Colibri Lighters

What Colibri makes, and what this site lists

Colibri makes lighters, and on this site that's the one type it covers. Nearly every Colibri lighter in the grid above is a refillable butane torch lighter. A torch, or jet, lighter burns butane mixed with air into a hot, narrow blue flame that holds up better in wind than a soft yellow flame. The torch lighter page explains the type across brands.

Colibri's own site is mostly about cigars. It describes the company as a maker of smoking accessories and men's luxury goods, and it also sells cigar cutters, cases, ashtrays and humidors. This site doesn't list any of those. I'm writing about the lighters, because a lighter that works in the wind is a fire tool at deer camp, whatever the maker had in mind.

A word on the data. Most specs in the grid come from Amazon listings, and the grid marks them that way: fuel type, flame type, jet count and whether it's refillable. Where a listing is silent, you'll see a dash. The model notes below add what Colibri says on its own product pages.

Lineup notes: the Colibri lighter by jet count

The quickest way to read this lineup is by the number of jets. More jets make a wider flame. Fewer jets make a narrower one and, usually, a slimmer lighter.

Single-jet torch lighters

The single-jet group is the biggest in the grid. Per the listings and the maker:

• Firebird Sidewinder: a single torch, listed as refillable
• Rally: a jet flame with single-action ignition; Colibri lists an extra-large transparent fuel tank, an oversized flame-adjuster wheel and a pachmayr-pattern grip (a raised, textured pattern)
• EVO Angled: an angled jet flame; Colibri says its fuel tank is 50 percent larger than its average lighter
• Ascent: a single jet, butane, per its listing
• Premium Slim: listed as a refillable torch; Colibri's Slim page describes a wind-resistant single flame and a fuel window shaped like its logo

Single-action ignition means one press does everything: the cover opens and the flame lights in one motion. Colibri's care page says some of its models have a cover that opens and closes on its own when you press and release.

Double-jet torch lighters

The two-jet models in the grid:

• Rebel: a double-jet torch; Colibri lists an XL fuel tank, a blue fuel window, a large grooved flame adjuster and wind resistance
• Quasar II: a two-flame pocket lighter just under 3 inches tall, per Colibri, lit with a thumbs-up motion, with a punch cutter built in
• Julius: a double flame, which Colibri says lights with an oversized roll bar and adjusts with a twist of the fuel wheel; it's named after the company's founder

Triple-jet torch lighters

The three-jet models make the widest torch flame in the lineup:

• Monaco: triple jets arranged in a pyramid, a slim profile and a blue fuel window, per Colibri; it's listed twice in the grid, as two finishes
• E3: triple jets; Colibri describes a trigger that retracts the hood as it lights, forward-angled burners and an oversized fuel adjuster
• Quantum: triple jets plus a V-shaped cutter built into the body; Colibri calls it the first triple-jet lighter with a V-Cut
• Firebird Afterburner: a triple torch, sold single or as a 2-pack in the grid

The Firebird models are listed under the Colibri brand on Amazon. Colibri's own site doesn't show the Firebird name, so for those two I've stuck to what the listings say.

Here's the thing about more jets: a wider flame lights a wider target, like a fat bundle of birch bark, faster. It also burns fuel faster. (That's not a spec, that's just three burners drinking from one tank. My truck has the same problem with the trailer hitched.)

Flat flame and tabletop models

Two models don't fit the jet-count rows:

• Aura: a flat flame. Colibri says it lights a 10 mm-wide flat flame with a thumbs-up trigger, built for wider coverage. The listing marks it as refillable.
• Quasar Table: a triple-flame tabletop lighter. Colibri's desk version has non-slip rubber feet and retracting doors over the flame. It sits on a table. It does not go in a pocket.

The tabletop model is the one I'd leave at the cabin, by the woodstove, where it can't get lost. Everything else in the lineup is built to travel.

How to choose within the Colibri lineup

Start with the flame you need

A single jet is a pinpoint, good for lighting a stove burner, a lantern mantle or the edge of a fire starter. Two or three jets give a wider flame for tinder bundles and damp kindling. A flat flame covers more width than a single jet without adding burners. The cigar torch lighter page and the refillable butane lighter page compare flame types across brands.

Then the size and where it rides

Colibri lists dimensions on most of its product pages. The pocket models run roughly 2.6 to 3.1 inches long. The Aura is a tall, slender lighter and the Quasar tabletop model is a desk piece. A lighter that's too big for the chest pocket ends up in the truck console. I have a console full of them.

Then the fuel window and the tank

Several models list a fuel window (the Monaco, Rebel and Rally per Colibri), so you can see the butane level before you walk in. The EVO's page claims a tank 50 percent larger than Colibri's average, and the Rebel's lists an XL tank. More fuel in the tank means fewer refills in camp.

Then the extras

The Quantum carries a V-shaped cutter and the Quasar II a punch cutter. They're cigar tools, and if you don't need them, they're just extra parts in your pocket. Skip them and pick by flame.

Who should skip a torch lighter

If you only light the woodstove once a night at the cabin, a long-reach lighter or kitchen matches will do the job, and Walt will tell you so. ("A match has never needed a refill," he says, holding a box of them that's been in the drawer since 2011.) The torch earns its spot on the walk in, in wind, with gloves on.

My one opinion on this page: a pocket torch is a backup, not your whole fire kit. Colibri's lighters ship empty and need refilling, and the maker says a flickering flame means the tank is running low. A ferro rod doesn't run out of fuel. Pack one with your fire starters and keep the lighter as the fast option, not the only one. The ferro rod page covers how they work.

Refilling and care, per Colibri

Colibri publishes refill steps for its butane lighters. In short:

1. Bleed the air: hold the lighter upside down and press the filler valve with a ballpoint pen until the hissing stops
2. Set the adjuster low: turn the flame adjuster all the way to minus
3. Fill upside down: press the butane nozzle onto the valve firmly for 4 to 5 seconds
4. Check it's full: if liquid comes out when you press the valve, stop
5. Warm and wait: hold it in your hand for 10 seconds, then wait 2 minutes before lighting
6. Open it up a little: turn the adjuster a quarter turn toward plus, then light it and set the height

Colibri notes that its tanks fill to only 85 percent of liquid capacity for safety, so you'll still see a small bubble in the fuel window when it's full. If you hear hissing after a refill, the maker says not to light it and to send it in for service.

Refill only in a well-ventilated area, away from any flame, heat or spark, with the cover closed. Never try to light the lighter while you're filling or emptying it, and hold it away from your face.

For care, Colibri says to clean the burner with three short bursts of compressed air, the can tip at least 1 inch from the burner, and never to touch the catalyzer spring or the spark wire. If you're putting the lighter away for a long time, the maker says to set the flame adjuster to maximum and readjust it when you use it again. That last tip is the one I'd tape inside the fire kit lid, because I put the kit away every January and forget everything I knew by October.

Colibri also recommends its own Premium Butane. Its butane page says the 300 ml can comes with five adapter nozzles in the cap, and that it can't ship to Alaska, California, Hawaii or Puerto Rico.

Cold mornings

Colibri's steps are written around a lighter at room temperature: warm it in your hand after a refill and let it reach room temperature before lighting. At deer camp in November, that means carrying the lighter in an inside pocket, not in the outside pocket of a pack that spent the night on the porch. Renee calls my inside coat pocket "the warming drawer". It's the only drawer I keep organized.

Shipping and the warranty

Colibri says all its lighters ship empty of butane, and its warranty page says shipping a lighter with fuel in it through the US mail or major carriers is prohibited. If you ever send one in, drain it completely first.

The warranty itself is a two-year limited one on the mechanism, for the original buyer, from the date of retail purchase. It doesn't cover finish wear, scratches, the cap or hinge, or damage from misuse or from repairs by anyone other than Colibri service. Keep the warranty card and the dated receipt, because a claim needs both.

Colibri facts

Here's what I could verify on Colibri's own pages:

• Founder: Julius Lowenthal, whom Colibri credits with inventing the Colibri Original, which it calls the first working semi-automatic lighter
• Torch lighters: Colibri says it introduced its high-performance jet lighters in the mid-1980s
• Multi-flame firsts: the history page says its Vortex and Trifecta models were the first pyramid-shaped double- and triple-flame lighters
• Quasar series: debuted in 2014, per the history page
• Service center: Woonsocket, Rhode Island, per the warranty page

Colibri's site doesn't give a current owner or say where today's lighters are made, so I've left those out.

Fill it upside down, wait the two minutes, and keep a ferro rod in the kit. Renee says that's the most patient I've ever been with anything that runs on butane.