The 5 Best Cigar Lighters

A cigar lighter is a gas lighter with a jet flame: a flame that burns straight and hard instead of flickering. That's not fashion but necessity.

An ordinary flame blows away as soon as you're outside, and petrol gives the tobacco a taste you keep tasting for the first few draws. Everything we sell as a cigar lighter is in the cigar lighters collection.

The best choice for most smokers is the MYON Coletta at 24.95 euros: three jet flames side by side, with a cigar punch and a V-cutter built into the base.

If it's mainly flame for your money you're after, the Champ High Quattro at 14.95 euros is the most sensible buy. Four flames side by side cover the foot of a cigar in one movement.

You don't light a cigar the way you light a cigarette. The foot is wide, sometimes as much as two centimetres, and it has to start glowing evenly. If that fails, the cigar burns crooked: one side burns through while the other stays cold, and you'll hardly get that straight again along the way.

A jet flame solves that with pressure. The gas comes out under high pressure and burns in a short blue flame that doesn't move with the wind.

More flames side by side make the flame wider, not hotter, and that width is exactly what you want with a cigar. With four flames, as on the MYON Quattro, you cover the whole foot in one movement.

All five are refillable, so you don't throw them away once the gas runs out. The rest of that range is under refillable lighters.

Number of flames

The number of flames mainly determines how quickly you're done. One flame works fine, but you spend longer turning; four flames take the foot in one go. Two, as on the MYON Cross Jet, sits neatly in between.

Punch or cutter

Then look at what else is on it. A cigar punch makes a round hole in the head, a V-cutter a wedge. Which you prefer is taste, but it helps that you don't have to carry a separate cutter.

A lock button keeps the flame on without you holding it down, which makes calmly toasting all round a lot easier.

Size

And mind the size. A lighter that goes in your inside pocket is something different from one that stays on the table. The Atomic Dual at 7.95 euros is the smallest in this line-up and has a protective cap, so nothing leaks in your pocket.

Under the foot, not against it

Hold the flame under the foot, not against it. A jet flame is hot enough to make the tobacco glow from a centimetre away, which is exactly what you want: toasting rather than scorching. Rotate the cigar until the whole rim glows evenly before taking your first puff.

Getting an even glow

Then gently blow on the glowing foot. If you spot a dark patch, hold that side over the flame a bit longer. Only take a puff once it's even all round; that way the cigar keeps burning nicely for the rest of the evening.

Gas and travelling

Refill with butane gas under high pressure, usually 45 PSI. Universal lighter gas doesn't have enough pressure for a jet flame and gives a weak, uneven flame. See which canisters fit at lighter gas.

Travelling? Read can you take a lighter on a plane first, as different rules apply to a jet flame than to a regular one.

For anyone who smokes a cigar regularly, the MYON Coletta is the complete choice: three flames, and the punch and cutter are already built in, so there's nothing extra to carry. If it's purely about lighting, the Champ High Quattro does the same job with four flames for half the money.

The rest of the list differs mainly in size and looks. They all light neatly; they just don't all look the same doing it.