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Page 1 of 2  Plus: Service of the memory of 87-year-old Gilberto LeonLos Angeles, July 21 – The introduction of the torch lighter has made the lighting of large ring-gauge cigars much easier. But getting a torch to work consistently has often been a problem. One of the reasons for this is the difficulty involved in properly re-filling such lighters with butane gas. If you read the instructions – and how many people do that? – almost every manual notes that to properly fill a lighter, the fuel tank has to be completely emptied. That means bleeding the lighter dry by tipping the nozzle so that all remaining gas is expelled before adding new fuel. This is necessary because unless the tank is really empty, air bubbles can form in the tank and interfere with the flow of butane to the ignition site. Then you begin wondering why your lighter isn’t working. Colibri has ended this problem with its ingenious Reload lighter, introduced at last week’s International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) convention and trade show in Las Vegas. The new concept in this lighter is a removable and replaceable fuel tank. Once emptied, the ABS-plastic fuel tank is simply discarded and replaced with a new tank, pre-loaded with butane. There’s no worry about air bubbles or having the wrong nozzle size on your refill can. Just unscrew the bottom cover – the screw is big enough to handle with your fingers and does not require tools – pop out the empty tank and insert a new one! As the Colibri folks note, “Lock. Load. Fire.” As befitting such an advance in lighter technology, the Colibri Reload has a high-tech look to it and is designed to keep your fingers away from the flame. It is designed for easy operation with one hand and comes in four color styles: black and silver, all silver, silver and gunmetal and gunmetal and silver. The price is quite reasonable, too, at $49.95 retail, including the lighters and two (full) fuel tanks. The disposable fuel tanks are also well thought out. They are made of perfectly-clear ABS plastic, so there’s no doubt about the amount of fuel left. And the replacement tanks are offered in easy-to-buy three-packs for a suggested retail price of $7.49 each. Please note that this is a torch lighter, so it cannot be taken in carry-on baggage on airlines, but can be included in checked luggage if packed in a vapor-tight container such as Colibri’s TranzPack. But that wasn’t the only development in the Colibri line: |
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Did you know?
“An underrated contributor to the 1990s Cigar Boom was Paul Garmirian's 1990 classic "The Gourmet Guide to Cigars".
