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21 of 22 found the following review helpful:
 Zippo Pipe Lighter gets the job done. Oct 11, 2008
By Daniel Schell
"Dan S."
Pros: Does what it's supposed to do:
- Lights my pipe without going out/acting funny.
- Lets the flame burn freely when held at 90 degrees.
- Makes it VERY hard to burn the rim, and very easy to light the pipe - the flame simply gets drawn down to the 'baccy, where it belongs.
- Fits ANY Zippo lighter body. Drop in replacement for the standard cage-style 'windproof' lighter.
Con: Just something to be aware of:
- The top of the flame cage is a little bit loose at first, and may come off (just a bit of stamped metal over the wick (removable for wick maintenance). After 10 or so pipe fulls, it had tempered enough from the heat to become firmly seated.
Works VERY well, a quality product that is easy to use. Unlike torch lighters that require careful aim, the zippo flame follows the draught of air as you puff. It's just foolproof!
10 of 11 found the following review helpful:
Good lighter for casual pipe smokers Jul 24, 2009
By Kane Cheung
"xy1981ca"
The Zippo pipe lighter is a reliable budget lighter for pipe smokers. Its pipe insert works well for pipes up to 3" deep. Because the flame doesn't touch the tobacco until it is drawn in, the result is a very soft flame. It seems that it is even softer than a match flame. This produced a very sweet smoke, just like when using matches. The Zippo makes it much more convenient to light a pipe than using matches. It is also much easier to use than lighters that you have to spin the lighter wheel (like Bic). Sometimes I'd knock my pipe when I spin the wheel too close to the pipe, I don't like that at all. The zippo rests on top of the pipe rim without scorching it and it makes aiming the flame very easy.
The problem with the zippo is that it doesn't hold the fluid in very well. I think I was supposed to fluff up the raydon cotton balls first before filling it, because I shook it a bit and fluid began flying out. This did not happen with my generic zippo lighters and the difference was that the raydon balls were filled to the brim. Zippos are also known to have its fluid evaporate too quickly, requiring refills. This seems to be true, I had to refill within less than 20 lights. But again, this could be due to my not fluffing out the raydon balls first. This is also why I say that this lighter is good for casual pipe smokers, as it may require more refills than decent a butane lighter. The new black can zippo fluid didn't seem to add taste to the smoke, there were instances where I tasted a hint of fluid but was gone after the lighter was removed. The new fluid still smells just as bad as the normal kind but I have not done a taste comparison.
Overall, the zippo pipe lighter seems to have a lot of good advantages over butane lighters. Unless you have a much more expensive lighter that can produce a nice soft flame, I don't think you can really beat the zippo for the price & reliability. Zippos are also very reliable and all parts can be replaced. I have a Maruman lighter from my dad, it's a beautiful lighter and supposedly works great. But it leaks butane, it needs a new gasket and the filling hole is not standard, it also needs a new coin battery and I think the lighter needs a thorough cleaning. With a zippo, I can easily repair whatever is wrong with it, and even if I had to replace the lighter, it's not very expensive at all. Highly recommended.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Cig lighter kluged for pipes Nov 28, 2011
By David B. Jones
The Zippo cigarette lighter is a classic. Putting a hole on the side of the chimney does not make it into a good pipe lighter.
I used one for a few months. I have replaced it with a butane lighter.
The Zippo gets badly gunked up with hard black residue. The tar gets into the steel wheel so it just glides over the flint without making sparks, and then the wheel has to be cleaned. It does not work well unless it is heavily charged with fluid. A charge does not last long. The fluid evaporates. The steel wheel gets hot. I got a nasty blister once when I forgot.
Added later... I increased the rating from two stars to four. I have come to appreciate the benefits of the Zippo. It is necessary to clean it regularly to avoid the problems I described above. What I needed to figure out was an efficient way to clean it. Now I use a Dremel tool. For outside the chimney, including the steel wheel, I use a metal brush attachment. A small bristle brush serves to clean the soot from around the wick opening. Trim or replace the wick on each cleaning.
5 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 Great long lasting lighter for the pipe smoker... Jun 20, 2010
By Hockeyman30
This pipe lighter ia a great quality lighter that you know will last a long time because it is backed by the zippo name. It has a plate on top and two holes on the sides of the chimney to draw the flame directly into the pipe when put on top of the pipe bowl. I was worried that this lighter would leave the taste of lighter fluid in your mouth but nothing but the taste of the tobacco is present. Not to mention it hasn't burned any of the tobacco yet. It can handle a wide variety of diffrent size pipe bowls and it wont burn the wood on the outside of your pipe. Overall this is a great pipe lighter for the occasional pipe smoker to even the intermediate that should give you years of use.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Good pipe lighter. A few small complaints...nothing major. Feb 03, 2011
By Rob
This is the first and only pipe lighter I've owned, so I can't compare it to something else like a butane torch pipe lighter. I like the Zippo pipe lighter because it's easy to keep lit in the wind because of Zippo's "wet wick" design where the wick is always in the lighter fluid and will always light (unless you drop it in the snow like I did the first time I used it...until it dries out). When matches won't work because of wind, as is the case in Indiana in windy winter, I rely on the pipe lighter. It gets the job done.
There are two things I don't like much about it. When it's windy out, sometimes it's a little more difficult to suck the flame down into the bowl and get a good light. Because the lighter is designed to have the flame shoot straight up so that when you put it over the bowl you suck it straight down in (to not burn the rim of the bowl), you sometimes have to suck pretty hard...especially if your tobacco is low in the bowl. However, last night I was smoking outside and it was a little windy, and I was still able to light my tobacco, which was 1/4 to 1/3 filling the bowl.
The second thing I don't like much, but isn't that big of a deal, is the smell of the lighter fluid. If you're inside and you open the lid of the lighter, you can smell the fluid. The good thing is, I haven't tasted it at all in the tobacco, or when I light the pipe and suck the flame down. So that's good. It's just a minor annoyance to smell fluid when you open the lighter. I read I was supposed to buy the black zippo can of lighter fluid, which is what I did. I think it's fine to use with the tobacco because you can't taste it.
For the price, I think the Zippo pipe lighter is a great purchase. Zippo's are known for reliability and durability, and it should last a long time. I think the pros outweigh the cons in this case. If you're on a pretty tight budget like me but are looking for a good pipe lighter that won't cost you $75 or more, I'd recommend the zippo.
Also, make sure you buy lighter fluid because it doesn't come filled...a mistake I made.
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