Side by Side Comparison of: Readitools vs Zippo

It's not just a culinary device. Great lighter for the patio.... And, You can turn the lock OFF! You're only one click away from a serious torch that hold a lot of butane. Great fit in your hand. Large enough you won't lose it.

Save your money on expensive cigar lighters.

This torch is really cool looking, it works great and it's built to last.

***ONE YEAR UPDATE: After a year of regular use, I am happy to report this torch is still working perfectly. I have owned many butane torches and not one has continued to function this long. Usually, the igniter fails or the jets become clogged. Not so with this torch. It requires no special care or fussy refilling techniques. I recommend that you use high-quality butane. I avoid Zippo and Ronson products which burn dirty and could shorten the useful life of any torch.

First let me start buy saying I love how safe this torch is. On nearly all other torches alike they have the pipe exposed which gets very hot after extended use I learned this lesson the hard way:,( but with the READY TORCH its pipe is surrounded by a vented cage so the ENTIRE torch stays cool to the touch. Since I am a chef moving fast this safety feature and the soft ignite button are my favorite qualities. On my previous torch my finger would get sore after a dozen or so strikes; that's definitely not the case here u can push that button hundreds of pain-free times and it usually always lights the first press(well above 90%). I was a bit afraid the torch and flame would be to small but I'm very impressed by the large flame and the size and quality build of the body of the torch. It has a nice quality weight to it and the base is ever so stable even sits on a couch cushion or a bed(never on of course!*)without tipping over. Of course you can't forget how good it looks. So far I think this maybe the best torch on the market definitely worth every dime. My only unanswered desire is does it last long without being refueled. A question that can only be answered in time.so I'll put that last aspect to test and be back with an update.

---Update: still enjoying this torch and just wanted to update the torch does last a good while between refuelings

Pros: looks sexy, heats things up when I need them heated up
Cons: very small tank size only lasts a few uses before I have to whip out the can of horrible-smelling butane again

Summary: if you're looking to do lots of concentrated cooking applications, don't get one of the little handheld torches. Just get a full-size blowtorch from Home Depot for $15. that said, if your utensils are very small and you don't want them to heat up too much, this handheld one is about as good as they come.

UPDATE: turns out I was filling it wrong originally. This thing is 5 star.

This little torch is not only a neat looking gadget, it's also very functional! It's super easy to fill and ignite, and I love that it has a lock switch for the ignition button as well. The gas adjustment switch and flame switch give you a lot of control over the type of flame it is producing. I like to leave it sitting out on my kitchen counter top because it looks so nice and sparks a lot of conversation. I've found many uses for it so far--toasting marshmallows indoors, creme brulee (obviously!), caramelizing bananas and other fruits for oatmeal, heck torch the top of your oatmeal while you're at it. try torching some brown sugar you've sprinkled on the outside of your french toast for an amazing crust sometime!

I am not a smoker, so when I got a kitchen torch for mother's day, I had no idea how to use this. I thought it wasn't working at first, but once I figured out that you don't attach the canister to the torch, you fill the torch from the canister, and then use the filled torch, I was very pleased. Chalk it up to inexperience. But the butane works well, and if you know what you're doing, you won't have any problems.

I learned a good lesson after purchasing my second-to-last lighter: lighter manufacturers sometimes make crappy fuel. It was a Ronson lighter, and their fuel gave me nothing but problems.

When I got a KG butane lighter for the truck, and needed fuel, I went with the gold standard of lighters: Zippo. This fuel has burned like a charm, with no problems firing-up.

If it is from Zippo I am always confident of the quality. Had to get the big can. And it is a large can! Even though I purchased it for a long stemmed lighter for lighting candles, that lighter will also work great for starting grills and campfires, and whatever else the hubby can conjure using it for.

I am not sure what to say except that I have always trusted Zippo brand, and I bought this to refill the candle-lighting kind of lighter, which requires the butane as opposed to lighter fluid. I bought the smaller sized one since I have three refillable lighters that came together in a pack that require butane and wasn't sure how long the can would last. My next purchase of butane will also be Zippo, just the larger size next time around.

A fantastic deal and product for use with the Dremel Precision Butane Torch. Easily fills the torch and last for quite some time. A fantastic deal on a must have item if you have or plan to have the Dremel Torch. The size of the container is nothing to sneeze at either it's a great sized product that will last for sometime depending on how much you use your Dremel Precision Butane Torch. Great Deal-Thanks so very much for another great product!

not as hot as expected but good in every other way. Did not receive the book though I tried in every way to locate it as ebook

The tool worked as expected. The customer service follow up with regards to safety was very good. I also enjoyed having the recipe book to go with the tool.

Wow! I'm not one to easily impress... and typically I don't put a lot of credence into most reviews. At first I was concerned it might be like my other one... you know... the one with a really unique fill port which no one carries?

Well I gotcha covered as far as filling it: I found 'Newport Zero, Extra purified butane gas / free flints in cap / for thermal butane blablabla' works to fill it.

You use (I believe) the white tapering point, you kinda have to go in quick and firm, but be careful to not snap the can's fill nozzle - it seems to me when the fluid flows it hyperchills (wonder under what condition water does this) and the plastic becomes brittle.

Now - I'm with the manufacturer on the hold-up-a-minute consideration after filling. The gas hasn't equalized and (think of the gas mixture of air and butane... where the air in this case acts like carbon dioxide in soft drinks... change pressure beyond a given threshold... and it's gonna fizz... so... long story short... you'll get a jetstream of expanding gas just like you get a face full of soda if you shake the can. So give it a minute to settle down after filling.

The Lock was engaged... which feels solid and true. Wasn't sloppy nor lacking in function nor usability. Clicks into place... un(lock)ed was clearly marked and the slide to adjust the flame feels as one would expect a quality device display. That said, I've owned previous torches; one which the slide lever would barely change volume at all... and i've had those where the slightest wrong movement set concern in ones heart as the flame goes out or jumps... but not this torch to my pleasant desire. You set the height and it stays.

When I first ignighted... for what ever reason - the volume was set to full +... so, a foot+ long flame shot out. The surprizing thing though wasn't the impressive sputtering flame - {beware long hair} ... no, it was the lack of activation before the flame lets out. There wasn't the typical click of some stone being squished... nor a click of electrical discharge... common with the electric lighters.

The trigger is surprizingly comfortable and useable under most conditions; lighting a cigarette might not be one of them.

Lastly, and the best part if it works without prompting(without having to set it full left, or full right... one way is jet, the other soft but volumeous flame, and the slide adjusts the tip type as you use it. You can go to a long pointy jet tip, to a long, but soft tip, to a short soft... each flame type serving a different purpose, but I wish to note it might not function that way as intended if you have to set it full to light in the first place.

They look nice just wished they would of mention they run a little small. If not for that they would be really awesome shoes for its price and very fast shipping.

Cons: Comes empty, you must fill it with gas.
It does not have an indicator for how much gas is in there (no gas window)
It has 2 modes, flame and torch, but it will only light in the torch mode, It will not light up in the flame mode.
Thus, the 4 stars instead of 5.
Pros: (In the torch mode) it lights up 100% of the time, never missed.
Very comfortable to hold and light.

This is a good quality butane. So far I have not have any issue using this butane on my lighters. Nothing to go crazy about it, just butane.

I've never filled a lighter before, but I figure that since I often get lighters that claim to be refillable, I should try it out. I did spill quite a bit of fuel all over me - I'm not sure if that is the lighter or the refill can's fault. It is a cheap lighter from the dollar store or somewhere.

Very good value. Purchased it to give it a quick try with a new torch we bought. It was perfect to try the torch. Enough for three full fills.

I like the smell of matches and butane....am I wrong for that? Seriously, this was straight for the price. Only problem was when refilling some of my lighters it seemed to not dispense at times, not sure if it was user error or not, or maybe just the lighter is no longer any good

The only brand of butane fuel I trust for my lighters! The nozzle fits all my butane lighters perfectly, secure and durable can.

I love this product! But you can find it cheaper at different online retailers! So do your homework and get yourself the best deal out there.

Worked great at the beginning then started to fail after a few months... Very unfortunate thought it was high quality

Christmas present.... can't wait to see the receivers reaction.

trouble lighting randomly is frustrating. flame is not the best for caramelizing sugar on creme brulee. I have tried multiple culinary torches and have yet to find one that does the job. This one also has the feature to just be a lighter which is what we now use it for in the restaurant. It is an expensive lighter though.

Retuned it. Wasn't hot enough for sous vide browning.

This is okay for doing a carmelization on sugar, not enough oomph for searing meat or charring vegetables.

By at KMart or Walmart for the price---service was fine---but these are tiny, and I purchased 2xs as much for less money at my local publix supermarket

Came several days late every I ordered Prime shipping. But it works................. so, what can I say.

You can buy better quality (more highly filtered) fuel in a larger can for less money at your local smoke shop and you don't have to wait for ground shipping.

I don't know much about butane lighters or lighter fuel, but so far so good. I watched a few You Tube instructional videos on how to fill a butane lighter properly. Simple stuff like "first press the lighter's fill valve down to bleed air and vapor out before filling or you won't be able to fill it up" or might throw it away because you're filling it up so often because you're not voiding the fuel chamber before filling. Also, they said "turn your cigar jet lighter to the lowest setting at first" because you can go through the fuel fast if you set it wide open. But I mean, it's just butane fuel, but it sure lights cigars quick and easy compared to tiny Bic lighters. Hope I didn't go beyond the scope of the review, but if you're a first time user, it's smart to do some research on this before you start using it.

It's butane fuel, there isn't a lot to say about it - it works with most of your standard butane lighters. There is one major comment I would make about this product:

They've sealed the fuel up in this nice canister for packaging - you can't tell how much you have left! Sure you can guess about by the feel of it, but if this is a product you are using to refuel your lighter that you depend heavily on have a back up one in stock.

While it wouldnt bother me too much if my wife couldn't refill the lighter to light her candles, it would bother me immensely if I had people over for a bbq and was out of fuel.

There are others on the market that come in clear containers; I'm more likely to buy one of those in the future. But for what it's worth it DOES refill your lighter :)

I've had this product for awhile, it's kind of a pain to refill, it doesn't get quite as hot as I'd like it too. It has browned/toasted meringue pretty well (although difficult to use to get super even, but maybe that's user error?), but I've never been able to get it to brulee sugar the way that I'd like it to. Also, my hand gets tired of holding down the button, and it sometimes takes quite a few clicks to get it to ignite. I wish I had purchased something else, but it hasn't been a complete waste of money.

Very small torch, if not using for cooking buy something else. Not powerful enough for dabs.

Product dint head the book as mention.

This item arrived quickly and appeared to be just what I wanted - loved the design and feel of the product. When the butane I ordered arrived several days later, I filled the unit as directed and then spent an hour trying to get the torch to light automatically (tried it again a few days later with the same results) - it would not work. Following instructions to the letter, it simply would not ignite by using the button, even when "primed." If lit with a match it seemed to work fine (though I have yet to test it on a product) but that should not be necessary. I am returning the product (which may prove to be problematic since it is filled with fuel - I am waiting to hear back from Amazon) and will be looking for a new design.

Butane is butane. I need it for a food torch. This container is tiny. One can buy 3 times as much for half the cost at Walmart in the paint section. Skip this.

The pressure is the weakest i ever used

Canister leaks when filling things. Butane sprays out from around the nozzle like crazy, while only a small amount ends up in whatever is being filled. I assume the canister I got was defective, and that every single one is not this lousy given the overall positive ratings. Have never had a butane canister this bad before.

Does not work with the "refillable" lighters that we bought here on Amazon.

I used it twice and the gas wouldn't go in lighter cause it was leaking out when pushed. Pushed little harder and the tip broke off so now the canister is useless.

Got used one without recipe ebook.

This is my second unit. The first was replaced because of an ignition problem which I describe as "the torch has become a safety hazard. When it is ignited and turned downward to be used, it is flaming up! Then there is quit a lag in time from releasing the button to when the unit is no longer burning". This had evolved over time and the performance of the unit is not the same as when new. The company refunded my money for this unit.

Now with the second unit, it takes 8-12 "clicks" of the ignitor to get a flame, meanwhile you are wasting fuel. The flame is a bit non-steady. I will try a different product next time.

After using the torch once, it sat for awhile until my next brûlée; 2nd time, nothing. Gas but no flame. I'm very disappointed.

Waited for so long for this torch...Haven't work the flame at all and after one minute the other jet flame stop also. Just spending butan fuel for nothing. Plus haven't came with the ebook promised. Only nice was the design. Returning it...

Pretty lighter but there is a ton of backspray when trying to fill this lighter with a can of butane, possibly due to a design flaw. Also, the flame is TINY compared to other kitchen torches I've used in the same price range. This item is more of a cigarette lighter than a culinary torch, it would take a really long time to caramelize more than one or two sugar topped dishes with this "torch". It would absolutely make for a cool cigar lighter, but seems useless as a kitchen torch. I will be returning mine since I have not received an email response from the seller on how to correct the issues I had with the torch.

I will not be purchasing this again if I have an alternative. My lighters (I have multiple) barely work after using this product...I did follow instructions.

Every time I tried to refill the lighter the liquid squirted everywhere. Tried contacting seller but they claimed " I wasn't using it properly" when I know how to use it

This tank not comeing with a different sizes converters, so half of the gas was leaking out

My lighter was clogged after the second refill. This is dirty butane. Use a better brand. I wouldn't trust this in my portable butane soldering iron and it isn't good enough for lighters. What good is this butane anyhow? I can't think of any application where dirty butane is acceptable.

greatly overpriced item.