Best Torch Lighter for Camp and the Fire Kit

What this list of the best torch lighters is sorted by

This list runs by jet count, most jets first. This week that sort has nothing to separate: every lighter on it lists four jets, so the whole table ties at the top. That order is a description, not a ranking. A four-jet flame isn't better than a single jet. It's wider.

Every lighter here is a refillable butane torch, by its maker or its Amazon listing. Refillable matters at camp for a plain reason: you can top it off before every trip instead of finding out it's empty at the fire ring. The rule also caps each brand at two listings, so one maker can't fill the table. Ten listings come from six brands: Guevara, Tomolo, Visol and Xifei with two each, Scotte and Xikar with one.

With jet count tied, the useful differences are the other fields in the table. Six listings state a cigar punch and four don't. One states a body material. One is a desktop lighter by its name. And one sits in a higher price tier than the rest.

Pick labels that follow from the data

The Guevara pair have a cigar punch

Two Guevara listings for the same 4-Jet Torch Lighter with Punch sit on the list. Both list 4 jets, butane fuel, a refillable tank and a cigar punch by the Amazon listing. For camp, four jets means a wide flame, useful for warming a broad patch of tinder or a fat fire starter. It's less handy for a lantern wick, where a narrow flame puts heat exactly where you aim. The punch is for cigars; at the fire ring it's a small tool you won't miss if you don't smoke.

The Scotte is a single listing with a punch

The Scotte 4 Jet Flame Cigar Lighter lists 4 jets, butane, a refillable tank and a cigar punch. It's the one Scotte listing on the page, and on the data it matches the Guevara pair field for field.

The Tomolo pair, one with a stated zinc alloy body

The Tomolo Quad Jet Torch Lighter lists 4 jets, butane, a refillable tank, a cigar punch and a zinc alloy body. That makes it the only lighter on the list whose data states what the body is made of. The Tomolo Quad Flame Cigar Torch Lighter lists the same jets, fuel, refill and punch, with no stated body material. A blank there means the data doesn't say, not that the body is anything in particular.

The Visol pair have no stated cigar punch

The Visol Rhino Quad Torch and the Visol Redferno Quad Flame both list 4 jets, butane and a refillable tank. Neither lists a cigar punch. For a fire kit that never sees a cigar, that's no loss at all; for the hunter who ends the day with one on the porch, the Guevara, Scotte, Tomolo and Xifei desktop listings are the ones that state a punch.

The Xifei pair, one built for the table

The Xifei 4 Jet Cigar Lighter with Holder lists 4 jets, butane and a refillable tank, and its name says it comes with a holder. The data doesn't list a punch. The Xifei 6-in-1 Desktop Cigar Lighter lists the same jets, fuel and refill plus a cigar punch, and its name says desktop. A desktop lighter lives on the cabin table, not in a pocket or a fire kit, so read that listing as a table piece first and a camp tool second.

The Xikar HP4 is the one in the higher price tier

The Xikar HP4 Quad Jet lists 4 jets, butane and a refillable tank. It's the only lighter on the list in the higher price tier, and the data doesn't list a cigar punch. This page also cites Xikar's own guides on flame types, fuel and troubleshooting; those are general how-to pages, not a claim about the HP4.

How to choose a butane torch lighter for camping

Match jet count to what you light

Here's the way I think about it. A single jet is a pencil. Three or four jets is a paint roller.

• Single jet: stove burners, lantern wicks, one spot on a fire starter
• Double jet: a little more spread, same general job
• Triple or quad jet: broad heat on tinder, fatwood or a starter cube

Xikar's lighter guide says torch flames suit outdoor use and windy conditions in general. That's a category note, not a claim about any lighter on this list. Wind is still wind, and you still block it with your body or a log.

Buy refillable, and plan the fuel

A refillable lighter is only as good as the butane in it. Colibri's instructions recommend its own butane and warn that fuel of unknown purity can clog the feed. Xikar's troubleshooting page covers cleaning a clogged burner with alcohol and letting it dry 2 to 3 minutes before lighting. So the fuel can matters. If you own lighters from two makers, read both manuals before you assume one can fits both.

Check whether the listing says the lighter ships with fuel, and buy a can if it doesn't. The fire ring is a bad place to find out.

Fill it at home, the maker's way

The steps vary by maker, so follow the manual. Colibri's go like this:

• Purge: hold it upside down, press the valve until the hissing stops
• Fill: nozzle straight onto the valve, 4 to 5 seconds
• Warm: 10 seconds in your hand
• Wait: 2 minutes before you light it
• Set: adjust the flame height after the first light

Zippo's insert instructions say to refill in a well-ventilated area away from open flames, and to wait at least 2 minutes before lighting.

My one opinion on this page: fill your torch lighter at home, not at the fire ring. The reason is on the NOAA butane datasheet. Butane vapor is heavier than air, spreads along the ground, and is extremely flammable. A fire ring is the exact wrong place to let any of it out.

Keep butane warm enough to work

NOAA lists butane's boiling point at about 31°F. Near freezing, the fuel turns to gas slowly and the flame struggles. Colibri says to let a lighter reach room temperature before lighting, and Xikar warns against keeping butane or lighters in extreme heat or cold.

So in November, the lighter rides in an inside pocket. Renee asks why my lighter lives in my shirt pocket from November to March. Because that's where the warm is. She says that's also where my reading glasses go missing.

Set the flame low, then work up

Most refillable torches have a flame adjuster, and it's worth learning before the trip. Colibri's instructions say to turn the adjuster to its lowest setting before refilling, then a quarter turn toward the plus side after, light it, and set the height from there. A flame that flickers in normal use, per Colibri, is the lighter asking for fuel.

If the flame won't come down or come up, Xikar's troubleshooting page walks through turning the internal regulator in quarter-turn steps and warns against overtightening the screw. Small moves. This is not a job for the big screwdriver from the truck. (The valve and I have made our peace.)

Light the tinder, not the log

A torch lighter at the fire ring has one job: get the tinder going. Smokey Bear's fire-building steps start with small, dry wood off the ground, then tinder, then kindling under about an inch thick, then bigger logs. A four-jet flame held against a split log for a minute uses a lot of butane to warm a lot of wood that wasn't ready. Hold it on the tinder, let the kindling catch, and put the lighter back in your pocket.

The same steps say to pick a spot at least 15 feet from tents and brush and to clear a 10-foot circle. Do the site work first, then reach for the lighter.

Store it right between seasons

Xikar's FAQ says a can of butane can last up to 5 years in a controlled-temperature space, and it warns against storing butane or a lighter in extreme heat, cold or direct sunlight. For long storage, Colibri says to turn the flame adjuster to its maximum setting. A shelf in the house beats the glove box. The glove box in August is not a controlled-temperature space, no matter what the truck's air conditioning thinks.

Count lighters, not jets

At Hemlock Run, the fire kit gets a torch lighter and a backup that doesn't use butane, like a ferro rod or matches. Walt thinks this is overpacking. Walt also asks to borrow a lighter every night. (He has never once put it back in the kit. I check.)

Torch lighter safety, plainly

Butane containers may explode when heated, per NOAA. Don't leave a lighter or a butane can on a dashboard, near a stove or by the fire.

Keep lighters locked up and out of children's reach, and don't use them as a toy in front of kids, per the U.S. Fire Administration. The federal child-resistance rule, per the CPSC, covers disposable and novelty cigarette lighters and multi-purpose lighters; it doesn't cover every refillable lighter, so don't count on one being hard for a child to work.

TSA doesn't allow torch lighters in carry-on or checked bags.

At the fire ring, follow Smokey Bear's basics: water and a shovel nearby, never leave the fire alone, and drown, stir and feel the ashes before you walk away. Check fire restrictions before you light anything.

Who should skip this list

If all you light is a gas grill or the cabin's pilot light, skip it. A torch lighter is more flame than that job needs, and the long lighter page has reach without the jet. If you don't want to deal with butane at all, look at the electric lighter page or a ferro rod. And if you fly to hunt, skip buying one before the trip; TSA won't let it on the plane.

How this list of refillable torch lighters is built

A lighter makes this list when its maker or its Amazon listing states two things: it has a torch or jet flame, and it's refillable. The list then sorts by jet count, most jets first. Lighters with no stated jet count go last. No brand gets more than two listings.

Values come from the maker's own pages first. Where the maker is silent, the Amazon listing fills in, and the table marks those values. On this list, every value comes from the Amazon listings. A blank in the table means neither source states it.

The list is checked again every week. Listings come and go and the order can change. Nothing here is ranked by ratings, and price shows only as a tier, never a number.

Pick the jet count for the job, fill it at home, and keep it in a warm pocket. The fire still needs dry tinder. No lighter has ever fixed wet wood, and I've watched a few try.