Xikar Stratosphere II High Altitude Lighter, Single Jet Flame, Windproof, Ergonomic Design, Durable and Dependable, Clear

I have seen a lot of poor reviews for this lighter. My unit worked well our of the box and it has continued to work well for 3 years. I have owned or been gifted a lot of lighters and some very pricey ones (eg Colibri) have not held up well at all. Very few of my many refillable lighters last more than a year or two. For a while I resorted to cheap disposable non-refillable ones. However, this one has been good. I suspect the problem might be initial quality control, as the complaints have been for a new unit, and not that they failed after using a while. This has been a good purchase for me.

The lighter seemed to work well enough for a few months. It uses a lot of fuel, but a lot of these types of lighters are pretty bad with fuel. The dial that adjusts the flame broke, and it is now essentially useless! I am not sure how this even happened; I don't recall ever dropping it. This supposedly "rugged" lighter has only been used very gently and I don't recall any significant impacts/etc. that could have caused any damage (the physical condition sill looks good other than the dial!)

Great windproof lighter, emphasis on windproof...you really have to try to get it to go out (the heat element works exceptionally well, even when compared to other lighters with similar features). I purchased this one as a backup (my primary is a simple single/soft flame Thunderbird insert for my Zippo) lighter for high-altitude backpacking and I believe it will serve me well in that capacity (just keep in mind that it does have a jet flame, which, despite burning hotter, does consume fuel at a greater rate than the average soft-flame). It is easy to change the height of the flame, though I found that my example required a fairly high volume to ignite reliably (and I haven't tried it at particularly high altitudes as of this draft). I only wish it were a little more compact, though it is reasonably lightweight and has a fairly large fuel reserve, so it isn't worth deducting a point for this minor drawback. It replaced my old Eddie Bauer windproof lighter that recently died. Hopefully this one lasts as long (though it has an excellent warranty, if it happens to fail early).

Having read and heard about Xikar torches, I was excited about buying this lighter. I received the lighter, it feels solid and filled it with butane (yes, high quality). It would not light, I could not detect a spark at all. I drained it again because I did not drain it when I received it - didn't think it needed that. Nonetheless, I drained and filled it to the same results. I increased the flame height to see if that would work. I finally was able to get a torch by moving the dial all the way. However, lighting it produced a torch followed by a flamethrower, followed by turning off. I lowered the dial, but back to not lighting. Highly disappointed with the experience I returned it. I give it a two because it is built solid and looks great. But sadly, it failed in its primary function.

This lighter is amazing, and totally a steal at the price. Four stars; Fits into pouches and pockets without fuss. Lights almost every time; occasionally the first go is a bust. For everyday use, butaine reserve lasts a good while. Easy to use one handed, in either left or right hand. Good gri from the diamond etched and shape. One star off; 1. The hinge is a bit loose, and wobbly, and I worry about it's longevity. 2. It would be nice if there was an O-ring between the cap and base, for a water right seal. I currently wouldn't trust this thing to get wet.

I've owned mine for a year and have used it up to 9500' (2900m) under a number of difficult weather and high altitude conditions and always operates flawlessly. I appreciate the huge tank with a large, clear window for keeping track of its level. It's built to take punishment and has. Especially if you spend a lot of time in the outdoors and need reliability, this is the way to go. I own two Xicar lighters and have had one for decades. Outstanding quality and design. If anything ever goes wrong, their lifetime guarantee is absolutely outstanding along with their customer service. Great company!

This lighter worked great... for about 3 lights. That's when the fuel pressure started fluctuating wildly. I had to constantly adjust the dial just to get it to light, and once it was lit it would still fluctuate until it would either drop low enough to go out or get too high and blow itself out. It was annoying but I could deal. Then the next day the coil stopped working and now it won't light at all. This all happened within a day of receiving this piece of garbage. It may not be windproof but a bic will at least work when you need it! And you'll save yourself a good amount of money

Love the lighter - HATE the case. Got ths lighter a few months ago and brke the lid off the first time I pulled it from my pocket. I exchanged it at my local smoke shop, no problem. 1 week later just fliped the lid up like normal and it broke off. The lighter still works well. I had to go to Colorado (7285' from 0') and the lighter works just fine BUT the rest of the case just disintegrated and is currently being held together with electrical tape. I would like to stick with a Xikar because it IS good at altitude, lights most everytime (Third click at most) has the window to moniter fuel, and stays lit in high winds. I really don't want to go thru the broken case thing again, so if the company won't exchange for a different model I wont be getting another.

Article utilisé 5 ou 6 fois pour dégustation de cigare. A arrêté de fonctionner du jour au lendemain. Plus aucune flamme malgré une charge pleine. Très déçu surtout à ce prix! Garantie terminée depuis quelques jours...

I thought I would purchase a somewhat expensive light in the hopes that it would last. Less than a year and it's dead.

it worked well in the beginning, after the refill it was totally not working.