I’ve previously made a review for a butane insert that I bought for my Zippo lighters HERE . Although the insert that I bought works, it left me somewhat dissatisfied. I originally bought the butane insert to solve the problem of lighter fuel evaporation with the original Zippo insert and it does a great job at this. I can’t say if the insert has allowed for any evaporation of the fuel, but there is definitely a good bit in there. Definitely more than what the original Zippo insert would have, for sure. In terms of fuel storage, I’m completely satisfied. However, I do have another problem with Zippos and it’s with their claim of being “windproof”. Let’s be clear, Zippos are in no way windproof. They do fair very well in the wind, but not windproof. Another problem is that when it’s windy, the wind really does make it hard to use a Zippo as the flame is natural and dances around a bit. These problems are also present with the soft flame butane insert that I bought. So, what to do? The obvious next step was to try a torch flame style insert.
I again bought a Vector Thunderbird branded butane insert because I was happy with the quality of the last one. This time, I picked up the double torch version. There are a few different torch designs to choose from but I decided on the double torch because to me, it’s the coolest. The double torch just looks insane (in a good way). However, one drawback of the double torch is the amount of fuel consumption. It’s not like you’ll instantly run out of fuel but more torches does equate to more fuel use, so just be aware of that. On the bottom of the insert is an adjuster that allows you to adjust the height of the flame. You can use this to make the flame smaller and use less fuel. You can also use this to make the flame a lot bigger and use even more fuel. This looks pretty cool, but is definitely not recommended for long term use unless you have a limitless supply of butane fuel.
So, how does this new insert fair in the wind? I would have to say that this is as close to perfect as we’ll probably get. The torch is so strong that wind hardly has any effect on it. This has made getting a flame in windy conditions so much easier and I’m not sure if I can go back to a normal soft flame after trying this out.
Another benefit of this insert to the soft flame insert is that with this one, you can have the lid of a Zippo open without having butane leak from the insert. With the soft flame insert, once the cam is flipped to the open position, gas begins to leak in preparation for use. You have to make sure to keep the Zippo lid closed when not in use or shut the cam when you want to keep the lid open. With the double torch insert, there is no such requirement. The lid can be open for as long as you want without any additional butane leakage.
So far, I’ve been very happy with this insert and if I needed another butane insert, I’ll probably pick this one up again. This butane insert comes highly recommended.
If you're considering on buying any of the products mentioned, please support my work by using the links below.
Vector Thunderbird Butane Double Torch Insert: https://amzn.to/2G0qSLo
Other Zippo Butane Inserts: https://amzn.to/2U3pPzj
Zippo Lighters: https://amzn.to/2VyPIZb
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