I know these don't have the thumb switch but are very reliable...been using one for over 18 months without an issue. Just picked up two more. The can be had for 2 at $ 30. :-) :-)

Image

http://www.elighters.com/coblpiwireli.html
[Reply]

It annoys me how Colibri as a whole seems to be of such poor quality. For the amount of money that you pay for their products in Canadian dollars..you'd think they'd be damn good or at least half decent. Plus alot of their lighters look so nice.

I showed a picture of that Maui to my friend and he said that with it's design and shape it would have been perfect for him to hold and light too. Damn shame.

Are there any other lighters made by more reputable companies that have the thumb ignition that you push in on the side look like or very similiar to that Colibri Maui?
[Reply]

For the money you can't go wrong with the Vector MAX. It was the 1st lighter I bought and I still use it to this day. I have a 3 torch Xikar bought new that gives me fits. I go back to the single torch MAX and it never fails.
[Reply]

My personal favorite is the Vector Urbano. It's a triple torch with a fold out punch cutter that retails for under $20.
Image
I've had mine for over a year. Lights every time. The only thing it ever needs is an occasional bleed before refilling.
[Reply]

I actually have to stand up and defend Colibri at this point, strange as it may seem.

The company went through several changes of hands in the last 15 years before the current company as it is today came to exist about 3 years ago. Now, most of the newer Colibri lighters I've played with are equal in quality to the older ones from the 80's and early 90's.

As someone who sold a few thousand lighters in the last 5 years of my life, I can honestly say that I have only seen one Lambo lighter come back for repairs (replaced off the shelf, replaced by Colibri in a week), and I actually see very few of the newer Colibri lighters come back with any kind of severe problems. I would stand by Colibri right now as much as I would stand by Blazer or Xikar.




For those who care about the backstory, the original family owned company was bought out in the late 90's by some form of a private equity group. That group proceeded to push the company down the well known path of destruction that ended with over a hundred lines of crappy lighters, only a couple of which were worth a damn.

In late 2008, the equity firm petitioned the company into receivership after the company had nearly $25M in debt due to poor management and was actually unable to turn an operating profit, and in Feb 2009, they literally abandoned the company and closed the doors one night. Workers showed up the next day to find a note of the doors effectively telling them they were fired, the company was done, and to leave. It made quite a stink with workers demanding severance, etc etc.

In June of 2009, the company was purchased by the entrepreneurial firm Alliance Time, who proceeded to immediately gut the company top to bottom. Traveling representatives were hired and given territories, over 2/3 of the lighter models were immediately discontinued, the lifetime warranty service was re-instated to vendors (it had been previously halted to cut costs), and new lines of lighters were launched covering a wide range of prices. Today, new Colibri lighters have a 3-year complete customer warranty, a lifetime vendor shelf-replacement warranty (same off-the-shelf replacement system Xikar uses), and are manufactured using better quality parts.
[Reply]

This thread made me go look through my lighter stash. I found 3 or 4 xikar cutters I didn't know I had and a brand new Blazer that has never had fuel in it. It was like Christmas. :-)
[Reply]

Silound, Thank you. Great info. I am one of the many who would have continued to avoid (and bash) Colibri. If they can now put out a quality product and overcome their tarnished reputation, I'm pulling for them.
[Reply]

I don't know if it has been mentioned yet but Vector has a bunch like that. They also have a lifetime warranty.
[Reply]

http://www.vectorkgm.com/

Check out the Megatron.
[Reply]

This is identical to the Evertech Spark which goes for $13 from buylighters.com. It is an EXTREMELY strong triple torch, a little too strong for me to accurately ligh or touchup without causing excess scorching. The Black Ops Kilo (or equivalent Jobon) has a much sharper point if you want a triple torch, and a 9mm punch instead of 7mm.


[Reply]