Going the distance: 8 lighters take the high altitude challenge

It was an auspicious beginning, 60 degrees in the small town of Manitou Springs, the sun was shining and the wind was picking up. I craned my neck and eyed the mountains warily, knowing full well the conditions would be much different on top of the mountain.

I was heading up Pike’s Peak to test the capability of several high-altitude lighters.

I brought a notepad, camera, and a bag full of lighters. I’ve written before about my experience with “super torch lighters” as having been less than superlative. It’s been a few years and I intended to challenge that notion.

Torch vs. non-torch
Lighters are a great compromise for their utility. They’re lightweight, easy, and quick to use. Ferrocerium rods or magnesium starters are more reliable and aren’t dependent upon atmospheric conditions to work, but require more effort and preparation.

Most lighters burn butane fuel. The amount of pressure behind that fuel and the temperatures at which it burns determines whether a lighter is a “torch” or not.

The Xikar Cirro, Xikar Stratosphere, and Vector all blast a focused jet of blue flame out with a hushed, roaring sound. Torch lighters are resistant to wind and can be great if you have stubborn kindling that needs more heat to dry out before ignition.

Conversely, non-torch lighters have flame characteristics more similar to a candle.

The Colibri, Bics, and the Xikar EXII all ignite with a push of a button and steadily burn a quiet, yellow flame. This variety of lighter is not resistant to wind, but they are less sensitive to changes in atmosphere that can affect their ability to light.

Xikar High-Altitude
Only a few lighters claim to have high altitude capability. Xikar, renowned for their quality products and lifetime warranty, was one of the only ones that had two such lighters. The Cirro and Stratosphere are listed on Xikar’s website as being high altitude lighters, capable of working at up to 12,000 feet. I contacted Xikar and they were kind enough to send me a couple to try.

The Cirro had excellent fit and finish, typical of what I’ve come to expect from Xikar. The smooth metallic surface was refined and reflected a nice bronze hue. The action was simple: I pushed the button down which slickly retracted a cover and lit the flame simultaneously. A narrow fuel window in the side of the lighter allowed me to check the level. Once activated, the torch fired up strongly with a pointed, blue flame.

The Stratosphere screamed utilitarian: all business, flat black, with a rubberized finish, this lighter had a large fuel level window, a hinged lid that opened with a button, and a lanyard. I’ve had lighters with rubber outer coatings and they are the devil to get out of your pants pocket. This cover was hard, had a good texture, but didn’t hang up on clothing.

The lanyard, strung out of the pocket, made for quick retrieval and retention, too. This lighter also had a button on top that was exposed after the lid was opened. It produced a similar flame to the Cirro. I vented and filled them with Xikar’s Purofine Butane, grabbed the other lighters, and headed for the mountains.

I laid out the parameters for the test as I approached Pike’s Peak. I wanted to be semi-scientific to rule out any bias. I brought two Bic multipurpose lighters, two Colibri pipe lighters, a Vector cigar torch, the two high-altitude Xikars (which are also cigar torches) and another of their non-torch lighters named the EXII.

I live around 5,000 feet elevation and all lighters worked flawlessly before beginning the climb.

I tried each lighter at intervals of roughly 1,000 feet starting at 9,000. I tried lighting each at least 30 times, recorded when they lit, or if they failed.

I pulled off the road near the target elevation, tried each lighter, recorded the results, and moved to the next elevation. I came prepared with extra fuel and a tool to vent the propellant and equalize pressures. I wanted to give the torches every chance. The graph below plots the results:

Conclusion
As you can see, the non-torch lighters faired the best. The high altitude Xikars continued to strongly push out fuel after 10,000 feet but they would not ignite. I tried to jump start them with a working lighter after they stopped lighting, and they still would not ignite.

The green striker-wheeled Bic lit on the first try every time. I couldn’t reach the summit because high wind conditions had closed it down, so my final test was near Devil’s Playground, close to 13,000 feet. The air was thin, the winds were gusting, and the temperature was 19 degrees. Despite this, the Xikar EXII lit at every elevation.

I reached out to Xikar and was advised that many variables affect combustion characteristics — namely, temperature and barometric pressure.

In a survival situation, fire is critical. You need redundant sources of fire to ensure at least one works in any environment. The likelihood of that situation is minimal for most people, but should you find yourself in that environment, you need something that works flawlessly. I was impressed that the Xikar torches continued to work as high as they did but I am not ready to give up my Bic for high altitude. As a rule, under 9,000 feet all the lighters worked extremely well. After that, only the non-torch lighters worked reliably and consistently.