Back in July, Brian, Jerry, and I were fortunate enough to receive Press Passes to the IPCPR Trade Show in Las Vegas. While there, we got to speak with a number of people about a number of new products. One of those people included Andy from Xikar.

Andy and I spoke a little bit about the Defiance review I did a little while back and he asked if I would be interested in doing some product reviews as well. A couple of months after IPCPR passed and things settled down for everyone, I got in touch with Andy about those product reviews we talked about. Shortly after our email exchange I received a package containing a Xikar Trezo Triple Flame Lighter.

Coincidentally, the lighter arrived the day I sent in my MTX Tool for a warranty replacement. I decided that for this review I would use this lighter as my primary source of flame for 30 days. I would then tally up the number of cigars it ignited and track how often it required refilling.

The first thing that passed through my mind when I looked at the lighter for the first time was, “Xikar must not know I despise triple flame lighters, this ought to be an interesting review”. To elaborate on my first though more, I’ve never once owned a triple flame lighter that lasted more than a few cigars without needing refilling. My past lighters have also had problems with jets clogging on occasion, in this case there are three times the jets to worry about.

Trying my best to put by bias aside for this type of lighter, I filled it for the first time and deemed it my primary lighter for the next thirty days. Over the course of the review, my new triple flame lighter was used to ignite forty-eight cigars in all (had others use it as well to keep the numbers high). With this many cigars in the review, it was pretty easy to find a few likes and dislikes with the functionality of the lighter.

Oversized Fuel Adjustment:
I was recently looking at a Colibri lighter with an oversized fuel adjustment knob, so I don’t know who began using the feature first, but it is pure genius. The knob is such a convenience to have rather than requiring a small screwdriver, or makeshift screw driver, simply to adjust the flame up and down.

Fuel Window:
Although a little small, it is nice to be able to see how much fuel remains within the lighter. I’ve used a number of lighters that did not have this feature, it typically resulted in me leaving the house with an empty lighter only to learn it was out of fuel half way through lighting my cigar.

Heat:
As much as I dislike this type of lighter, I’ve got to admit that they get hot and light a cigar much faster than a traditional single flame torch. It seems that Xikar is the first to use an inline jet system. This system allows Xikar to maintain a thin case and produce the same accuracy as the triangular shaped jet orientations. The two outside jets are tipped at an eight degree angle to pinpoint the flame just above the center jet.

Metal Case:
The metal case has a great feel to it but it gets scary hot. The first time I went through the lighting process, I used this lighter just as I do my single flame. The heat from the flame transferred into the case and just as you would expect, the case got too hot for me to hold in my hand. I set it down on a table and wasn’t sure if I should worry about it popping from the heat or not. It didn’t take long for it to cool down, but that taught me not to keep the lighter lit for an extended period of time like I do my single flame.

Refilling:
As I expected, this lighter requires lots of refills due to its three jets and limited fuel reservoir. My Xikar Trezo lighter had to be refilled after lighting only five cigars, on average. Fortunately it had a tendency to run out while I was at home or at my local cigar shop, so getting quality butane to fill it with was a snap.

Carry Sheath:
I’m all for free stuff and I don’t mind so much when it isn’t exactly what I thought it would be. In the case of the free leather sheath offered by Xikar for registering your product, I couldn’t help but laugh when I received it. When a product costs upwards of $100.00, I don’t typically like to toss it in my pocket with keys and loose coins, which is why I wanted this sheath. It is clearly supposed to be a one size fits all unit, unfortunately a portion of the lighter sticks outside of the sleeve. While this isn’t really a gripe with the Trezo Lighter, it is a gripe in regards to an accessory for an accessory. Fortunately this lighter is very close in size to my Colibri Boss Lighter and I was able to use its hard leather carrying case for the duration of the review.

Shortly after starting the test I was sure that I wasn’t going to enjoy using this lighter nearly as much as I would have liked. After I got used to it quirks, I started to become very attached to it. It does a great job of lighting cigars quickly, I just have to keep it filled and try not to take too long when lighting my cigars.

Just like with my MTX Multi-Tool, Xikar Lighters have a no nonsense lifetime warranty. If it ever fails, I’ll be able to rest assured that Xikar will promptly repair or replace my problematic item. While this lighter didn’t completely change my outlook on triple flame lighters, I’m happy to have it as part of my cigar accessory arsenal .