Finding the best lighter for your specific needs is sometimes not an easy task. The marketplace offers a wide variety of styles, models and flame configurations.

Cigarette smokers are able to utilize nearly all types of lighters, including matches. However, cigar and pipe smokers require a special type of lighter to ensure that the taste of their tobacco is not tainted. Most cigar and pipe smokers prefer some kind of torch lighter. Even still, there are a wide variety of torch lighters and determining which flame configuration is best for your needs can be difficult.

Torch lighters offer a number of advantages and determining which flame configuration you will need is the most important part of selecting a lighter. For cigarette smokers, a torch lighter with a single flame is sufficient while the double and triple flame lighters provide too much heat. For cigar and pipe smokers, double and triple flame torch lighter styles will be your best bet. The reason for this is because the wide area of the flame lends itself to lighting pipes and cigars.

For instance, if you smoke cigars, a double flame torch lighter can give you greater fire to tobacco contact, helping to ensure that you get an even light every time.  If you smoke a pipe, then a triple flame torch lighter might be the best choice. These offer a wider flame tip that can ignite the contents of your entire bowl, without forcing you to suffer through partial burns and repeated tamping procedures due to unburned tobacco. Using these lighters is quite simple and can help ensure that, no matter what you’re smoking, it is lit on the first try.

Additionally, cigar enthusiasts benefit greatly from torch lighters not only because of the increased flame width that they provide, but also because of the control over the flame that is provided. This is opposed to natural flame lighters like Zippos that have a free-form flame. Pipe smokers also use torch lighters as the direct flame allows for the lighter to be held upside down during the lighting process. Because the intense flame of a torch lighter projects directly out from the lighter, pipe smokers are far less likely to burn their fingers or leave the tobacco in the bowl only partially lit.