Torch Lighters

What makes a torch lighter different

A torch lighter stores butane as a liquid under pressure. Press the button and the gas leaves through a small nozzle fast enough to make a jet, and a piezo spark lights it. TSA's description is about as good as it gets: a thin, needle-like flame that reaches 2,500 F and keeps a steady stream of air-propelled fire whatever the angle you hold it.

That last part is the whole point at camp. A soft-flame lighter, the classic yellow flame, burns at the top of the lighter and leans wherever the wind tells it to. One lighter maker's buying guide says soft flames suit indoor use or calm outdoor conditions. A jet flame is described by the same maker as highly resistant to wind. So the torch is the one you reach for on a ridge in November, with your back to the breeze and a fistful of birch bark.

Real talk: a torch lighter doesn't make a campfire easier to build. It makes the first 10 seconds easier. The tinder, the kindling and the patience are still your job.

The table on this page lists torch (jet-flame) lighters we track. For each one it shows the fuel, flame type, jet count, whether it's refillable (maker or listing) or the maker says windproof, the body material, length, weight and how many come in the pack. The maker's numbers come first and the Amazon listing's fill gaps in most columns, marked as listing values (length and weight are the maker's alone); a dash means neither states it. Arc and plasma lighters have their own page, the electric lighter page, because they burn no fuel at all.

What to look at when you pick a torch lighter

Here's how I'd read the table.

Count the jets for the flame width you need

Jet count is the number of nozzles on the head. The table's Jets column only fills in for torch lighters, and only when the maker or the listing says.

One lighter maker's torch Q&A sorts them like this:

• Single jet: the most common type, made for general use
• Dual jet: a larger, hotter flame, and the maker says it often holds up better in wind
• Triple jet: a broad flame with more heat output
• Quad jet: an intense flame aimed at the toughest lighting jobs

For a fire kit, a single jet torch lighter is plenty to light tinder. A triple jet torch lighter or a quad jet torch lighter puts more heat on a wider patch, which helps with damp bark or a charcoal chimney. More flame means more gas leaving the tank, so expect a multi-jet model to need the butane can more often. (That's not a spec. That's the ice math, applied to fuel.)

Read Fuel and Flame to make sure it's a jet

The Fuel / ignition column tells you what the lighter burns: butane, lighter fluid on a wick, electric arc, or butane plus electric. The Flame column says torch/jet, soft flame, arc, plasma or wick.

On this page you want butane and torch/jet. A few lighters combine a jet with a soft flame or with an arc, and they'll say so in those two columns.

Check Refillable before you buy a pack of them

The Refillable column shows whether the maker or the listing says you can put more butane in. Refillable torch lighters have a fill valve on the bottom, usually next to a flame-adjust wheel. A non-refillable one is done when the tank is empty.

A refillable torch is the one worth keeping in a fire kit for years. A non-refillable torch makes sense as the spare in the truck. How valves, fuel windows and refill habits differ is on the refillable butane lighter page.

An adjustable flame torch lighter saves fuel and eyebrows

Most refillable torches have a small wheel or slot near the valve that sets how much gas reaches the jet. On a soft flame that changes the height. On a torch it changes how far the blue cone reaches past the nozzle, and that's the part that matters for your hand.

Run it as low as still lights your tinder. The jet is hot enough that you don't want to find out how close your knuckles are. Set the flame at home in daylight, not at the fire ring in the dark.

A windproof torch lighter is a maker's claim

The Windproof column shows yes only when the maker says windproof. Iron-clad wind performance isn't something a table can show. What the column tells you is that the maker sells it for wind and says so in writing.

If you hunt somewhere that the wind owns, look at this column first. Hemlock Run is that kind of place. The wind comes up the hollow in gusts, and a soft flame on that hillside goes out about as often as you'd guess. If you mostly light the cabin stove, the column matters less.

Body material decides how it survives a pocket

The Body column lists what the maker or the listing says the case is made of: metal like zinc alloy or brass, or plastic. It's a stated fact, not a grade. Neither one makes the flame better, and a heavier case shows up in the Weight column. Pick the one that suits your pocket habits. (Mine share a pocket with two spare headlamp batteries, a granola bar and a receipt from 2019.)

Length and weight sort pocket torches from long ones

The Length column comes from the maker's dimensions, and it's what splits the small pocket torches from the long ones. A short torch rides in a pocket. A long torch keeps your hand away from the fire pit or a grill. Weight tells you what you'll carry on a long walk in, and it rises with a bigger tank and a metal body.

Small torches have their own page, mini torch lighters, and the long-reach kind is on the long lighter page.

Pack count is about how many places you keep one

Some torch lighters sell as singles, some in packs. A pack makes sense if you want one in the truck, one in the fire kit and one at the cabin. Walt's opinion is that you only need one lighter if you put it back where it belongs. Walt has said this while holding a flashlight he found in the truck's cup holder.

Torch lighters in the cold

This is the part that matters for deer camp. Butane has to turn from liquid to gas to make a flame. NOAA's chemical database lists butane's boiling point at 31.1°F. Below that, the liquid in the tank doesn't want to become gas, and the jet gets weak or won't light at all.

So on a 20-degree morning, a lighter that spent the night on the truck dash is the worst lighter you own. Below that temperature the tank makes less gas, and the jet has less to work with.

What works for me:

• Carry the torch in an inside pocket, close to your body
• Warm it in your hand before you need it
• Keep the fire kit's spare in the cabin, not in the truck
• Pack a backup that doesn't care about cold, like a ferro rod

The table can't show cold-weather performance. Plan for butane being butane. The backup belongs on the fire starters page.

How to refill a torch lighter

The refill itself is the same routine as any butane lighter with a valve: bleed the old pressure, set the flame to its lowest, fill upside down, then wait before you light it. The full step list, the fuel advice and the hiss warning live on the refillable butane lighter page.

On a torch, the step people rush is the last one. Makers say to wait a few minutes after the fill before you light it, so the gas can settle. If it won't light right after, the troubleshooting list below starts with air in the tank. (I am bad at waiting. The butane doesn't care.)

When a torch lighter is not working

Most dead torches have one of four problems. Check them in this order.

• Out of fuel: one maker says a flickering flame during normal use means it needs a refill.
• Air in the tank: another maker calls it vapor lock. If it won't light right after a refill, bleed the valve briefly, refill again, and wait at least 2 minutes.
• Spark wire bent: if it clicks and you hear gas but get no flame, the spark may not be hitting the gas. One maker's troubleshooting page says to adjust the direction of the spark wire.
• Clogged burner: dust and pocket lint get in. One maker suggests 2 or 3 short bursts of low-pressure air into the burner, 1 to 2 seconds each.

And if it's cold out, it may not be broken at all. Warm it up first. I've declared a torch dead at the fire ring, put it in my pocket, and watched it light fine 20 minutes later on the walk back. The lighter was fine. My diagnosis was the part that needed warming up.

Torch lighter safety

A torch flame can be close to invisible in bright light, the nozzle head gets hot, and one maker says not to hold the flame on for more than 10 seconds at a time. Let the head cool before it goes back in a pocket, and never refill it near the fire ring.

The U.S. Fire Administration says never leave lighters or matches where children can reach them. A torch lighter is a tool, not a toy. Keep it with the fire kit, not in a kid's pocket. That's my one opinion on this page, and it comes straight from the number above: a 2,500 F jet that doesn't care which way it's pointed.

Before you light anything outside, check for local fire restrictions. The Forest Service's campfire guidance is plain: use a match or lighter, never gasoline, keep water and a shovel close, and drown, stir and feel until it's cool.

Who should skip a torch lighter

Skip the torch if you mostly light candles or the gas stove at the cabin and never fight wind. A long soft-flame or arc lighter does that job and gives you more reach. Skip it if you fly to hunt. TSA doesn't allow torch lighters in carry-on or checked bags, so buy one when you land or bring an arc lighter that follows the battery rules instead.

And skip it as your only fire tool if your season runs well below freezing. Butane will let you down on exactly the morning you need it most. Carry the torch for convenience and something else for certainty.

Which torch lighter for a deer camp fire kit

If you want one lighter for the fire kit, a refillable single or dual jet torch with an adjustable flame is where I'd start, as long as it rides in a warm pocket. Wick and fluid lighters built for wind are on the windproof lighter page.

That's the whole thing. Pick the jets for the job, keep it warm, keep the butane can in the cabin, and put it back in the fire kit. Then tell somebody where you put it, because the fire kit only works if two people can find it in the dark.