"The Burner" Table Cigar Lighter

Handle broke after 2 uses. It looks cool... shame about the handle....

I had one for years and it finally broke. The second one has been working just fine for two years. I'm buying a third to leave at a relatives home in Tennessee we visit often. This produces a very nice flame perfect for easy, soft lighting. It's not windproof, but I've got one of those also and rarely use it. It lasts a long time when refilled, and is very easy to adjust the flame, from very low to pretty high. I like it so it just covers the burner. The one I have now has started to pit on the finish, maybe it's the Florida salt air, but it still works fine. I bought my first one because I was tired of replacing torch lighters. Or sending those with lifetime guarantees back to be fixed. I think I got about 5 years out of the first one.

Impeccable

Pros: - Big flame. The flame is about as wide as a 54 gauge cigar so so you unless you smoke huge cigars, you don't have to move the lighter around to get every part lit. - You don't have to hold down a button while you are lighting your cigar. It stays lit until you turn it off - Huge fuel tank. I have been using it for 2 weeks without refueling and it still sounds like its nearly full. I was refilling my torch light ever 5-6 days - Cheaper than my torch lighter and does a better job (indoors anyways) - Well constructed. Admittedly i haven't used it for long, but no issues yet and it feels solid Cons: - It doesn't work well in the wind. Its a desktop lighter, so for me this isn't a real issue. - The lighting mechanism is more complicated than a regular lighter. You have to turn the gas on, then press the button to light, then turn the gas back off when you are done. Personally, I have no problems with this, but a couple of my friends found it too complex.

The brand is listed as 'Birsippy', using Alec Bradley's name The ignitor (like several of the other reviews) failed after a week of continuous use. This is such a cheap knockoff of the original Alec Bradley 'The Burner'. I'm not sure if AB is aware, or doesn't care and let them be made in who knows where. While I don't use them for cigars, I have an old version and the build quality is much different, and the ignitor on the old one still works, 20 years later. It seems like the ignitor is junk and loses it's ability to deliver a good spark. Or maybe it's grounding somewhere, but the steady decline of it's spark suggests the former. Of course, It doesn't help that the ignitor wire is just placed in a hole under the L shaped part that delivers the spark to the burner. No amount of tinkering was able to fix my issue, which is odd because the ignitor wire straight to the burner base seems to spark just fine. I even tried reaming out the plastic to reveal more of the hole and solder the loose wire to that. Not sure what to do, everything else seems OK, but bring a lighter with you to kick off the burner every time.

Like most cigar aficionados, I've picked up many cigar lighters over the years. You won't be taking this one with you to the local cigar lounge, but if there's one nearby, I guarantee it's the only one you'll want to use. This is my second Burner by ALEC Bradley - the first one I've had for about 15 years and it still works like new. I've just bought a second to be used in another room. Although it looks like it would be right at home on a chemists work bench, don't let the styling fool you. This lighter produces a puddle of blue flame that's perfect for what you need to do. Here's why: When lighting a cigar, you want to toast the tip of the foot all the way around before fully lighting it. With torch lighters, that's a little bit of a hassle since you're holding a blow-torch in one hand and rotating the cigar in the other. I find that the heat from the torch lighter can prematurely catch the cigar on fire and can burn the wrapper lower on the foot than is desired. With The Burner, you can set the lighter down and use two hands to hold and rotate the cigar. It also makes it easier to manage the distance from the flame. Another benefit to this lighter is that it seems to use far less butane than torch-style lighters. Having a large reservoir for fuel also means you're not regularly refilling the lighter, which is a problem I've found with most pocket lighters. One con that others seem to share is that it can take a few tries to light. If there's wind or direct airflow from a fan or air purifier, this can be problematic. I find that turning up the fuel output while lighting solves the issue, followed by reducing fuel output to the right level for lighting. This is not so much of an issue that I'm willing to deduct a star. The skinny is, this lighter looks great on the table, does it's job well, and lasts many years. If you're in the market for a table-top lighter that can still be held in the hand, this is the one to get. But it now, you won't regret it!