic molding is quite nice and finished too, with a switch that doesn't rattle, and a solid metal cuff encircling the flame spout.The operation has been really consistent for me, with the torch igniting almost always on the first click. I have the gas setting set to half way, which provides a strong flame to sear cords, without charring or melting the sheath too far below the cut, but also perfect for melting 11-strand 750The torch's safety switch is perfect nice, which provides peace of mind when transporting with my other p-cord tools. Also, the safety switch isn't difficult to operate, as I have seen others that practically required the help of a screw driver, or opposite, where just simply turning the torch would engage/disengage the switch. This safety gently slides between the on/off positions, and stays put till intentionally changed.Finally, the torch is easy to fill with standard gas tubes picked up from the local convenient store. One fill seems to last an eternity (this seems to have the capacity of 3-4 regular lighters). I haven't noted any leaking while left alone for extended periods. The magneto igniter switch has held up great too, and the supporting spring is as bouncy as ever.Overall, I was looking for a non-$50 torch that still wasn't a piece of junk, and I think this torch fits the bill, and more. I think if anything were to give out, it would just be a consequence long term use and normal wear-and-tear. I think this lighter is way better than what either the price or the pictures indicate, and I wouldn't hesitate buying it again.

Ok so i wanted to get a torch to start Dabbing.(Dabbing:To press a piece of cannabis extract known as Wax against a heated surface of a Quartz or Titanium nail.) Sounds dangerous but it's not and its a lot healthier anyway in order to heat up my quartz nail it would have to be on for around 20-45 seconds each use.Alright so when i ordered this it came in 3 days of ordering which is great ,but when i received it , it was defective the torch would stay on for 5-10 seconds after i stopped the trigger.I emailed them and they sent me another one really quick and it was fixed.It also comes about half way full with butane and i lock to keep it on the flame.The flame is about an inch or less you can turn the butane up or down but it doesn't really make a difference.So in the end it works great staying on comfortably for 20-45 seconds and is a great deal for the price.

Great torch lighter , never had it fail yet and hold a lot of fuel. Cheap but one of those lighters that always works , reliable and affordable,

This is my very first hand held lighter that is small enough for my hands and the easiest I've ever experienced to light. My hands and finger joints are painful at times (arthritis) and even those long disposable Bic types are difficult for me to manage the "child-proof" safety features. I'm not worried about such things because I'm a senior and there are never any small children in my home. Even my grandchildren are adults. I manage very well with this lighter, and received a red one that lit up the very first time and, so far, works each and every time. I use it for lighting candles, but I still need a longer stem for the deeper glass candles. It is awesome and works very effectively for my friend who smokes a bowl type pipe also. No experience with cigarettes or cigars. I haven't ever refilled one of these, but there is plenty of fluid easily visible inside this, and I'm ordering the Amazon recommended Zippo Blue butane can along with an additional order of this GStar TorchZilla series today. As always, I will update my review after I've had it for a year. I love it and it has an intense blue flame that is easily adjustable to make it as small a flame as possible.Update on 7/19/16: I want to add that this will light the wick quickly even when you can't see the blue flame being near it, so no need to be any closer than an inch from the visible tip of the blue flame to be effective.Update on 8/21/17: It's been over 2 years now, and the lighters I bought are still working fine, and have a lot of fluid still in them. All of them have the same adjustable flame, and I would buy them again, should I need one. I still haven't needed to refill any of them yet.

I own three for various camping/hiking rigs I use. A very hot flame. Reservoir is tight on all 3 and I've seen no gas loss on any in storage. Very wind resistant. On bright days you can't see the flame but the coil is glowing white-red. Many a campfire and cigars lit with these.

Just a killer lighter, great to have while camping or hiking also as a back-up to matches. Lights cigars with ease and is backed up by Zikar's no hassle lifetime warranty.

So far so good! I've had this lighter about a month and it has performed well. Seems rugged and has lit my cigars in wind that would have blown out others.

I've had it almost 6 months and not had any issues. Works great out on the lake, at the golf course, or wherever! The big fuel window makes it easy to see how much fuel is left. It's been a good fit for me! I recommend it!!

Best lighter i have ever had the opportunity to use. Never fails to light usually on the first strike and it's just super durable i live at over 5 thousand feet and it always lights with out fail. I absolutely recommend using the Xikar fuel as i think it is probably why i have had such reliable usage from this quality lighter . Hey you can buy i disposable Bic for a bit less but this will outlast 200 hundred of those things, easily!

Great little lighter. Lights right up at 8,000 feet. I like it so much I have ordered a second one.

I got this lighter to use with my paracording. It is much better than a typical lighter in that the flame is focused and more precise. It has a lock which is nice.BTW 4 stars is my highest rating until Amazon changes the "I love it" to "Excellent" I don't love things.

Ok so just got this torch lighter and I see why reviews are mixed. No instructions makes getting this up n running harder than necessary but a few pointers:1. Fill the lighter by turning upside down and inserting your butane fuel tip in the hole on the bottom of lighter. You may hear a hissing sound..press in as far as it will go and wait..as the butane gas enters the chamber it turns to clear liquid and you can see it fill up. If you dont see clear liquid its not filling up properly.2. The flame is very hard to see in daylight..you must slide the flame adjustment to the far right to get maximum flame. The temp of the flame is hotter than regular bic lighter so is harder to see.3. The flame ignites whatever it touches almost instantly which smokers should love. Also very wind resistant if u smoke outside alot.4. All in all a great little torch lighter that requires patience with initial setup but once u fill it with butane n slide flame setting to max should work fine.

Very nice torch lighter, did come with butane. Flame doesn't get to big on highest setting but does the job for dabs which is what I bought it for. Enjoying the locking feature! Which locks it when flames is on or keeping it locked for safe keeping! Overall a good deal! Doesn't cost to much an assortment of colors is nice to choose from! His and hers torch lighters! Lol

The GStar® TorchZilla lighter kind of sucks. It`s quality is a reflection of it`s price....Cheap! On the other hand, the seller, Save$4You is exceptional. They by far exceeded my expectations, I am very impressed by their customer service.EDIT:I have been using this torch almost daily and it`s still going strong. I stand corrected on my previous comment.Also many people have asked the same question "Does it have a flame lock"? Yes it does, the lock also prevents the trigger from being pressed when not in use. I have attached a photo, hope it helps.

Came in black and handle was rubberized - cool!Turns on great, burbs great, super easy to operate Zander a reasonable difference in high and low settings. However, on high, the flame takes a long time to turn off once the button is let go of. Like up to 5+ seconds!I got one for my dad and liked it so much for the price, I got one. Looks and feels well built, is refillable, comes with lots of fuel, great instant torch. If you like fire at all, if you have a stove or fireplace outside, you should strongly consider this for your arsenal! It may end up as your go to - very grab-able, stands easily, one handed op. The only draw back is the 3 inch boss flame that decides when it's done; not you.

OK, So i ordered these and I had the same experience as some other reviewers. One of them was perfect, the other had a very large flame, little or no control over that flame, and continued to "fire" after letting go of the trigger.However, back in my day (lol) we used to have this trick for making regular lighters have a larger flame. We used to take them apart and use the little red adjusting lever as a wrench to increase or decrease the flame.I added some pics here to show that this can be done with this lighter too. Basically, you take out all the screws (carefully and in a well ventilated area...and wearing safety glasses !) then pull off half the black part and you will see the little lever exposed. Then, you use a small flat blade screwdriver to pop the little lever up, and then turn it either clockwise or counter clockwise while it is off of the tiny white gear, then put it back on the gear in the new position. So in my case the flame was too high. I put the lighter on the lowest setting, popped the lever out, spun it all the way counter clockwise, then put it back on the gear. Now when I turn it to low, its lower than it was before, and perfect!Anyway, for about 1 minute worth of work, it fixed the issues and I would not hesitate to buy again. I am willing to bet other lighters from this brand are adjustable in the same way.

Works well at all altitudes, at least up to 10K feet. You may have to tweak the flame adjuster on occasion to keep it firing.If you are careful and don't accidently tweak the adjuster when using, adjustments are minimal. I lke the easily viewable fill window...

Very sturdy and well made torch it's a good every day use for someone who uses a torch alot through out the day like I do you'll love this torch very dependable and reliable

Pretty good lighter. Looks rubberized, but it is actually a hard plastic. I was able to light it in high desert winds no problem. It burns through fuel pretty quick, so just keep that in mind. One or two nights of lighting up charcoal and it is about time for a refill. Good lighter though and was dependable when I needed it to be.

Good product, fast shipping

Definitely the cigar lighter to have if lighting your cigar is what you need to do. Form follows function here as this is a very utilitarian design. I was surprised to see that the flame is just about invisible, which elicits comments from onlookers. All they can see is my cigar coming to life.

This is a nice lighter for a nice price compared to other Xikars. It has the Xikar quality. However, if you are familiar with other "windproof" lighters, you will already know that they dont throw as much flame as torch style lighters. If you know this going in, your expectations on the flame type and amount should be realistic. So it doesnt make the best all around cigar lighter. But it is suitable for general use if you are patient when lighting big ring gauge cigars. It is very good in the wind. If you have a boat, or like to smoke on the golf course, etc, this is a great choice. I took away one star because the lighter seems to run out of butane rather quickly. Other than that, it is good so far.

Nice while it lasted, about one month of use and then it just wont ignite.We got lots of use from this, i couldnt completly bash it because it was so cheap and took lots of handling and use.You might get more time of use than I did, But if your burning bowls, I doubt it.

I wanted to get good lighters for camping ans starting camping fires in windy conditions. This lighters are great for this purpose. The reason I am not giving them five stars, is because I also bought the other lighters that look the same in Amazon for a cheaper price. I was expecting the branded ones to be better quality than the others but they when I got them I saw that they are really the same except for the Gstar brand missing, just more expensive for the brand. I hesitated in giving this review, because the product is good otherwise, but I think reviews are mainly to help buyers to know what they are buying, which should also help the sellers to know how they are compiting in the market.

If the electric ignition system were not prone to failure I would give this 5 stars, but I have 3 of them and they all have problems.One the clicker stopped working.One the clicker sometimes works.The third has a mixture of both problems.Another problem is Zippo brand fuel isn't clean enough for these.A pro of the lighter: You can dismantle the lighters very easily. Can sometimes fix the clicker ignitions.If you feel so inclined, just buy a new one and use its fuel up, then use a small screw driver to replace the butane bottom with one of the broken ones.

It arrive quickly, and on time, it works - but the seal is not a tight fit and I can hear it leaking butane. I tested the product by filling it with butane; when mostly full, it leaked constantly. It had to settle for about half-full before the pressure lessened enough that the seal held and it stopped leaking.Pro: Cheap, functions. Design is good, if you don't get a crappy one like I did, it will work well for you.Con: Cheap manufacturing, products are obviously not tested with gas to ensure no leakage before being shipped.

Titled as "Windproof Jet Flames Butane Torch Lighter". Windproof -yes, jet flame -technically yes, butane -yes, torch -not really, and lighter -yes, it is a good lighter. While it is called a torch, in my opinion it is a poor one. It takes way too many minutes to heat up even a small glass straw hot enough to work. ;-( But as a windproof lighter with a lock on/off feature it is great. :-) Although my hopes were high for a "torch", I did receive an awesome windproof lighter at a great price.

A reasonably priced refillable butane lighter with a hissing blue flame as expected. Central portion of flame is ca1.5" long. Use caution if you have it on for more than a few seconds as the tip gets hot. High/low flame adjustment barely produces any difference in flame. Size fits hand nicely. Must read description carefully as price is for just one [1]. The four [4] pictured are to show colors tho you do not have a choice! Go figure.

Good lighter but could be better. The gas tank volume is good, flame is well focused. However the flame adjustment button is somewhat sensitive and can change readily while the lighter is in the pocket. Not only does this cause for waiste of gas (flame too high) and shorter duration of the gas supply, but it is actually dangerous. I have written to the company about my concern and I hope they find a design that better secures the flame adjustment button. At this moment the only way to ascertain that the flame is not too high is by using a rubber band as seen in the attached picture.

So far so good I've only had it for a month but its still working without issues. Lasted longer than my last three more expensive lighters.

It works pretty well, but I kinda expected more for the price. It is definitely windproof when the flame is lit, so that's a plus. But when it arrived (EMPTY BY THE WAY, for safety reasons...wish I had known that) I tried to fill it with some Ronson fuel. NO GO, you need one of those pressurized cans. I could not get the tip to fit. I don't know if that's a normal thing, I typically only buy cheapo Bics. So I forked over the 15 dollars for Xikars premium fuel (8 oz costs almost as much as a full tank of gas for my car wtf...) and then all was good....kinda. It didn't hold a flame. So I purged it and refilled it, wasting my precious expensive fuel, and THEN it finally worked as expected.Bit of an ordeal, and the Xikar butane is ridiculously expensive, but it works well now so that's good I guess. Hopefully it lasts me a while.

not really windproof. eats butane like a fire demon. good flame. lightweight. durable.

Opened this last night, just FYI it does not come prefilled so make sure you have fuel. The single burner is ok but nothing great. I haven't had a chance to try it in adverse conditions, if it holds up there I would change this to 4 stars but as it is the quality isn't there for more then 3.

I bought this lighter to use camping and other outdoor activities. It lights and otherwise operates well but the lid no longer stays in the closed position. I have only used then lighter about a dozen times and has not been damaged in any way. I have several xikar products and this is not up to their normal quality

I only had this a month, and the locking -push button-mechanicism of it froze up and it never worked again .I dislike bad reviews, but that is the plain truth .Dont bother .

Was really enjoying this until it just stopped working.

Mine came intact but never worked. I have to push the actuator 10 to 30 times before a sustained flame occurs. To be fair to the seller, I never brought this to his attention for resolution.

Make that a 6th time as if Sept 23rd, 2016.......(reason I still purchase is solely a price one).I have purchased this product not one, not two, not three but four times in the past 3 months and every single time the product fails after about 2-3 weeks. Don't waste your time and move on to another product. Yes, the are on the cheap side but then again look what you get for that great price. Nada.... Nothing but a heap of metal to be recycled.

We ordered two lighters. I filled both with butane and one works very well. The other was empty within about 15 minutes thanks to a leak at the fill point. We tried several times to fill it and manipulate the piece to stop the leak but nothing would help, so into the trash it went. Not sure if the defective lighter was a fluke or if we just lucked out getting one that worked.

i got in the mail, opened it and filled it with butane and all the butane leaked out. the rubber seal was not functioning properly

I only bought this for when i go skiing and at the top of the mauntain it does not work at all, it a cool lighter but it does not work in high altitud!!!!

This is a horable lighter

I haven't even used this at any altitude because the adjustment knob for fuel flow broke off now I can't adjust the fuel flow! And guess where the adjustment is on low!!!! Sooooo useless!!

needs to be adjusted constantly

Works so inconsistently that it's not worth carrying around. It's sort of interesting looking, but I'll stick with good ole bic.

I bought this lighter to have a reliable light that works at altitude. Unfortunately this lighter does not work well at 6100 ft above see level

I bought one of these and liked the looks and the performance...so I bought a second one.The first one began failing to light, then the button froze in the "UP" position. I got out the new second one, filled it, and began using it. Amazingly, this lighter failed just like the first.Stay away from this product.

I'm writing this review as a warning to potential purchasers. I made the mistake assuming that the inner parts of a turbo lighter were the same. I chose the TorchZilla lighter as it was cheap, had a large flame nozzle and big fuel reservoir. The lesson learned (again) is: you get what you pay for. In a about a month, the trigger no longer worked. I contacted the seller, and ended up going through a couple of replacements. The TorchZilla replacement lighters also worked for about a month before the trigger plunger failed. Based on my experience, the lighter failures were the same: broken piezoelectric unit. All the TorchZilla lighters broke before the original butane was expended; this puts their build quality and dependability below that of a disposable lighter. Seller tried twice to make good on my purchase, but after my third complaint, the seller never replied. One star for the Seller's efforts. You will be better served by buying a quality brand lighter from the beginning. A quality lighter will have a lifetime warranty and will provide years of dependable service. The alternative, of course, is to use a reputable disposable lighter.

Second one of these I've bought. Both gradually started making smaller and smaller flames, even at the highest setting until, only a few weeks later, both just stopped lighting altogether. I dissembled one of them to figure out what the problem was, and it looks like the flint just wears out super fast. The lighter continues expelling butane, but whatever is supposed to be striking together when you press down the button just stopped sparking, really abruptly too. Also, the lock on one of my lighters didn't do anything and the button was hard to press down. :/

I bought 2 of this item, and the first one stopped working after 4 months and the second one stopped less than 2 weeks after that. The problem here in my case is that the striker mechanism on both failed, when I contacted costumer service I got a message back that said try this then try something else and then no further contact from them, so in other words I was out of luck and out of my money too. Look if you intend to use this more than 10 times a day......... FORGET ABOUT IT. SAVE YOUR MONEY AND YOUR BUTANE. If you intend to use this type of lighter for smoking here is a link to a better product....at least I think so! 5 Pack 45 Degree Angle Jet Flame Butane Torch Lighter Refillable Windproof

Nice, solid feeling torch. I like the clear version for butane levels and filling. Easy fill. Used the Zippo 1.48 ounce and worked perfectly. Nice flame but not as large as some of the pictures. Controls all work great and flame adjustment works.UPDATE 07/31/2016DO NOT BUY!Lighter was received and a charge of propane added. Lighter was placed on the shelf and really never used. Went to check on it and found all the butane had leaked out. Put another charge in and found the butane was quickly leaking from the filler port. This is BAD. Basically had a full charge of butane leak out into my house. These are nice feeling lighters but I would never buy these again. The fill valve appears to be a real weak point. Just for interest, I charged the lighter and watched the butane leak from the fill valve. Junk!!DO NOT BUY!

As soon as I filled the torch, it started to leak through the fill port. I had filled it full and it all leaked out. When it was filled, I could only get a flame that reached past the end of the nozzle when the gas valve was all the way to the plus side. Likewise, the only time I could get it to keep a flame was with the valve all the way to the plus side. Anything less extinguished the flame.I liked the weight of the unit. It did not "feel" cheaply made. I also liked that you could see through it so see what your fuel level was. It was not tiny, standing just short of five inches tall so it was a great fit for my hand. It was a bit top heavy and while it would easily be stood up, a slight bump would send it toppling over.I did not pick my color but just bought a random one and got orange. I just wished it would have worked. I have already RMA'd it and will be sending it back shortly.

Product stops working even when full of fuel; therefore is not really good for emergencies as a result.

I purchased this on June 28, it worked great until today. It's full of fuel and you can hear the fuel coming out and see the spark, but the lighter will lite only 20% of less of the time. I have gone through a full amount of fuel without it lighting. I use it about once a week, so it sad that it has just stopped working.

Right out of package this dial was broken

I have drained and filled this lighter several times using different brands of butane and it just isn't reliable. It does't want to light and when it finally does it is a weak flame. I loved my previous Xikar lighter but this one is thrown in a drawer and forgotten about.

Xikar butane tank came in yesterday. Filled the lighter waited 5 minute for cool down.Tried to light it and got nothing. Adjusted knob at the bottom and still nothing works.Released the fuel and refilled, waited 4 minutes.No flame only a slight hiss sound.Played with for about an hour no luck.Coil flicks and I hear fuel but no flame.

I got this to put in my hunting pack. But before I have to rely on this for my fire source, about 30 miles from the nearest road in the Alaskan back country. I decided to use this on a daily basis to test the reliability. Result ----- FAIL!!! While sitting on my couch the lighter fell to the floor (about 18" onto wood in the closed position) and now the igniter is not functioning. Function was great before this. I've had this lighter less than a month. The search for a reliable refillable lighter continues.