hey there!! just wanted to find out what everyone's opinions are on colibri lighters?? Are they as high quality as they should be for the price?? Are they durable?? Should i just buy a cheap butane lighter?? thanx for your input!!

Personally I have several Colibri lighters. My favorite is a Colibri TRIFECTA that I bought about 6-years ago. It still works fine and I have traveled all over with it.

I do not believe it is made any longer, but there are other triple flame Colibris out there and I will no doubt soon purchase one.

Are they worth it? It's a matter of taste. I might think about a DuPont, which is much more money and requires DuPont butane or a Blazer which is quite a bit less expensive and works just as well.

I also had a Prometheus MAX back in 1998 that was a good lighter but kept opening in my pocked causing the wire in the burner to become damaged. I lit a cigar on top of Pikes Peak in a snow storm with that lighter.

I have a Colibri Vortex and a Trifecta. I have two others that no longer work. I also have a ST DuPont Xtend that has been more dependable than all of the Colibris. SO, if I had to do it over again, it would have been better for me to have spent $500 on a top notch lighter, like a regular ST Dupont or a Dunhill, than to have spent $100 here and $100 there on all these Colibris. But two out of four of the Colibris still work fairly well.

While I'm certainly no expert on this issue, my experience has been that a lighter's propensity to fail rises in direct relation to its cost. I have half a dozen non-working lighters, all of which cost more than $20. Every one of my $2 Bics works perfectly.

Aside from all of the disposable lighters I have had given to me when I buy cigars, I have bought 2 lighters - both of which were colibri.

The first on was one of the first colibri quantums that came out about 10-ish years ago. It worked up until about a month ago when I decided to take it apart to "clean" it. During that little experience, I bent the wire inside, then during the act of trying to get it back into that perfect helical cone, I broke it off. After that, the lighter would still light, but the hottest part of the flame was below the opening of the lighter, which made the lighter very hot very quick to hold. My only real complaint about this lighter was that the finish, which was brushed metal, was lacquered over and the laquer began chipping off pretty quick. My response was to break out the dremel tool and remove all of the lacquer that shouldn't have been there in the first place - it looked better afterwards and didn't tarnish at all.

The second lighter I bought was in response to the first one breaking and I am loving it so far. It is the Quantum Triplex. I can tell you that it will light a 60 guage in about 20 seconds! Also, they have gotten rid of the "coiled wire" design that I broke previously, so I expect this lighter to last for a very long time. I can't forsee what the failure mode of this lighter will be. Maybe a seal or a valve, but if you simply use the lighter and use premium butane, this lighter will last a long time.

Oh, and I also bought a Vector Mega Pump. This is a novel lighter, but the workmanship is lacking. The parts do not fit that well and are loose. It is pretty, though, sitting next to my humi.

one last thing. Check ebay to buy your lighter. I bought that Triplex for $62. My local B&M charges $100. I tried to negotiate with them a little - I would have bought it for $80 from them... or even $100 if they would have thrown in some nice cigars, but for $40 savings, I wasn't willing to do it just to support the local guys.

I've never had a Colibri that functioned as it should for more than a few months. I think they're total garbage and a waste of money. I bought an IM Corona Old Boy last summer -- best lighter I've ever had and only $100. I've only changed the flint once and even though I use it every day, I only have to fill it every 2-3 weeks. Fantastic product built to last.

I second the Corona Old Boy. Very dependable. If you are happy with a regular flame, a great lighter.

Never owned one personally but have heard horror stories about trying to get them serviced. My "daily" home lighter is a Dupont Extend. I have a gold Dupont that just sits in a drawer now.....waste of money IMO. I have a couple of Vector lighters that I carry in my pocket. Bought 'em at the Sosa store in Downtown Disney. Very light and easy on the pocket. Once you go big torch it's hard to go back to anything else.

JFK

I had a Colibri Oscar for a few years. Laid it down at work for a few minutes one day and it walked off. I plan to buy another as soon as I get a job............

i tend to stay away from them now, spent over $150 total on their lighters, and they all either broke or wouldn't light the way it did when i bought it, and i tried everything, the canned air for the jets, letting all the butane out of the lighter before refilling, and even sending them to colibri for a replacement, they just didn't work right for me, but my new Blue Rhino Afterburner, now that thing is a champ, works like a flamethrower, and has two jets, plus it has taken some bad accidents that i didn't put my colibri's through, but it still works, i'm gonna be looking into more Blue Rhino lighters in the next few days just to collect

I still have all of my lighters.When they need service I send them back w/ 9 dollars and they get tuned up or repaired.Once they did'nt get it right and I sent it back w/o any $$ and they fixed it no problems.Same w/ Promethus.Good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by Matticus87:
i tend to stay away from them now, spent over $150 total on their lighters, and they all either broke or wouldn't light the way it did when i bought it, and i tried everything, the canned air for the jets, letting all the butane out of the lighter before refilling, and even sending them to colibri for a replacement, they just didn't work right for me,

my sentiments exactly

I've had a couple of the inexpensive Colibris (the infamous two-fers from Thompson's and freebies from Cigar Magazine subs). None have really satisfied me. Aside from the flimsiness of the cheap ones, I find the single flame torch too narrow for me. I've just ordered a "candle-flame" Colibri model which I hope will work better for me, since the disposable Djeeps seem to give me the best light on my typical smokes...

I've had a Colibri for a few years now and it has never failed me. Great lighter with a great feel to it.

I just dug up a 3-year-old Colibri soft flame lighter I planned to use on the deck this summer. Never used it much, still had the original box. I'd fill it with Colibri butane, it would work for a few minutes, then not at all. I bled the tank, etc...refilled again...then I put it to my ear and heard...

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...

The damn thing was LEAKING! Good thing the gas leaking from the bottom never made it to the flame on top. I gave it to my tobacconist, and we decided just to throw it away for safety.

I use to think Colibris were junk, now I think they're dangerous junk. Never, ever again and I will warn everyone I know away from them.

Meanwhile, my Old Boy looks and works as good as ever...

My Colibri torch never worked well untill it stopped working all together.
POS.

Don't waste your money.

quote:

Originally posted by Wacco:
Don't waste your money.

Agreed. I have the Trifecta as well. Never lights like it did when it was new. Been sent back once but to no avail. Waste of 100 + dollars.
Just buy a plain ol Blazer. I have two of them and have never, ever, had a problem with one of them.

I have a Vortex that has been working fine for the past 1.5 years. Use good triple-filtered butane, brush the ignitor once in awhile, release the pressure when empty to get a better fill-up....and you'll still have your own varied experience like everyone else. Always shop for a good price anyway.